Larasati's co-founder and president Daniel Komala wants to turn art auctions into friendly, accessible events for the masses — in Asia and beyond.

Daniel Komala, co-founder and president of Larasati, a nine-year-old fine art auction house with bases in Jakarta, Singapore and Hong Kong, is making it his mission to change perceptions in Asia that bidding for art is an intimidating business. Hoping to build his company into the Asian brand name equivalent to Christie's and Sotheby's in the West, Komala nevertheless believes in holding auctions, previews and outreach programmes that exude a warm, friendly vibe for the masses.

In 2000, Komala and two friends set up Larasati in Indonesia, with capital of about US$100,000. Back then, the outfit had two full-time appraisers. Since then, its staff has grown to about 20 members, such as five in-house art experts. It also works with a network of independent consultants, who include art academics, curators and senior collectors. Last year (2008), the auction house achieved total sales of some US$8 million - an 11 per cent growth from the year before (2007). And Komala hopes to make that figure at least 10 times bigger in time to come.

The company has an international sales room in Amsterdam and is eyeing the European market; with plans to hold its first Asian contemporary art sale in London by next year.

"Three to five years ago, this would've been impossible," says Komala of his chances of cracking the European art market. "Today, markets all over the world, because of the economic tsunami, are looking for something new. The works of established Chinese artists have become too expensive for some, so Asian artists from other countries stand a chance of getting better exposure."

One of the most successful artists of his generation, Andy Warhol once remarked “good business is the best art.” The Peak features four gallery owners who have made good art their business.

STEPHANIE FONG, FOST GALLERY
Originally trained as a lawyer, Stephanie dove into the gallery business after making the life-changing decision to pursue her passion for art. She read art history at Sotheby’s Institute of Art and emerged with a Masters in East Asian Art. Stephanie opted to set up her own art gallery featuring mostly Singaporean and regional artists.

JAZZ CHONG, ODE TO ART
“The two loves of my life are art and music,” Jazz says, explaining her decision to go into the gallery business. Since starting Ode To Art in 2005, Jazz has also opened a gallery in Kuala Lumpur’s upscale mall, The Pavilion.

VALENTINE WILLIE, VALENTINE WILLIE FINE ARTS
Valentine left his law practice in 1996, deciding to open a gallery that offered consultation services as well as a physical location for displaying art. At present, Valentine has four galleries across Southeast Asia to his name, from Kuala Lumpur to Manila.   

AGNES LIN, OSAGE SINGAPORE
A growing interest in art and culture first led director Agnes Lin to set up Osage Art Foundation, committed to increasing awareness of art in children. Osage is known for its experimental spirit, hosting a multitude of cutting-edge cross-media work that challenges the traditional ideas of what constitutes art.

There’s plenty of infinite spirit in lawyer-turned healthcare guru Eunice Tay, who took over as the chief executive officer of the National Kidney Foundation in the aftermath of the sensational NKF scandal. She talks about her dream to work for the betterment of healthcare in Singapore.

Currently 37 months into this challenging role, after her appointment in May 2006, in the aftermath of the much-publicised NKF financial scandal in July 2005 involving T.T. Durai (the former chief executive officer), she has added a more meaningful role towards dialysis patient-care, running the $60million-a-year charity with the “patient-centric” philosophy, wherein her rousing theme reads: “Happier patients are healthier patients.”

“Coming to the NKF was not a trauma for me. I view it as a God-sent mission...a fulfilment of a long desire in my heart as I have always endeared to be a discreet voice for the voiceless,” says Tay, of her leadership role in the most-talked-about charitable organisation that provides dialysis treatment and rehabilitation care to 2,270 kidney failure patients at affordable, subsidised rates at 24 island wide centres.

Tay, a lawyer by training, sums herself as a “new kid on the block in the VWO (Volunteer Welfare Organisation) arena” although she’s been in the healthcare industry since 1991. In 1994, she was special assistant to the managing director of Parkway Group Healthcare before joining the National Neuroscience Institute (NNI) in 1997 and later, becoming its chief operating officer.

“We’ve regained the trust of Singaporeans and that’s the most important hallmark for any charity organisation. We did it by being transparent, and by accounting to the public and answering all the questions that the public threw at us in the aftermath of the scandal,” she shares.