At Art Basel Hong Kong 2022, Gajah Gallery will present recent works by Ashley Bickerton, Erizal As, Jane Lee, Rudi Mantofani, Suzann Victor, and Yunizar. Hailing from Indonesia, Singapore, and the United States, these artists explore diverse and interconnected interests of the region, keenly perceptive of the nuances in their locales and cultural landscapes. At the same time, through their bold, unorthodox sculptural and painting practices, the artists transcend regional concerns to explore new ways of art-making and evoke larger truths about the human condition.
Suzann Victor is a Singapore-born artist based in Sydney, known for her monumental public artworks and context-based installations. Through her use of unconventional materials such as glass and fresnel lenses, her works challenge viewers’ perspectives and encourage them to see themselves not as outsiders, but rather as participants of the work itself. Her recent works engage with themes ranging from the cultural aftermath of postcolonialism in Southeast Asia to the politics of female disembodiment.
Singaporean artist Jane Lee blurs the line between the two and three-dimensional, challenging the notion of what constitutes a painting by pushing the limits of materials and techniques used in painting. Her recent works employ modelling clay and cement, and assume the physicality of sculpture while maintaining the illusory depth of the painted image. In her latest series, Lee reappropriated iconic works in western art history that had subconsciously influenced her while she trained as a painter – critically rethinking the significance of western painting traditions in her own practice and context.
Based in Bali for almost 30 years, Ashley Bickerton has witnessed the island’s transformation from a once- remote idyllic refuge, to one of the busiest tourist destinations in the region. Bickerton’s work thus addresses tensions arising from his ever- shifting societal, cultural, and environmental landscape. Using a variety of organic and man-made materials, Bickerton gathers from the biosphere and anthroposphere without suggesting any hierarchy between the two. The resulting works transcend formal categorisation as assemblage, painting, installation or sculpture, and exist instead as residuals of human narratives in a molecular, cosmic dance.
Yunizar and Rudi Mantofani are both members of the Kelompok Seni Rupa Jendela (KSR Jendela), a pioneering collective of influential Indonesian artists formed in the mid 1990s. Mantofani’s work challenges viewers to reflect on ordinary objects, the environment, and surrounding landscapes through unexpected visual riddles. Similarly exploring poetic expressions of everyday life, Yunizar captivates audiences with his paintings that possess spontaneous yet harmonious visual melodies on canvas. Yunizar takes raw, organic forms to create sophisticated renderings of portraits, landscapes, still life and fauna that have earned him a distinct place in Indonesian art history.
Known for his highly charged, seemingly spontaneous, yet precisely calibrated abstract compositions, Erizal As has recently formed a series of landscape paintings that follow his recent return to his hometown in Padang, West Sumatra, after having lived and built his artistic career in Yogyakarta for several years. In depicting Padang’s sublime, unspoiled beauty found in its rolling hills, lush greens, lakes and cliffs, Erizal brings us back to the colonial era, where Padang was prime for painters who focused on landscapes. Returning to his roots, he incorporates the signature abstract-expressionist style that he honed in Java, allowing it to evolve as he gazes at his hometown with fresh eyes.
