Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Saya kagum pada karya seniman lokal. - I am amazed by the work of the local artist.

In this sentence, kagum means “impressed, in awe, full of admiration.”
Grammatically, kagum behaves like an adjective, similar to “amazed” or “impressed” in English.

So Saya kagum literally feels like “I (am) impressed / in awe.”
Indonesian does not need a separate “to be” verb for this.

Why don’t we say Saya adalah kagum to mean “I am impressed”?

Indonesian normally does not use adalah before adjectives.
Structure:

Saya kagum. = I am impressed.
Dia pintar. = He/She is smart.
Makanan itu enak. = That food is delicious.

Adalah is usually used before a noun phrase, often in more formal style:

Dia adalah guru. = He/She is a teacher.

So Saya adalah kagum is ungrammatical in standard Indonesian.

Why is pada used after kagum? Could I say kagum dengan or kagum terhadap instead?

With kagum, you can commonly see:

kagum pada ...
kagum dengan ...
kagum terhadap ...

All three are understandable and often interchangeable.
Nuance:

kagum pada and kagum dengan are very common in everyday use.
kagum terhadap sounds a bit more formal or written.

So you could also say:

Saya kagum dengan karya seniman lokal.
Saya kagum terhadap karya seniman lokal.

The original pada is very natural and idiomatic.

Does karya here mean “work” (singular) or “works” (plural)? Why isn’t there a plural marker?

Indonesian nouns usually do not change form for singular vs plural.
So karya can mean:

a work (of art)
work (as an uncountable idea)
works (plural)

The exact meaning comes from context. Here, karya seniman lokal is best understood as “the work / works of local artists.”

If you really want to emphasize plurality, you can say:

karya-karya seniman lokal = the works of local artists

But it’s not necessary; the basic karya is already natural.

How does karya seniman lokal express “the work of local artists”? What is the structure?

The structure is:

karya = work(s)
seniman lokal = local artist(s)

In Indonesian, the “of” relationship is often shown by putting the owner after the thing:

karya seniman lokal = the work(s) of local artists
buku guru = the teacher’s book
rumah teman saya = my friend’s house

So karya seniman lokal literally feels like “the works of local artists” without using a word like “of.”

Could it be karya lokal seniman, and what would that mean?

No, karya lokal seniman is not natural.
Two points:

lokal here is describing seniman (artists), not karya directly.
- seniman lokal = local artists
The normal order is: main noun
- describer/owner
  - karya seniman lokal = (the) works (of) local artists

If you wanted to describe the work as local, you could say:

karya-karya lokal para seniman = the local works of the artists

But that’s a slightly different nuance and structure.

Is seniman singular or plural? Does it mean “artist” or “artists”?

Like most Indonesian nouns, seniman can be singular or plural depending on context.

seorang seniman = an artist (one artist)
para seniman = the artists (group, clearly plural)
seniman lokal = local artist(s)

In karya seniman lokal, the most natural reading is “local artists” (plural), because karya is likely referring to multiple works by more than one person.

Is lokal the same as daerah or setempat? Could I say seniman daerah instead?

They’re related but not always interchangeable:

lokal = local (fairly neutral, very common, also used in business/branding)
daerah = regional / from a certain area (can sound a bit more “regional/traditional” depending on context)
setempat = from this place / the local area here

Possible variants:

seniman lokal = local artists
seniman daerah = regional artists (often used for artists representing traditional arts from a region)
seniman setempat = the artists from this place/area (more specific to the current location)

In your sentence, seniman lokal is the most straightforward and neutral.

What is the difference between Saya kagum pada karya seniman lokal and Saya mengagumi karya seniman lokal?

Both express admiration, but the nuance is slightly different:

Saya kagum pada karya seniman lokal.
- Focus on your state/feeling: I am in awe of / impressed by the work of local artists.
Saya mengagumi karya seniman lokal.
- mengagumi is an active verb: I admire / I hold in admiration the work of local artists.

In practice, both are natural. Kagum is more about your emotional reaction; mengagumi feels a bit more active or deliberate.

Can I drop saya and just say Kagum pada karya seniman lokal?

You can drop saya in casual speech or writing, especially if the subject “I” is already clear from context.
However:

Saya kagum pada karya seniman lokal. → clear and complete.
Kagum pada karya seniman lokal. → sounds like a fragment or a short comment, e.g. in a caption or informal chat.

For a full sentence, especially in more neutral or formal contexts, it’s better to keep saya.

Is this sentence formal, neutral, or informal? When would I use it?

Saya kagum pada karya seniman lokal. is neutral and fits:

polite conversation
presentations or talks about art
interviews or written texts (articles, essays)

It’s neither very formal nor very slangy.
To make it more casual, you might change the pronoun or add banget:

Aku kagum banget sama karya seniman lokal. (informal)

But the original sentence is safe for almost any situation.

How can I say “I really admire the work of local artists” more strongly?

You can intensify kagum with words like sangat, sekali, or begitu:

Saya sangat kagum pada karya seniman lokal.
Saya kagum sekali pada karya seniman lokal.

In informal speech:

Aku kagum banget sama karya seniman lokal.

All of these add the sense of “really / very much” to your admiration.

Are there other common collocations with kagum that I should know?

Yes, some common patterns:

kagum pada / dengan / terhadap seseorang
- Saya kagum pada dia. = I admire him/her.
kagum pada / dengan sesuatu
- Mereka kagum dengan prestasinya. = They are impressed by his/her achievements.
merasa kagum
- Saya merasa kagum melihat pameran itu. = I felt amazed seeing that exhibition.

So your sentence Saya kagum pada karya seniman lokal fits a very typical and useful pattern.