Clear Focus on Southeast Asia
Art Jakarta 2024 welcomes 73 galleries and collaborates with more partners this year.
Words Jewel Chuaunsu
October 22, 2024
ROH Projects Projects booth
Art Jakarta has evolved into a significant cultural event that highlights the global and regional art scene in Southeast Asia. The Fair attracts distinguished galleries and artists, offering a dynamic platform for both established and emerging voices in the art world. One of the hallmarks of Art Jakarta is its focus on contemporary art, often reflecting the rich and diverse cultural landscape of Indonesia and Southeast Asia. The Fair provides a space where artists from the region can engage with global trends while celebrating local narratives and traditional artistic practices that have shaped their work.
Art Jakarta 2024 concluded successfully after a three-day run from 4 to 6 October 2024, at JIExpo Kemayoran, Jakarta. Welcoming 73 local and international galleries, the Fair gained widespread attention from seasoned collectors and art enthusiasts. This year, Art Jakarta expanded its space at JIExpo Kemayoran, now occupying not only halls C3 and B3, but also C1. This expansion allowed the Fair to enhance the audience experience with a more convenient F&B area, improved presentations of the public program, and additional participants in the Art Jakarta Scene section.
During the three days, Art Jakarta 2024 drew 38,268 visitors, marking a 7% increase from the previous edition, demonstrating the growing enthusiasm for contemporary art in Indonesia and across the region.
ROH booth
Highlights
Supporting the Fair and showcasing their own presentations were four Lead Partners—Julius Baer, UOB Indonesia, Bitbit, and Treasury.
Bitbit created for Art Jakarta 2024 a collaborative work by artist Cinanti Astria Johansjah and Rajut Kejut, a community of knitters. In “Knit by Knit,” they engaged the audience to take part in a knitting activity that would complete the installation and subsequently teach the importance of persistence, patience, and consistency in both art and finance planning.
Detail of Knit by Knit by Cinanti Astria Johansjah in collaboration with Rajut Kejut
Julius Baer featured Indonesian artist Sunaryo in their VIP Lounge while UOB Indonesia exhibited the UOB Painting of the Year winners and created a dedicated space for children. Treasury introduced their Gold For Good programs that seek to finance tree-planting activities and the education of street children.
Alongside presentations by SUPERMUSIC, Roca, iForte, Blue Label, Artotel Wanderlust, and Yayasan RMHC, other highlights included Smeg’s “Frigorifero d'arte” (Refrigerators of Art) in collaboration with Dolce & Gabbana, indieguerillas’ installation for Taco, artist Erwin Windu Pranata’s participatory assemblage incorporating colorful everyday objects and a MINI Cooper, and a collaboration between Stanley and Vinilon featuring Palette Studio’s “Hydrogrid, Hydration,” an installation that’s both a seating area and refillable water facility,
Hydrogrid, Hydration by Palette Studio for Vinilon + Stanley
AJ Spot
Art Jakarta Spot featured public art installations specifically tailored for the Fair including works by Iwan Yusuf (Nadi Gallery), Timoteus Anggawan Kusno (Kohesi Initiatives), Syaiful Garibaldi (ROH), and Tisna Sanjaya (ArtSociates).
Syaiful Garibaldi’s “Antara Muara” takes the form of mangrove tree roots and stilt houses. In response to environmental problems in Muara Gembong, the installation highlights the importance of conserving mangrove forests in order to protect coastal areas from erosion.
Syaiful Garibaldi Antara Muara (2024) Wood, mycelium leather, Biobo by MYCL, 2.5 x 2.5 x 4 m
Marine debris and fishing nets are incorporated in Iwan Yusuf’s “Air Pasang” (Tidal Water), to show how pollutants and debris in the seas come from human activities on land.
Timoteus Anggawan Kusno’s “Dismantling Nostalgia” reflects on longing for the “good old days,” set against the backdrop of the Mooi Indie (“Beautiful Indies”) genre that depicted an idyllic version of the East Indies during the period of Dutch colonialism in Indonesia.
Lastly, Tisna Sanjaya’s “Ganjel” explores personal and communal expressions through documents like letters, diplomas, and government decrees from Sanjaya’s time as a visual art lecturer at the Bandung Institute of Technology.
Timoteus Anggawan Kusno Dismantling Nostalgia (2024) Patched archival prints, oil and acrylic paintings on canvas, ropes, metal scaffolding, 410 x 310 cm
Art Jakarta Gallery
This year, Art Jakarta Gallery, the centerpiece of the Fair, captivated visitors with a lineup of 39 national galleries and 34 foreign galleries from countries including Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, China, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Russia, and Australia.
Some of our favorite works from the Gallery section included those by Mersuka Dopazo, Ilham Karim, Micah Crandall-Bear, Go Ogawa, Li Wei & Liu Zhiyin, Yi Hwan Kwon, Jemana Murti, Soonik Kwon, I Made Dabi Arnasa, Naela Ali, Agus Suwage, Robert Zhao Renhui, Yudi Sulistyo x Mulyana, and more.
A Spanish artist based in Bali, Mersuka Dopazo’s vibrant, large-scale fabric collage paintings easily stand out. The works by Ilham Karim depict figures in bright colors, with strange poses that convey an existential mood.
Mersuka Dopazo, Mia Amigos en Casa (250 x 216 cm) Mixed media, 2024
Micah Crandall-Bear’s abstract landscape paintings hint at changes in light through precise lines and expanses of color. Japanese contemporary artist Go Ogawa manipulates the refraction of light through prisms to create mesmerizing visual displays.
Chinese artist duo Li Wei and Liu Zhiyin’s poetic sculptures evoke spiritual contemplation. Korean artist Yi Hwan-Kwon’s distorted and elongated sculptures skew physical reality by disturbing perception.
Sculpture by Yi Hwan Kwon
Bali-based artist Jemana Murti comments on the commodification of cultural artifacts. Soonik Kwon interprets the unique colors and textures of Korea in a modern way, showcasing a unique Korean sensibility.
I Made Dabi Arnasa reconstructs dreamscapes into surrealistic imagery on canvas while Naela Ali explores quiet moments of everyday life, particularly inspired by her experiences in Japan.
Agus Suwage’s “Jejak Getah” (Sap Trail) reflects on the positive and negative effects of rubber plantations on people and the environment. Robert Zhao Renhui’s New Forest is a daily newspaper offering views from a tree, as part of his investigation of secondary forests in his native Singapore.
Robert Zhao Renhui, New Forest
Taking up a whole booth was Mannerist Manifest, which combined Yudi Sulistyo’s realistic sculptures of military vehicles with Mulyana’s crocheted coral reef landscape.
Two Philippine galleries took part in the Fair. Vinyl on Vinyl presented works by Iyan De Jesus, Reen Barrera, Dennis Bato, TRNZ, and Teo Esguerra. The Drawing Room showcased pieces by Kitty Kaburo, Victoria Montinola, and Chelsea Theodossis.
Rounding out the Fair were AJX, a collaboration between Art Jakarta and institutions such as Eugene Museum and the Indonesian Institute of the Arts, Denpasar; AJ Scene, a section dedicated to artist collectives and studios, allowing them to present their merchandise; and AJ Talk’s scheduled art talks and book discussions.
Looking ahead, Art Jakarta is poised to continue its growth and remain a cornerstone of Southeast Asia’s art scene. With a commitment to showcasing both local and international artists, fostering education and dialogue, and promoting the region’s diverse artistic traditions, the Fair will undoubtedly continue to be a catalyst for creativity and cultural exchange in the years to come.
