Laksamana Tirtadji Jr.

Spirit project

“IT’S NOT SO much a business, more like a calling. It’s something that I know I’m here to do,” says Laksamana Tirtadji Jr., the founder and Director of contemporary art gallery ROH Projects, based at Equity Tower on Sudirman. The 28-year-old entrepreneur started ROH in 2012, soon after graduating with a double-degree in Philosophy and Business from Pepperdine University, California.

“There is so much potential in contemporary art,” says Tirtadji. “It just needs to be done in a professional way, and with a long-term mindset.” He explains that ROH Projects focuses on providing a platform for emerging artists, as well as “showing more developed artists in a nuanced and intellectually sound manner”.

The gallery participates in international art fairs, including Art Basel Hong Kong and Singapore Art Week. “ROH means spirit or soul. It’s a spirit project,” says Tirtadji. ROH represents artists Arin Dwi Hartanto Sunaryo, Syaiful Garibaldi, Syagini Ratna Wulan, Bagus Pandega, Cinanti Astria Johansjah and Faisal Habibi. “We also work with international artists, such as Kei Imazu and Gary-Ross Pastrana,” says the gallery owner.

Tirtadji describes his father, banker Roy Edu Titrtadji, as “my mentor in life. But I never wanted to follow in his footsteps by going into banking. My mother has an aesthetic awareness of art, architecture, fashion and interior design. She is the creative person in our family who influenced me to love art. In the art gallery field, we have to have a big heart and be unconditional in everything that we do. Not all of the things that we do can be valued by numbers alone. Value can come from so many things, such as knowledge, education and aesthetic experiences.”