For Nathaniel and Natalie Gunawan, art is a conversation

What does it mean to collect Southeast Asian art? How might a collection represent such a diverse region? These were the questions posed during the panel discussion ‘When Patronage Becomes Form’ in 2023.

Curated by Stephanie Bailey, Art Basel Hong Kong’s inaugural Conversations curator, the panel discussion took place as part of the SEAspotlight Talks series hosted by S.E.A. Focus, an anchor event of Singapore Art Week. Moderated by private collector and arts patron Margaret Wang, speakers included Reuben Keehan, Curator (Contemporary Asian Art) at Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA), Lisa Horikawa, Director (Curatorial & Collections) at National Gallery Singapore (NGS), and Nathaniel Gunawan, a prominent millennial collector based in Jakarta.

Gunawan, a director of Oasis Waters International, a national manufacturer and distributor of ready-to-drink water in Indonesia, has been steadily building a collection of modern and contemporary art with a strong focus on Southeast Asia. Together with his wife and collecting partner, Natalie, Gunawan co-founded the content investment company Phoenix Films, which supports the production and distribution of Singapore and Indonesian films.

During that 2023 panel discussion, Gunawan made a series of salient points about the importance of building collections that not only support contemporary art in Southeast Asia, but which unearth and nurture unsung art histories, and lesser-known practices, eclipsed by the more mainstream, westernised global art market. To elaborate, he cited his highlight of the 10th Asia Pacific Triennial in 2022, A Diasporic Mythology (2021) by Bagus Pandega: a kinetic and sound installation that stages an encounter between traditional Japanese and Indonesian instruments and tea plants which were brought to Dutch Indonesia from Japan, to rival the British-Indian tea trade.

“We’re dealing with so many layers,” Gunawan pointed out: “It made me realise that as a Southeast Asian, I’m also so mixed: Chinese by descent, grew up in Indonesia, my wife is Singaporean and part Indian. Seeing this experience encapsulated in an artwork against Brisbane’s dynamic skyline was mind-blowing.”

For this conversation, Margaret Wang visited the couple at their home in Jakarta, to talk to them about what collecting means to them, now.

Margaret Wang
Let’s start at the beginning: what triggered your journey into collecting art?

Nathaniel Gunawan
It started over ten years ago. We were married and starting spending our time in both Singapore and Jakarta. Natalie had always loved going to museums, but that’s when we started attending plenty of art exhibitions.

Margaret Wang
So, you began exploring Indonesia through a creative lens.

Natalie Gunawan
And you know Nathan never has a casual hobby. He amassed such a staggering tower of books on art, it was like he was studying for a PhD.

Margaret Wang
That’s true. You don’t just appreciate film; you made a film production company!

Nathaniel Gunawan
But film is an extension of our interests. Collecting art gave us the courage to finance films, because through owning art, living with it, and supporting it, we realised that we wanted to support young filmmakers, too.

Margaret Wang
You extended your patronage to another field.

Nathaniel Gunawan
Exactly. But responsible patronage. Not just to make profit.

Margaret Wang
Was there a particular work that sparked your collection?

Nathaniel Gunawan
The first work I acquired was by the Indonesian painter Bunga Jeruk, who was popular in the early 2000s. Her paintings of female labour were especially interesting because they made me think about unrecorded labour, especially by women. It’s not contract labour, it’s washing dishes or clothes for other people – an informal economy, which speaks to this new urbanisation that happened in Indonesia, when everyone had to start working.

Margaret Wang
You wrote that you were searching for empathy in some way, but there is also this quiet social critique that has developed through your collection.

Nathaniel Gunawan
Maybe not critique, but exploration. Art is interesting because it can be an introduction for people to really think about social issues in a way that’s not force-fed.

Personally, I always look for works with empathy in the sense that they offer a jumping point into the hesitation, deliberation and resolution that each artist wrestles with. Perhaps this is also why I am attracted to practices from the region, as I am more empathetic and sensitive to the macro- and micro-historical moments, and the enduring legacy of past trauma or collective pride that envelopes artists here, too.

Margaret Wang
The first work I saw in the region was the video installation Writing in the Rain (2011) by FX Harsono, where he writes his Chinese name as the ink washes away in the rain. Through that, I learned about some of the sociopolitical movements that shaped the region, like Chinese exclusion. I was never taught that in school.

Nathaniel Gunawan
These histories sometimes get excluded from the official narrative. Many ethnic Chinese in Indonesia carry that burden. Even my paternal family had to give up their Chinese last name, Zou, due to New Order policies. My paternal grandparents were first generation immigrants and Gunawan was the most accessible name at the time.

The exclusion of narratives like this is why we consciously collect works from the late 1990s and early 2000s from Indonesia and Singapore. Another example is the conflict between projections of unity, progress, efficiency and economic prosperity in wider society, and the dismantling of familial bonds and support systems.

The deliberate avoidance of public conversations on this topic has contributed to a reservoir of repressed emotions, so we continue to look for practices that explore this melancholic nostalgia for communal bonding: it’s a quest to reclaim or acknowledge the past kampung spirit.

Margaret Wang
Wow, thanks for sharing.

Nathaniel Gunawan
It’s good to reflect on these absurd, scary, but sometimes positive times – to stay grounded. But also, getting to know artists is a way to be part of a community, which includes fellow collectors and gallerists, which is important because that is also a form of empathy-building.

Margaret Wang
It’s about the ecosystem of it all.

Nathaniel Gunawan
Yes, and if you look at the West or more developed countries, the ecosystem for art is there, but in places like Indonesia, it’s precarious.We don’t have much state funding for art, and there isn’t a tradition of supporting contemporary art.

Margaret Wang
Speaking of Singapore, how has Singapore influenced your collecting?

Nathaniel Gunawan
My focus definitely became more international, but not immediately. It became regional first and was a learning process.

Instead of essentialising Southeast Asian art, I’ve resorted to discovering reverberances across practices, and I am especially excited when I discover nuances that transcend spatial and temporal limitations. For example, I was thrilled when I discovered a specific mix of yellow and blue hues in IGAK Murniasih’s Pantai Purnama (2001) that was captured by Wawi Navarroza during her Bali residency in her photograph Untitled, stripes yellow blue (2016), of a roadside stall covering.

Knowing the specific context that situates artists’ practices adds a layer of depth that helps us, as viewers and collectors, to assess the long-term relevance of these works.

With that in mind, I feel fortunate to have had a gradual introduction to art, which gave me a strong basis to assess what’s genuine.

A lot of young collectors today are bombarded immediately with global art, since many galleries from the West visit Asia often, and I understand the impulse. But if that is your first exposure, how do you even start? I can understand why it could be so overwhelming.

Margaret Wang
When it comes to your collection, where do you find the most consensus as a couple?

Nathaniel Gunawan
We like older female artists…

Natalie Gunawan
…like Dolorosa Sinaga and Han Sai Por.

Nathaniel Gunawan
Elder female artists have constantly been underrated. So, if not for their passion, why would they continue their practice, right? We appreciate and acknowledge that, but only in hindsight – of course we don’t want female artists working today to be ignored!

Margaret Wang
When it comes to your arts patronage, what is your ultimate hope?

Nathaniel Gunawan
My ultimate goal is that my kids can talk about art in a genuinely organic way, without highlighting the price; to find art as a part of living, in a way, for everyone. I want them to see an interesting exhibition as you would a great film: as being part of the everyday.

I always remind my directors and producers: don’t underestimate the audience. We can think about what the public wants to see, but actually, if you serve a good film, people will come. Then, the question becomes: how to support a system that can produce good work? That’s the challenge.

Margaret Wang
That’s why we have to support institutions doing that work. How did you get involved with STPI?

Nathaniel Gunawan
They contacted me during COVID. I was so excited because I hold them in high esteem. They represented Southeast Asia at Art Basel for years, before there was a strong Asian presence, and I always see works in institutional exhibitions by Asian artists who have done residencies at STPI, which shows how STPI fosters creativity by crossing geographical and technical borders.

I remember, in one year, I saw works composed of STPI-made paper by Agus Suwage and Alfredo & Isabel Aquilizan at Museum MACAN and by Genevieve Chua at the 10th Asia Pacific Triennial.

You need institutions like STPI to transfer knowledge. Combining the creativity of artists and the expertise of paper and print technicians can produce interesting things. It’s like architecture: there’s the technical knowledge, but there’s also the creativity of the architect.

Margaret Wang
I’m struck by how long STPI has been around: a third of the time that Singapore has been independent!

Nathaniel Gunawan
Exactly. I find Singapore’s decision to establish and support STPI courageous. People always see Singapore as overwhelmingly corporate, but they’ve actually sponsored a papermaking institute! Paper, especially in our region, is not always seen as the most desirable medium, even with a long history of ink art in Asia.

Margaret Wang
Has STPI influenced your collecting?

Nathaniel Gunawan
STPI definitely shaped my perception of what paper can do. I had collected paper by more established artists, which is how you do it when you’re first collecting art, but STPI treats paper so differently. The spirit of experimentation has expanded the possibilities of what paper (as a medium) can be.

Margaret Wang
Nat, what’s your hope when it comes to arts patronage?

Natalie Gunawan
Art represents a country’s heritage. We are very much rooted in Southeast Asia and it is a privilege to participate in the art and cultural community here in Singapore and in Indonesia.

I especially appreciate art in public spaces, like Pacita Abad’s ArtBridge on the Singapore River, a meaningful project that still beams joy after her passing. That’s an example of how an encounter with art is an opportunity to uplift others!

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Paper Trail presents discussions with leading curators, patrons, and administrators about how they collect, curate, and nurture artists and art worlds.