Paris | Indonesian contemporary art exhibition
[caption id="attachment_14136" align="aligncenter" width="613" caption="Heri Dono's "Angels face to the future", 2007 (a sound installation) / Courtesy l'artiste. © Louis Vuitton, Pauline Guyon "]------------------------------------------------------
PARIS—Indonesia is an art scene often overlooked, historically buried in religious and political turmoil and overshadowed by India's emergence. Group shows or coherent surveys of artists from the world's most populous Muslim nation have been few and far between, so "Trans-Figurations", presenting 11 Yogyakarta-based contemporary artists at Espace Culturel Louis Vuitton in Paris, not only illuminates Indonesian art but elevates it beyond the expected, showing a seamless crossroads of traditional mythology, newly harnessed creative freedom, national unity and touches of global inspiration. "What makes Yogyakarta special is the combination of intellectual and artistic aesthetics," says Heri Dono, a veteran of the capital's scene and, at age 51, something of an informal godfather to the exhibition, for which he presents a line-up of figures inspired by traditional wayang golek shadow puppets. The works bear a slight ressemblance to the Japanese manga cartoon "UFO Robot Grendizer," outfitted with little chest-transistors. "From the outside, you only see Indonesian tradition, but inside, nothing is dictated by that," Dono told ARTINFO."The artists gain from exhibiting internationally, but keep the local issues and context - problems as basic as earthquakes and volcanos. The art, the culture and the people are all connected, art is never just for its own sake. Artists have become mediators." [article continues...] Read the rest of this exhibition review from ArtInfo ——————————————————————————--------------------- This event came via Twitter user artdialog (Thanks!) -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
