BLUE-CHIP - Rachel Gallery

BLUE-CHIP

A Virtual Exhibition of (Our) Selected Collection

Works by

Who are the blue-chip artists?

In short, the definition of blue chips in the world of art is artworks/artists who are deemed to have a continuous rise in their economic value, despite the general economic conditions.

Based on the definition, the terminology appeared to the art world from the people in the stock market who see art as a form of investment. Where in the context of art, it is all artworks or artists that are well-known—especially in the world of fine arts; they or those do not have to be known outside the inner art circle—and that have a guarantee of the continuous rise in the economic value, hence, can be called as a blue-chip artwork/artist. Based on that call, some artists feel using the term is a terminology that denigrates the art itself because everything is considered or valued with high and low economic value; while the more neutral parties see that the terminology can be used to describe artworks/artists that are admittedly, aesthetically, superior and have been recognized by art institutions which are justified, with a consensus view, by most people in the art world itself; namely, professional galleries, museums, auction houses, and the texts written by art critics.

Therefore, it can be said that blue-chip artists are those whose artworks are able to deliver strong concepts and ideas of the work’s creation—even if it is only visually a simple scribble—and the technically capable.

Based on this terminology, at this exhibition, we selected a number of works by artists who could be called blue chips in the Indonesian contemporary art scene. Some of the works displayed may not be less popular than the other works of the artists, but those are exactly what add more quality to this exhibition as a whole. Surely, there will be questions about why, in this exhibition, this or that blue-chip artist are not included; that is something we are really aware of, and, of course, we have our very own reasons to answer that. This is debatable, for sure, given that there are still many others categorized as blue-chip artists in the Indonesian contemporary art scene, but at the same time there is also no argument needed that the seven artists above are actually considered as blue-chip artists as well. It is not only about their economic value—although this is important—but also because of the concepts, ideas, and technicalities of their work.

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