Thirty years ago a young painter named Ronald Manullang followed his heart, joining the avant garde of Indonesia’s artists and producing fresh new images. Nobody wanted them. “I was hungry, I needed money,” he said in a recent interview. “So I quit and went into advertising.” But in the past year, Indonesian art has caught fire on the international market, and collectors, galleries and auction houses are buying up everything they can. Mr. Manullang, now 54, is painting again, and he is making money. “It’s a very strange time,” he said. “It used to be we couldn’t sell any of our paintings. Now the collector needs that painting very badly. Before the painting is ready, they already come to my house and ask the price.” Whatever the price, it is cheaper than Chinese art, and that is what it is all about. Chinese art is hot now and commanding huge prices. In a sort of trickle-down effect, collectors are looking to Indonesia as the next Asian tiger. Read More...