The trove includes six objects from the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, marking the institution’s first repatriation of colonial objects.
Indonesia
Artistic Freedom Reaches “Lowest Point” in Years, Human Rights Advocates Warn
Rising traditionalism, conservatism, and populism have resulted in major discrimination against women and the LGBTQIA+ artistic community.
Ancient Cave Paintings Are Deteriorating Due to Climate Change
Extreme patterns of increased seasonal moisture from monsoonal rains and worsening droughts are accelerating rock art deterioration, researchers say.
Centering the Equator in Global Conversations About Art
With its focus on art from Indonesia and Southeast Asia, this year’s edition of the Biennale Jogja offers a fresh take on discussions of centers and peripheries.
What an Art Fair in Jakarta Can Mean for the Southeast Asia Art Scene
Art Jakarta seemed to breathe new life into a region teetering on the brink of complete disillusionment with art market machinations and the global art-fair-industrial complex.
Art Jakarta’s Extravagance and Chaos
The future of art fairs in Southeast Asia looked uncertain after the abrupt cancellation of Art Stage Singapore earlier this year, but judging from Art Jakarta 2019, the big boom is on again.
The Legacy and Life of a Political Art Collective
Bold and vigorous in their expression, the collective Taring Padi has bitterly denounced the corruption of the Indonesian government.
The Candid Poetry and Inclusive Politics of the Jakarta Biennale
JAKARTA — Located in a large warehouse in the south of town, the Jakarta Biennale 2015, titled Neither Forward nor Back, mixes works by Indonesian and international artists.
Artists Interpret a Colonial Collection of 125,660 Indonesian Specimens
Intended or not, the words used around collections set agendas, and what is collected and what remains absent is always political.
Entang Wiharso Mines the Discord in Indonesia’s Diversity
In a recent interview, the Indonesian artist Entang Wiharso proclaimed: “I depict the condition of humans who are often divided by complex, multilayered political, ethnic, racial, and religious systems: they co-exist yet their communication is limited and indirect.”
These Indonesian Cave Paintings May Overturn Eurocentric Art History
New dating of rock art in Indonesia shows that at the same time stampedes of bulls and horses were appearing in the Ardèche caves in France, similar art was being made in the Pacific region.
Against Ethno-Kitsch: Trance Music in a Broken System
CHICAGO — “I’m pretty opinionated about music,” says artist/musician Arrington de Dionysio, whose creative work has taken him to Indonesia and back. “I’m not interested in sampling ‘a little bit of this, a little bit of that’ for its own sake alone, the results are usually boring and insincere, a kind of pandering the lowest common denominator of ethno-kitsch.”