Gajah Gallery is honoured to be a part of the inaugural edition of artKYOTO, an art fair held at the former Imperial Villa and World Heritage Site – Nijō Castle. The gallery will feature the latest works from prominent Southeast Asian contemporary artists Ashley Bickerton (USA), Handiwirman Saputra (Indonesia), I Gak Murniasih (Indonesia), Kayleigh Goh (Malaysia), Li Jin (China), Suzann Victor (Singapore), and Yunizar (Indonesia).
The gallery will showcase new works by Handiwirman Saputra and Yunizar, two co-founders of the Jendela Art Group which is widely considered to be Indonesia’s most prominent contemporary art collective. Yunizar’s practice is ever-expanding, through his collaborations with Yogya Art Lab (YAL), a foundry and production house subsidiary of Gajah Gallery located in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. He presents, in Kyoto, his latest series of paintings and bronzes, intuitively articulated with boundless creativity.
Handiwirman Saputra has been receiving international acclaim due to his achievement of being the only Indonesian artist invited to exhibit at the 58th Venice Biennale, only the third artist in his country’s history to do so, whilst simultaneously presenting a collaborative piece at the Indonesian Pavilion.
Representing the Chinese contemporary ink landscape is highly-sought after artist Li Jin, who presents works with a fresh perspective inspired by his travels throughout Asia.
Following the success of her latest solo exhibition with Gajah last year, Suzann Victor presents new works from a series of sculptures created in collaboration with YAL: crushed stained-glass wings and hearts endowed with an ethereal and almost spiritual quality. Alongside them, is up-and-coming Malaysian artist Kayleigh Goh, whose cement paintings of quiet, urban spaces provide viewers a sense of solitude and meditation.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Ashley Bickerton is among the most well-known expatriate artists, residing in Bali for almost 25 years. His work is in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, The Guggenheim and the Whitney Museum in New York, the Tate Gallery in London and the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. Ashley is known for his poignant social commentaries, which draw from an anthropological perspective of looking at consumerism, the cross-pollination of culture and the widespread decay of humanistic values.
Handiwirman Saputra is well-known for challenging expectations, transforming mundane everyday materials into the majestic. Playfully creating works that tend to be either monumental or miniature, the audience is spurred to reconsider their relationship with the materials involved, seeing the world with new perspectives and perceptions.
I Gak Murniasih exhibited the ordinary world in an extraordinary way, with her work often labelled as disturbing and deeply biographical, yet also filled with a sense of humor and pathos. Mostly self-taught, Murni developed her own style based on intuition, which alongside her willingness to tackle difficult subject matter such as pleasure and sexuality has marked her as one of the most important contemporary women artists in Indonesia.
Kayleigh Goh is a young Malaysian artist who recently held her first solo exhibition in Singapore. Working predominately with the mediums of cement and wood, Kayleigh creates metaphysical spaces that offer us a temporary escape from the bustle of everyday life. Her works embrace the city as a space for healing, moving the viewer to contemplate on the ideas of home and rest.
Li Jin is one of China’s foremost contemporary artists, known for his lighthearted approach to the otherwise stoic field of Chinese ink painting. His works illustrate a philosophy of liberation and contentment, breaking with the archetypal formal subject matter associated with traditional ink. The characters that appear in his paintings are drawn from his daily life and his travels.
Suzann Victor is Singapore’s most notable female contemporary artist, known for her monumental public artworks, performances and kinetic installations. Her recent solo show, See Like a Heretic, saw her embarking on an archaeological process to locate the point before which readymade iconography was converted into commodities; transmuting the process of sandblasting into a ritualistic baptisement.
Yunizar continually proves his massive appeal to international audiences, enchanting collectors and curators all over the world, his work being collected by various major public and private collections, including the Long Museum, China. His work reflects an ideal of imaginative and authentic expression, using a combination of primitive markings and elementary forms to create a universal visual language.
