Art:1
Under its previous guise as Mon Decor, founded in 1983 by Martha Gunawan,
this pioneering private gallery was one of the most respected arts institutions
in the city, collecting over 2,500 pieces of art work and winning the Best
Gallery of the Year Award in 2010. A year later, Mon Décor was transformed into
an arts institution, named
Art:1, and relocated to the Kemayoran area. This proved to be
breath new life into the city’s vision for contemporary art, succeeding where
the government have failed. Art:1 is split into two buildings: Art:1 New Museum
houses the permanent collection of works by prominent, modern Indonesian
masters such as Widayat,
Made Wianta and
Anusapati; Artspace:1 focuses more on contemporary works by
emerging Indonesian and international artists, such as Syaiful Boen and
Aditya Novali,
with a space that encourages interaction and exploration.
ARTsphere Gallery
Calling itself a hub for artists, collectors and art lovers,
ARTsphere Gallery
focuses on modern, contemporary art from young Indonesian talent coming out of
Jakarta, Jogyakarta, Bali and Bandung, as well promoting the nation’s art at
home and abroad. The gallery was founded in 2006 by Maya Sujatmiko, an arts
academic and professional, with a remit to actively contribute to and develop
the Indonesian art scene. Past exhibitions have included the thought-provoking
sculptures of Renjani Damais-Arifin, the powerful abstractions of Tisna
Sanjaya, and the playful, surreal paintings of Tatang BSP. Previously based at
Dharmawangsa Square, ARTsphere is now housed in a slightly smaller space at the
Kemang Icon, making it a convenient stop while visiting other galleries in the
area.
Edwin’s Gallery
Another frontrunner on the Jakartan arts scene,
Edwin’s Gallery was
established in 1984 by renowned photographer Edwin Rahardjo. Starting out of a
small gallery space and studio in his parents’ garage, the gallery has
continued to grow and develop over the years to become one of the most active
institutions in the city. Now located in the Kemang area of Jakarta, the
gallery has hosted more than 150 exhibitions, presenting work by more than 200
artists from Indonesia and beyond. These include some of the country’s most
prominent contemporary artists, such as the sculptor
Nyoman Nuarta and surrealist painter Ivan Sagita.
The gallery has also worked to promote Indonesian art on the world stage, at
international shows in Hong Kong, Singapore, China and Venice. Not only that,
it was one of the first galleries to introduce Chinese avant-garde art to the
Indonesian public, presenting artists such as Zhang Xiaogang and Fang Lijun at
a 2003 exhibition called
From China with Art at the National Gallery
of Indonesia.
Andi’s Gallery
Andi’s Gallery
diverges slightly from the white cube concept, with gorgeous parquet floors
offsetting the art on the walls. Set up in 1990, the gallery presents a wide
range of modern and contemporary art, including sculpture and multimedia, and
has been central to the discourse within Indonesian contemporary art over the
years. Holding more than 6 exhibitions a year, including their flagship annual
Sculptures exhibition, the gallery resists market forces, bringing marginal art
to the fore. This spirit was present from the beginning, with one of their
first exhibitions,
Super Realis, launching the genre of
super-realistic painting into the mainstream. In 2009, the gallery again broke
new ground by presenting the work of 53 Indonesian women sculptors for the
My
Body exhibition, including the evocative works of Ade Artie Tjakra, Lydia
Poetrie and Yani Mariani Sastranegara. With its finger firmly on the pulse,
Andi’s gallery is the place to find the next big thing in the Indonesian art
world.
Nadi Gallery
Nadi
Gallery was founded in 2000 by architect and art collector Biantoro
Santoso, whose love of contemporary art underlies the gallery’s mission to
promote Indonesian art. The gallery owns an extensive collection of art,
especially painting, by acclaimed Indonesian artists of the past few decades.
The name
nadi means ‘aorta’ or ‘artery’, and refers to the gallery’s
focus on the pulses of contemporary art. New exhibitions are staged at least
six times a year, with guest curators, showing works by Indonesian and overseas
artists. The gallery also facilitates exchanges between artists, critics,
collectors and curators through workshops and attending international art
fairs. Their inaugural exhibition was of the famed painter, sculptor and
installation artist Heri Dono, whose work is influenced by Javanese folk
theatre,
wayang, producing strange, mythological and humorous pieces
that comment on the political and social situation in Indonesia and abroad.
ruangrupa
Established in 2000,
ruangrupa is an artist-led, non-profit organisation that aims to
support the progress of the local art scene through various initiatives,
festivals, workshops and projects. Since 2008, the group opened RURU Gallery,
which provides an exhibition space for young artists and curators, such as One
of their projects is Art Lab, which offers space for collaboration and exchange
for artists to explore and critically engage with urban life in the city. The
group also facilitates Jakarta 32°c, a biennale showcasing the work of Jakarta
students, and the international biennial OK. Video festival, as well as
publishing Karbon, the only Indonesian contemporary art magazine. Come
here to see the youthful, experimental edge of Indonesian creativity.
Linda Gallery
Since
Linda Gallery was founded in 1990 in Jakarta, it has been an active,
commercial force in the Southeast Asian arts scene. With additional branches in
Beijing, Shanghai and Singapore, Linda Gallery specialises in Chinese
contemporary art, presenting the freshest work from across the region, and
acting as a platform for artistic exchange and communication. Linda Gallery has
hosted the work of renowned Asian and Indonesian-based artists such as Shi Hu,
Basoeki Abdullah, Xiao Bing, Rearngsak and Nico Vrielink, as well as
participating in international events such as China International Gallery Expo,
Art Singapore and Art Beijing. For a glimpse of Pan-Asian art, Linda Gallery is
unbeatable.
Galeri Hadiprana
Galeri Hadiprana
is the longest
operating gallery promoting fine art in Indonesia. Borne out of founder Hendra
Hadiprana’s search for beauty in the confusing, broken city of Jakarta after he
returned home from studying in the Netherlands, this gallery survived the
economic turmoil of the 60s to bring art to the appreciation of the wider
public. Having evolved through the decades, the gallery is now housed in a
large, flexible space, with movable walls, befitting of a modern arts
institute. Hadiprana has promoted and mentored many of Indonesia’s now-celebrated
artists such as renowned writer and painter Danarto, Yusuf Affendi, and Made
Gunawan. Galeria Hadiprana continues to promote the best of Indonesian
contemporary art, staging exhibitions with a deep sense of respect and wonder
for the country’s cultural identity and the gallery’s history.
Canna Gallery
Canna
Gallery is a leading contemporary art gallery that opened in 2001, in a small
shop house, before expanding to encompass three whole floors in order to house
large contemporary works. Similarly, its reputation has grown in over the
years, especially becoming a significant presence on the international arts
fair scene, regularly showing at Art Basel Hong Kong and ArtStage Singapore.
Canna Gallery showcases cutting edge, innovative art, with recent solo shows by
notable Indonesian artists such as Suraji and FX Harsono. The latter’s
exhibition,
what we have here perceived as truth we shall encounter some day
as beauty staged at Jogja National Museum, is a powerful response to the
fraught sociopolitical history of the Chinese-Indonesians in his native East
Java, and the forgotten victims of the massacres in the 1940s.
BIASA ArtSpace Jakarta
The Balinese gallery
BIASA
ArtSpace has played an important role in developing contemporary art in
Indonesia since it opened in 2005, by working closely with emerging artists and
curators, and engaging in the global discourse of art and identity. The gallery
in Jakarta acts as a complementary space, bringing an alternative platform to
the city and continuing its mission for better social understanding. Recent
exhibitions have included the contemplative
Garden of Delight by
Indonesian artist Arya Pandjalu, in which the gallery was transformed into an
indoor garden, complete with grass, leaves and otherworldly creatures, with
mixed media works scattered throughout, starkly drawing out the contradictory
nature of the environment and urban ecology. Another notable exhibition was
Observatories
of the Self by Yogyakarta-based Belgian artist Sara Nuytemans. This show
presented seven interactive, kinetic installations which used reflective media,
light and technology to capture the viewer and the environment, creating
‘constellations’, exploring the way humans interact with the world and their
role in it.
