At a time when China's contemporary art is at its most wild, I saw in a shop window in Hong Kong, Putu Sutawaijaya's art. That year, the shop windows in Central Hong Kong exhibited collections of "Chinese contemporary art", a collection of colorful head portraits of Mao and Tiananmen Square, giant portraits of people with superficial facial expressions. In the heat of the sun, they competed to attract the attention of the people passing by. Putu's art however showed two figures in sitting position, behind them are lotus flowers in peaceful blossom, the seated figures seem modest in the face of life and humbled in the presence of Mother Nature. This work is named Peaceful (figure 1).

　　At a time when the art market is at its wildest, it is hard for some people to see the value of art and its innate essence. Standing in front of Putu's art, I felt its serenity, I felt a time of purity lingering in a long forgotten corner of our lives, and I felt the distant sentiments of nostalgia.

　　To find the roots of this nostalgia, I traveled to Yogyakarta, in a house between rice paddocks I found Putu, Jumaldi Alfi and Rudi Mantofani. We talked about art and talked of the joy it brought. Alfi is a hospitable host, we would take rides in his car and enjoy the cool country breeze, rice paddocks under the sun seem to give out a strong sense of life. Putu is quiet, a sturdy appearance encasing a refined soul. Sometimes I sit with Putu face to face, he would puff away at his cigarette without a word, I feel his prudence and profoundity. By chance, I had always met Rudi at dusk, the stars in the sky and the evening prayer song forms a serene picture.

　　It is often in setting like this, the artists reflect their feelings onto their canvas

　　Putu was born and raised in Bali; his paintings mostly depict the most primordial of man's power and the harmonious coexistence of man and nature. In To Become a Winner where the world revolves around the power of man, it exhibits the force of"Life" (figure 2). If one is to say Bali's mountains and rivers nurtured the Balinese dance of Barong, then it is fit to say that Putu had reflected this unique culture onto his art. In Putu's painting, the figures are presented in ink and wash. Ink and ink brush has its own language which heightens the sagacity of the figures. His brush-strokes reveal the most basic emotions of man, which at times exploding like a volcano, or his joy sheltered in the asylum of Mother Nature (figure 3).

　　Rudi and Alfi are both members of Indonesia's most acclaimed contemporary art groups, the Jendela Group, other members include Handiwirman Saputra, Yunizar, Yusra Martunus, all the members are from the West Sumatra area. Graduated and educated from Indonesian Art Institute (Institut Seni Indonesia), Putu also graduated from here and is their senior. It was here where they exchanged their thoughts on western art which then later developed into their own styles. Alfi's art often depicted of stones and rocks, to Alfi, stones are an analogy of life, such as the Myth of Sisyphus. In this tale, Sisyphus had fallen from grace with the gods and was condemned to push a heavy rock up a mountain, at the end of this, the rock would roll back down the mountain slope, and he would do this day after day. Similarly, artists would perceive each new canvas as a new beginning. From ancient times, stones record the civilization of man, such as the ones unearthed at the artists' hometown, they are all vintage works of art. Memoration Series #5 the canvas shows vanishing space and a never ending time. The civilization of man drift in space and time, whereas the stones sits quietly in a corner of the painting (figure 4).

　　In Rudi's work, there exhibits two styles of artistic expression, realistic with dynamic colors and the other is one of abbreviation, simplified to a point of almost being abstract. In his paintings he talks of problems about the environment in which humans live in, how does human's evolution coexist harmoniously with nature as well as man's admiration for nature's beauty. Rudi often paint trees, the growth of trees follows a paticular pattern, changing as the seasons changes. The leaves fall and the roots absorb the leaves' nutrience, giving life to new leaves, thus forming a cycle. In his work MENINGGI HARI # 2 (Watching the Sun Rise From Atop) Rudi captures the quiet and magnificent moment in Mother Nature, the cloud is dyed red by the sun, the cloud pacing across the sky, showing unyielding forces of life (figure 5).

　　There are greater beauty in mother nature, in a corner of this greater beauty, in the gleaming rice paddocks, artists alike philosophers are contemplating the most basic and profound questions, searching for the essence of life in man, the stone, the tree and the sun.

　　Of course, this essence may be contaminated by urban civilization. More and more of Indonesia's contemporary art is repeating the path of contemporary art in China, head portraits, Coca Cola, commercial icons, repeating its kitsch trends to catch the eyes of the passerby. The ambition of this exhibition is to persuade the viewers to shift the attention away from the rise and fall in the volume of business from art sales, away from the commonly used social icons and landmarks, to use the unhindered eyes to see art in its true value. It is reassuring to see these three artists who had kept their peace of mind, like a creek, streaming towards true essence, there, lies for most city people, the forgotten sentiments of nostalgia.

　　The three artists are in their thirty's and all have beautiful children. This text and the exhibition is dedicated to these children, in this continuation of life, one can find the pure and clear force of beauty.