Indonesian portraiture exhibition receives Australian award

Jakarta, Aug 26 (Antara) - The "Masters of Modern Indonesian Portraiture" exhibition, curated by the Galeri Nasional Indonesia, has been awarded the 2015 International Council of Museums Australia Award for International Relations. This was revealed by the Australian Embassy on its official website on Tuesday. The stunning collection of key modernist works from the 1930s to the 1980s was exhibited at the Australian National Portrait Gallery in Canberra last year and attracted tens of thousands of visitors and won high praise and critical acclaim. The award was presented to the Director of the National Gallery, Tubagus Andre, by the Australian Ambassador to Indonesia, Paul Grigson. "This was the first collection from Galeri Nasional Indonesia to be exhibited in Australia and it gave audiences a rare insight into the rich talent and tradition of Indonesian portraiture," Ambassador Grigson stated. The exhibition features eminent Indonesian artists, such as S. Sudjojono, Hendra Gunawan and Affandi, and is being showcased along with a selection of contemporary works by leading Indonesian artists. The project was a result of the collaboration between the Galeri Nasional Indonesia and the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra and heralds the start of an ongoing relationship between the two institutions.