Gajah Gallery is delighted to present Beyond Borders: Minangkabau Art and the Fluidity of Cultural Dynamics, showcasing a roaster of pioneering and emerging artists from the Minangkabau region. Set to open its doors on the 4th of November 2023 at Gajah Gallery Jakarta. The exibition will be accompanied by writing from art historian and LIAS PhD candidate Aminudin Siregar.
The land of Minangkabau has an indeniably important place in definitions of Indonesian art, relevant and recognisable on both a local and a global scale. As opposed to an over-generalisation or an attempt at ethnocentric romanticisation, the show opens a wider scope for reading the vibrant artistic and cultural dynamics of the region, from the past and into the future.
Early in the country's art history, we find the acclaimed figure, Wakidi, a Semarang-descent who - although born in Palembang - had made Bukittinggi his land of devotion as a painter and an educator. With a visual tendency towards the natural landscape (mooi indie) and soft colour schemes, his artworks have played an influential role in shaping the identity of Indonesian painting.
A pioneering figure in the visual arts, Oesman Effendi was an artist and art intellectual whose practice of abstraction-taking from natural forms, or in his latest development, refracting objects so that they are almost unidentifiable-represents the tireless process and exploration in art practice. His sharp observations and critical thoughts have also been published, and continue to be a source of reference for cultural discourses that persists to this day. With regards to collective movements, Itji Tarmizi - who was part of Pelukis Rakyat and Sanggar Bumi Tarung - takes inspiration from the daily life of the peole, the foundation for his work. This element reflects an acute awareness of social existence and that, at the heart of it, artists are part of the people. As such, Oesman and Itji collectively represent the diverse artistic practice of Minangkabau artists.
Amidst the prevalence of art practices that were often imbued with socio-political elements in Indonesia specifically in Yogyakarta - in the late 1990s, a group of young Minang artists known as the Jendela Art Group (KSR Jendela) took the road less travelled, treading a steeper and almost impossible journey against the mainstream and the market. Yet, instead of being excluded from the contemporary movements at the time they brought a refreshing perspective to the uniformity of artistic practice. The members of KSR Jendela, represented though the works of Yunizar, Rudi Mantofani, Handiwirman Saputra, and Yusra Martunus, continue to actively contribute to the dynamism of Indonesian art today.
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