ABOUT LEO HAKS
Leo Haks: born Zeist, The
Netherlands, 1940.
1984. Returned
to native country after working in the Far East for many years.
Settled in Amsterdam where he operated a rare book company, dealing with
early books, maps, lithographs and photographs on Indonesia.
1987. Formed partnership, 'Haks & Maris', with Guus Maris,
art dealer in
Amsterdam. Dealing in Indonesian subject matter paintings.
They compiled 'Lexicon of Foreign Artists who Visualized Indonesia 1600
- 1950', Singapore 1995.
Haks and Maris are active in sourcing Indonesian paintings for collectors
and institutions.
At the same time, the partnership collected Pre-War Balinese Modernist
paintings as they were convinced these paintings formed an integral part
of the development of Modern Indonesian art. Paintings from that period
had mostly been neglected by art historians and collectors alike.
Most collections which exist are held by anthropological museums and it
took many years to gather sufficient stock to allow for the term collection.
There is still room for building a representative collection of this art
at moderate cost.
Personally, Leo is has been a collector of Chinese art of a different
kind; including paper offerings to Gods and Ancestors; temple adornments,
paper cuts and coats. He has also a substantial collection of Cantonese
opera costumes from the period 1930 - 1965. His aim has been to preserve
this material from destruction by deterioration or neglect. This has become
a significant collection which has been exhibited in several major museums.
During his frequent visits to Hong Kong and Canton in the 1970s, Leo collected
Chinese Propaganda Posters. This has grown to a collection of over 600
pieces.
Enquiries relating to these subjects are welcome.
PUBLICATIONS:
| - | Adrian Vickers and Leo Haks. ‘Ida Bagus Njoman Rai, History Painter’. In I.I.A.S. Newsletter 41. July 2006. Download article in PDF |
| - | Leo Haks and and Steven Wachlin. ‘Indonesië, 500 oude prentbriefkaarten’ Rijswijk 2005. (Translation from the English language edition.) Now in second print. |
| - | Leo Haks and Steven Wachlin. ‘INDONESIA: 500 Early Postcards’. 2005 Mostly from the period 1893 - 1930 288 pages, full colour throughout, 23 x 25 cm Flexi cover The book is divided into 7 Geographical sections: Sumatra, Batavia, Java, Bali and the Lesser Sundas, Borneo, Celebes, and Irian Jaya. Authors: Leo Haks & Steven Wachlin, With chapter introductions by Diana Darling |
| - | Leo Haks. ‘Chinese Votive Costumes’. Article in FMR two, September 2004 |
| - | Leo Haks and Paul Zach. 'Indonesia - Images of the past', Singapore 1987. (A biography of photographer J. Demmeni) Out of print |
| - | Leo Haks and Guus Maris. 'Lexicon of Foreign Artists who Visualized Indonesia 1600 - 1950'. Singapore 1995. |
| - | Coen Pepplinkhuizen and Leo Haks. 'Celestial Art. Paper Offerings and Textiles from China collected by Leo Haks' Gent 1997. |
| - | Leo Haks and Guus
Maris. 'Pre-War Balinese Modernists 1928 - 1942'. Amsterdam 1998 Interactive CD-ROM, the first CD on any aspect of Indonesian art. Out of print |
| - | F.Haks, A.Vickers, J.Ubbens, L.Haks and G.Maris. 'Pre-War Balinese Modernists 1928 - 1942'. Haarlem 1999. |
| - | R.Smend, 'Javanese
and Sumatran Batiks from Courts and Palaces'. Cologne, 2000. (photographic contribution) |
Indonesia
related photographs from the Leo Haks collection have appeared in some
100 books, magazines and academic publications.
EXHIBITIONS:
Pre-War Balinese Modernist paintings:
| - | Cologne, Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum, 'Walter Spies, Musiker und Maler auf Bali', 1995. |
| - | Rotterdam, Kunsthal, 'Magie and Modernisme', 20 May - 22 August 1999. |
| - | Ubud, Bali, Museum Puri Lukisan, 'Magic and Modernism', 26 September - 30 November 1999. |
| - | Jakarta, Erasmus Huis, 'Magic and Modernism', 19 January - 12 February 2000. |
| - | Leeuwarden, Fries Museum, 'Magie en Modernisme', 4 June - 3 September 2000. |
| - | Australia 18/8/2002 - 5/10/2003. 'Crossing Boundaries. Bali: A Window to 20th Century Indonesian Art'. traveling exhibition (participant) Organized by the Asia Society AustralAsia Centre. |
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CHINESE COLLECTION:
| - | Amsterdam. Pan '89. 'Chinese opera costumes'.(Opened by the Chinese Ambassador to The Netherlands) 13 - 17 October 1989. |
| - | Rotterdam. Kunsthal. 'Hemelse Gewaden uit China', (Heavenly Robes from China) 21 December 1996 - 9 March 1997. |
| - | Hasselt, (Belgium). Modemuseum Hasselt 'Hemelse Gewaden', 31 Januari - 13 June 1999. |
| - | The Hague. Gemeentemuseum 'Flaunting Splendour', (Stylistic development of Cantonese opera costumes 1930 - 1960.) 7 April - 9 September 2001 |
| - | Utrecht, Centraal Museum 'NEO', 27-9-03 - 4-1-04. Contributor. |
| - | National Museum of Singapore ‘Bedazzled: Sequined Costumes of Cantonese Opera’ 6 February – 1 May 2008. All ex Leo Haks collection. www.nationalmuseum.sg/nms/nms_html/images/press/PRbedazzled.pdf and http://www.singaporepsa.com (download pdf) |
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INDONESIAN PHOTOGRAPHY
| - | San Francisco, Ansel Adams Gallery. 'Toward Independence, A Century of Indonesia Photographed'. (Major contributor.) 25 September - 1 December 1991. |
| - | Cologne, Rautenstrauch-Joehst-Museum. 'Batik; Javanese and Sumatran batiks from courts and palaces. Rudolf Smend Collection'. 22 June - 8 October 2000. Opened bij HRH the Sultan of Yogyakarta. Photographic contribution. |
| - | National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. ‘Picture Paradise’ Asia-Pacific Photography 1840s – 1940s. 11 July – 9 November 2008. major contribution ex Leo Haks collection |
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AWARDS
| - | Leo Haks is the recipient of the 2002 Profiel award, a biannual prize awarded to ndividuals for their contribution to aspect of textile art. The award was given with specific reference to the salvaging of Chinese temple embroideries in Singapore. |
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REVIEWS ON LEO HAKS'WORK
