Sin Sin Fine Art is pleased to present a group exhibition of internationally renowned contemporary Indonesian artists; Abdi Setiawan, Andy Dewantoro and Eddie Hara. Their acclaimed work has gained worldwide exposure and has come to represent the art scene in Indonesia today.
Celebrated writer and curator Ricky Effendy has found that the three artists, although different in their visual strategies, each explore modern Indonesian culture and the effect that it has on those living within it:
Andy Dewantoro presents images of houses, bridges, and buildings in a subdued, even lyrical, atmosphere. There is a distinct rhythm, an expressive gesture, and often an abstraction of a landscape. Andy’s paintings reveal the sense of displacement of the (post)modern human through the metaphors of houses, streets, buildings, and forest.
The wooden and aluminum sculptures of figures by the artist Abdi Setiawan reveal the common gestures and wear the usual costumes of any child in an urban village: wearing their school uniform or in casual costumes, eating ice-cream, carrying toys or dolls or playing around. The figures of children that Abdi creates are portraits of children in the Indonesian urban landscape, living in narrow alleys and the slums, marginalized by the accelerated growth of the urban population and the economic burden, becoming victims of the consumptive pattern of the society such as in Jakarta or in Yogyakarta, where Abdi lives.
In his paintings, Eddie Hara presents peculiar creatures that might resemble illustrations in children’s story books; a world of toys and dolls with hybrid characters: a meĢlange of creatures such as cats, mice, rabbits, jellyfish, skulls, and even wayang and comic characters, accompanied with mundane objects. There is no doubt that he is the Indonesian artist who first introduced the low-brow or street art styles on his canvas and presented forms of “urban toys” in his three-dimensional works. He uses bright colors and attractive patterns, filling his canvases without a distinct center. Eddie’s canvases become an arena of visual carnival and celebration.
About the Artists
Andy Dewantoro
Born in 1973 in Tanjung Karang, Indonesia; Andy received his artistic education from the Bandung Institute of technology, specializing in interior design. Having completed an artist residency in Transylvania, Romania in 2009, Andy has received critical acclaim for his paintings. He has been exhibited internationally, most recently in Saatchi Gallery, London in a show dedicated to Indonesian Art.
Abdi Setiawan
Abdi has been widely exhibited both internationally and in his native Indonesia. Recently he has had solo exhibitions in Metis Gallery, Amsterdam and Knokke-Zoute, Belgium. Born in 1971 in Sicincin, Pariaman, Indonesia, Abdi has become infamous for his sculptures achieving a finalist position at the Philip Morris Act Award in 2001.
Eddie Hara
Born in 1957 in Salatiga, Java, Indonesia, Eddie Hara currently lives and works in Basel, Switzerland. Eddie has completed Artist residency’s all over the world including, Studio 106, Lasalle SIA College of Arts Singapore (2004). He has also been exhibited internationally in; Switzerland, Germany, France, Indonesia and the USA.
