It is talks season and we are busy preparing powerpoint presentations, reading lists, website links and so on. Beverly will be presenting a 3-part talk series “An Introduction to Contemporary Art in Malaysia” at Galeri Petronas starting this evening while I am preparing “Current Developments in Contemporary Southeast Asian Art” for Asia Art Forum in Hong Kong this coming May.

The organisers have requested that I put together a ‘further reading list’ for those interested in Southeast Asian art. Unfortunately, publishing is not our region’s forte but there are a few valuable gems and references. Here they are in chronological order:

Indonesian Contemporary Art Now
By Marc Bollansee and Enin Supriyanto
SNP Editions, 2007
ISBN-13: 9789812481429

Between Generations: 50 Years Across Modern Art in Malaysia
Beverly Yong and Hasnul J Saidon (editors)
Universiti Malaya Press, Universiti Sains Malaya Press & Valentine Willie Fine Art, 2007
ISBN: 983861348

Contemporary Art in Singapore
With Essays by Russell Storer, Gunalan Nadarajan and Eugene Tan
Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) Singapore, 2007
ISBN-13: 9789810564612
(Note: ICA Singapore is a part of LaSalle-SIA College of the Arts)

Telah Terbit (Out Now): Southeast Asian Contemporary Art Practices during the 1970s
Ahmad Mashadi
Singapore Art Museum, 2006
(Note: This is an exhibition guide and does not qualify as a book but the introduction essay for this show is insightful and really worth the read)

Art and Social Change: Contemporary Art in Asia and the Pacific
Caroline Turner (editor)
Pandanus Press, 2005
ISBN-10: 1740760468

Protest: Revolutionary Art in the Philippines, 1970-1990
By Alice Guillermo
University of Philippines Press, 2005
ISBN-10: 9715421679

Exploring Modern Indonesian Art: The Collection of Dr. Oei Hong Djien
By Helena Spanjaard & Oei Hong Djien
SNP Editions, 2004
ISBN-13:  9789812480101

Flavours: Thai Contemporary Art
By Steven Pettifor
Thavibu Gallery, 2003
ISBN-10:  9749173767

Image to Meaning: essays on Philippine Art
By Alice Guillermo
Ateneo de Manila University Press, 2001
ISBN: 9715503764

Contemporary Art in Asia: Traditions, Tensions
Essays by by Apinan Poshyananda, Thomas McEveilley, Geeta Kapur, Jim Supangkat, Marian Pastor Roces, Jae-Ryung Roe
Asia Society, 1997
ISBN-10: 0878480838

Modern Asian Art
By John Clark
University of Hawaii Press, 1998
ISBN-10: 9057040417

Southeast Asian Art Today
Joyce Fenema (editor)
Roeder Publications, 1996
ISBN-10: 9810060025

Vision and Idea – Relooking Modern Malaysian Art
T.K Sabapathy (editor)
National Art Gallery (Malaysia), 1994
ISBN-10: 9839572016
(Note: This book is unfortunately out of print but you can find it in some libraries in Malaysia and Singapore)

Modern Art in Thailand: Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries
By Apinan Poshyananda
Oxford University Press, 1992
ISBN-13: 9780195885620

UPDATED NOTE: It seems I have overlooked another key publication. Please also check out

Indonesian Women Artists: The Curtain Opens
by Carla Bianpoen, Farah Wardani Et Al
Yayasan Seni Rupa Indonesia, 2007
ISBN-13:  9789791656207

I apologise as these titles may not be readily available at your local bookshops but for those of you interested (and living in Kuala Lumpur), do visit the resource room at Valentine Willie Fine Art if you feel like browsing. For those keen to purchase these books, I believe Select Bookstore in Singapore stocks a number of titles, or feel free to email us contact@rogueart.asia and we’d be happy to point you in the right direction.

Also, I’d like to bring to your attention “Figuring The Times: Philippine Paintings 1996 – 2009, A Selection from the Paulino Que Collection”. This catalogue documents a small selection of works from Mr. Paulino Que’s vast collection. It was launched in conjunction with an exhibition sharing the same title on March 13th at Finale Art File, a highly anticipated show among the locals as Mr. Que is one of Manila’s most renowned and well-respected collectors. Exhibition ends April 3rd. For those of you in Manila, this show is not to be missed. Seriously. This is truly a rare opportunity to view some stunning Pinoy paintings from Mr. Que’s collection as this serious collector is somewhat ‘shy’ and does not make a habit of receiving guests regularly at home. (AO)

We’ve just received our e-invites to Agus Suwage’s solo exhibition in Yogya and we would like to encourage anyone who is popping by to Yogya within the month of July to make a point to catch this show at Jogja National Museum. I heard from the grapevine that it is going to be one of the most amazing shows ever to be mounted in Yogya!!

Agus Suwage: Crazy After All These Years
Exhibition runs from 4 to 31 July 2009
Jogja National Museum
Jl. Amri Yahya (Gampingan) No. 1
Yogyakarta, Indonesia

We’ve recently returned from a quick trip to Yogya and Beverly had her first experience of attending a typical Yogyakarta art exhibition opening (with lewd comedy skits and artists singing and dancing). The said exhibition was “Rai Gedheg” (meaning “Shameless” in Java) at Bentara Budaya (23 June – 3 July) and will tour to Jakarta, Malang and Surabaya. Again, the artwork that I like “Lelah” by Agapetus Kristiandana has something to do with my collection of pigs… ☺. I was very amazed with the detailing – right down to the cardboard paper that the artist used to display the sculpture.

A typical art exhibition opening party in Yogyakarta

“Lelah” by Agapetus Kristiandana

“Seperti Chaplin” by Hedi Hariyanto

We heard that Bob Sick and S Teddy D were having an opening on the 24th but we were already leaving so we decided to preview the exhibition at Taman Budaya when we popped over to Malioboro the next morning. It is a pretty amazing showcase – Bob Sick made new paintings, S Teddy showed some of his old objects with new sculptures. I especially liked General, “Platoon, better you die? Ok!”.

General, “Platoon, better you die! OK?” by S Teddy D

“Show me the way to the next bridge” by S Teddy D

“The Farmer’s name is Hulk” by Bob Sick

“Black Gold” by Bob Sick

L-R: “Lady Coffee”, “White Lotus”, “Black Buddha”, “Meja Hijau” by Bob Sick

Oops. Yet another post about Indonesia. You must be wondering what is the matter with us Rogues. Apologies for going back on our word but it is simply beyond our control as Indonesia’s bustling art scene is far too exciting to avoid. We were away again in Jogja several weeks ago to catch Agus Suwage’s 20 year survey exhibition, “Still Crazy After All These Years”. It was an exhibition we could not miss as this show presented a rare opportunity to view a number of Suwage’s most important works from local private collections as well as from the artist’s personal collection.

Locally known as Agus Suwage’s birthday show –the artist had just turned 50 earlier in April, “Still Crazy After All These Years” is one the most comprehensive solo exhibitions the region has seen so far.  News about this project’s grand ambition (and hefty price tag) to bring together over 100 works from different parts of Indonesia as well as making the necessary improvements to the exhibition space had spread through the grapevine for over 6 months, putting further pressure on Suwage’s exhibition team and curator to put together perhaps the most amazing show Indonesia has ever seen.

And what is the verdict?

This show is definitely worth the trip. It is truly impressive and cleverly planned, charting the artist’s development in a clear and concise manner. The works were laid out chronologically according to major themes, taking the audience through Suwage’s 20 year journey as we witness his artistic explorations and personal obsessions. From early self-portraiture to address a wide spectrum of issues from society, politics to the personal, to the artist’s agile appropriation and reinterpretation of performance art documentation, his love affair with music, and lately ruminations of Death, the show reflects the artist’s consistency, the breadth and depth of his focus, his incredible wit and playful mischief.

On opening night, Suwage played host to nearly 2000 guests and well wishers from Indonesia and beyond. Despite several black-outs and the unexpectedly huge turn out –front of house was forced to turn away people at midnight, “Still Crazy After All These Years” has earned its place in contemporary Indonesian art history as a landmark exhibition.

Here are among RogueArt’s top picks from the exhibition (in no particular order):

And Rachel’s personal favourite:

Also, we would like to give a Rogue thumbs up to exhibition curator Enin Supriyanto and salute the formidable Titarubi and the rest of the team at iCAN for a fantastic a job well done! (AO)

“Still Crazy After All These Years”
(Selected works : 1985 – 2009)
curated by Enin Supriyanto
4 – 31 July 2009 at Jogja National Museum
Jl Amri Yahya No. 1

Find out more about the exhibition at www.agusuwage.com

Richard Lau’s Headlight 1 (The Scream)

Richard Lau, Headlights made with fused plastic

Fabian Tan’s Electrolyte Series made from old computer parts and wire lights

We have been busy working on TLS09 (The Light Show 09) over the past few weeks. This is RogueArt’s first exhibition project for the year and we’re really proud to have had a hand in its making.

The idea for TLS09 was conceived in 2008 and it is the brainchild of Carolyn Lau, Farah Azizan and Lisa Foo, well known architects and designers from Kuala Lumpur. Inspired by the idea of upcycling –transforming discarded materials that socially and aesthetically hold little value into objects of greater use and value, TLS09 is a modest project with strong ambition. It brings together a group of TLSers –architects, artists, designers, theatre lighting designers and film director, in an exhibition centered around lights, light-related objects and installations. This show balances the tactile joy of craft and ‘vocational school work’, an appreciation for aesthetics, beauty and wonder with an underlying aim to be ‘greener’ and to think about the way we live and consume.

Carolyn Lau, Nourishment 4, made from milk and juice cartons

Carolyn Lau Nourishment 1 & 2 made with Yakult bottles and Nourishment 3 made from used cat food tins

Farah Azizan, Short 1, Metal oil drum, old soda bottles, mild steel 40W fluorescent ring

What I love most is the unexpected and inspiring ways in which materials and form have been reinterpreted and re-presented. It is a case of less is more as some of the most successful works in this show are motivated by simple and playful imaginations. Each TLSer brings with him/her a unique flavour to this diverse and colourful palette. From the zen zone of re-experiencing space through light to the longing for the nostalgic past, from the repetitive processes of gathering, cutting and assembling at home to hardcore industrial steel welding and plasma cutting, these works reveal a little about the TLSers distinct sensibilities and temperaments, their predilections and interests. They also encourage us to take a little time out to consider the potential and possibilities of the most mundane objects surrounding our everyday lives.

Opening night was choc-a-block on April 16th at the Annexe Gallery, Central Market as guests from theatreland and beyond showed up in droves to catch TLS09’s stellar line up as well as “SEVEN SKINS”, a dance performance choreographed by the formidable Aida Redza, featuring Anne James, Foo Chi Wei, Hailizan Mahmoon (Aida’s mum who graciously performed the Terinai) Shafirul Azmi Suhaimi, Suhaili Micheline Ahmad Kamil, Sukarji Sriman and Aida’s good self with music by Hardesh Singh.

(from left) Sukarji Sriman, Suhaili Micheline and Shafirul during Seven Skins performance in Loh Kok Man’s installation Light/Thought

Anne James interacting with Lisa Foo’s Lancelets, a headgear and selendang made from PET bottles and LEDs

We apologise for our scarce documentation of SEVEN SKINS as our cameras were blocked by the back of audiences’ heads. To make up for it, Nazim Esa has put together a wonderful video documentation of the dance as part of TLS09. Do check it out if you are keen to watch the performance. (AO)

Zainah Anwar and Carolyn Lau

Richard Lau

Bernard Chauly’s Muzium Lampu installation (detail)

Lisa Foo

Farah Azizan

Ahmad Fuad Osman

Carolyn Lau’s kitchen cabinet installation with Hangovers 1-7 on cabinet top and Tin Kosong inside

Bernard Chauly’s Agar-Agar LED glowing object from Muzium Lampu installation

Fabian Tan, Gu-light 4, Abandoned timber pallet, glass marbles, fluorescent lamp

Mah Su Sim’s Assorted Light Sculptures made with recycled PET bottles

Jazmi in front of his Strawmap interactive projection

TLSers are: Bernard Chauly, Carolyn Lau, Fabian Tan, Farah Azizan, Jazmi Izwan Jamal, Lisa Foo, Loh Kok Man, Mah Su Sim, and Richard Lau.

TLS09 runs from April 16 – May 3, 2009 at The Annexe Gallery, Central Market, Kuala Lumpur

The exhibition continues at Galeri Tenaga from May 7 – May 23, 2009

Galeri Tenaga is located on the Ground Floor of Wisma TNB, 19 Jalan Timur, Petaling Jaya. (Opening times:  10am – 5om Mon To Fri, and 10am – 2pm on Sat). Tel: 03-22966364 or 03-22966682 or 03-22966847

This project is made possible with the support of Krishen Jit-ASTRO Fund

With thanks to Galeri Tenaga, GDP Architects and Balai Seni Lukis Negara

Check out more images of TLS09 here and here

Natee Utarit, The Dwarf (2008)

Who can tell us which of Snow White’s acolytes this may be?

(in Tales of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow at Richard Koh Fine Art, KL)

It’s been an eventful September and October. The regional Art Market seems to have picked up, with a successful Sotheby’s Southeast Asian sale in Hong Kong, coloured by some supersize prices for people to talk about, and a couple of near sell-out shows at home in Kuala Lumpur. So people who are into the Art Market should feel a little more comfortable.

Chong Siew Ying, Jumping Dog in the Village (KIAS, Valentine Willie Fine Art, KL)

Natee Utarit, Alice in Ordinary Land (Tales of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, Richard Koh Fine Art, KL)

While I’ve wondered if 2009 might be a good year for galleries to keep a low profile, I’m pretty pleased to have caught a few great exhibitions these past two months.

Painting may remain predominant in contemporary regional practice, but when faced with such a proliferation of “up-and-coming” young painting talents (at times questionable), it’s good to be reminded why we continue to put faith in the medium. Phuan Thai Meng’s Made in Malaysia exhibition at VWFA KL in September was impressive – beautifully painted, carefully considered, with a strong and clever socio-political undercurrent. It’s really heartening to see this artist come into his own with a first major solo show of such sophistication and punch, a formidable talent bearing bountiful fruit.

Phuan Thai Meng, Artificial Fountain

Phuan Thai Meng, Rewards

During Raya break in Manila, I managed to find my way to the opening of Geraldine Javier’s Butterfly’s Tongue at West Gallery in Quezon City. Harrowing, exquisite, extraordinary, Javier has once again outdone herself in this ambitious show. Fascinating species of beetle glow darkly on rich floral embroideries in gilt frames, placed like referential insets on paintings about sacrifice, wonder, Pre-Raphaelite romance, madness. The show resounds with the mystery and romance of craft, manmade, natural, insidious, violent, while casting an interesting light on the mythical narrative of painting. Someone liked it so much that it has now moved across Metro Manila to Manila Contemporary in Makati for another run.

Geraldine Javier, The Perfect Blossom

The Perfect Blossom (detail)

Also while in Manila I made my first visit to SLab (Silverlens Lab) which was exhibiting Tears, Cuts and Ruptures: a Philippine Collage Review, cutting across influential veterans like Roberto Chabet and Gerardo Tan to young artists like Poklong Anading and MM Yu. We tend to forget the subtle pleasures of collage and assemblage, and these Filipino artists possess the wit, bravado and that eye for the esoteric that make the old-fashioned cut-and-paste well worth poring over.

Down in Singapore for the art fair, Agus Suwage’s CIRCLE at STPI made my trip – Suwage’s sensibility really seems to have gelled with the project, playing off the wide range of technical possibilities of print and paper and the strategies of reproduction, as well as the whole high-end glamour element of STPi (Suwage used his controversial work Pink Swing Park – and his original model for that installation, Izabel Jahja – as a springboard for the project). Very cool, very yummy, very desirable.

Agus Suwage, Self Dot 1

Agus Suwage, Rain Dot 1

(BY)

Wiyoga Muhardanto, Buy One Get One Free

Our favourite at this year’s Jakarta Biennale, ARE(N)A (see previous post). Aptly located near the new Harvey Nichols store at Grand Indonesia mall.

RogueArt are project managers for a major new publication project on Malaysian art – Narratives in Malaysian Art, an initiative of a group of editors and writers. Please come for Talk the Walk: A Discussion on Narratives in Malaysian Art on Saturday 5th December at 6pm at 19 Jalan Berangan, to launch the project. Hasnul Jamal Saidon from the editorial team will be providing some musical entertainment, with special guest artists!

Download the invite PDF.

For more info on the project, please go to our Publications page.

Jakarta bisa. Jakarta can. The Jakarta Biennale and our three-day trip to the Indonesian capital proved a real inspiration in these times of cynicism and economic despair.

Biennale entrance at Galeri Nasional

I thoroughly enjoyed the Biennale in the two leisurely afternoons it took us to cover it. It was, if anything, somewhat short and sweet. Despite severe budget limitations, which have meant that each of its main components have lasted for just a month or less, it was a meaningful experience. With a curatorial team headed by Ruang Rupa co-founder Ade Darmawan, ARE(N)A takes Jakarta, and then Southeast Asia in the world, as its playground, without any grandstanding. I loved both the modesty and clarity of the curatorial approach and the earnestness of its objectives.

A “Zone of Understanding” comprises of outreach projects around the city using dance, performance, children’s art and my favourite idea, “Belles-Lettres in The City” (Jakarta Literary Festival) where poetry, literary and archival news quotations manifest as thought-provoking writing on Jakarta’s walls. In the “Battle Zone”, young Indonesian artists/designers and collectives (who, from their profiles, seem all to double as engineers, musicians, creative directors, film-makers) do their bit with ‘public art’,  taking over the streets, billboards, monument, football grounds and train stations; it also included the biennial Jakarta 32 “contest” for art students.

Angki Purbandono

Sadly arriving towards the end of the Biennale meant that we could only catch in person “Fluid Zones”, the central visual art element, which maps Southeast Asian artists under 40 and also works by other international artists made during recent residencies in the region. (We have to declare a vested interest – Adeline is a Networking Curator for this project). Curator Agung Hujatnikajennong from Selasar Sunaryo has pulled together a tight and revealing show spread over the Galeri Nasional and the new mall Grand Indonesia, leading us intuitively through the rough and tumble of Southeast Asian chaos via subtle thematic and strategic resonances. There was no shock-and-awe, and nothing in particular quite blew my mind (also perhaps due to familiarity with many of the artists and some of the works), but the overall sense of engagement, the intimacy and personal commitment of the show as a whole had me sold.

Handiwirman Saputra

Jompet

My hot picks would be in no specific order 1) Phil Collins’ ‘Duniatak akan mendengar’ (The World Won’t Listen) with its disturbingly convincing Morrissey would-bes (I almost sang along), 2) Handiwirman Saputra’s visceral wood and rubber installation Exterior, Inside View – Interior, Outside View (you have to not want to touch to understand), 3) Wiyoga Muhardanto’s fleshy objects, especially the nippled handbags of “Buy One Get One Free”, 4) Jompet’s wild feat of electrical engineering “Java’s Machine: Phantasmagoria”, 5) Malaysia’s own Roslisham Ismail (Ise)’s animated story of the legendary warrior Hang Tuah (“HI-S-TORY”) which was hilarious and 6) Craig Walsh’s ‘Incursion’ video in which a live seafood dinner takes over a cafe as it slowly drowns, in a window of the fancy food court of Grand Indonesia.

Roslisham Ismail (Ise)

Phil Collins

‘Fluid Zones’ ends on 27 February. A final component of the Biennale, ‘Territories and Boundaries Photo Exhibition’ curated by Farah Wardani, runs from March 29- April 11 at Galeri Cipta III, Taman Ismail Marzuki. Visit www.jakartabiennale.com.

Unlike Rachel in Paris, we actually spent just as much time eating, (drinking) and shopping in Jakarta. Our first stop in fact was the Made-in-Indonesia store Alun Alun where we happed on “Indonesia Hari Ini”, a mini survey of the local creative industry. There were cutting-edge often recycled design samples by initiatives like UNKL347 and Toimoi – we hope they’ll soon appear at Rogue-ish.

Adityayoga, Indonesia Hari Ini

We sampled generously the avant-garde cocktails and menu at Potato Head, graced by Eko Nugroho’s mural works, and apparently entirely constructed of found objects, the new brainchild of gallerists Jason Goenawan and Ronald Akili, and chef Sandra. We want one in Kuala Lumpur, but pigs are yet to fly (speaking of which look out for a new feature film by Edwin, Blind Pig Who Wants to Fly, slated for a number of international film festivals this year).

Potato Head

Even as the auction houses reel from the world financial crisis, with Fortune Auction (Borobudur Auction re-invented) holding a no-reserve sale this coming weekend (1 March), the gallery scene seems to be resilient and calendars busy. Curator-turned-artist manager/dealer says it’s business as usual. A new Menteng Art Space is on the horizon. We caught a long-awaited show by Bunga Jeruk at Edwin Gallery in Kemang, and another long-time-coming exhibition, by Yuli Prayitno should be up in the next couple of months, after their big Filipino artists show in collaboration with Valentine Willie Fine Art for which Adeline is moonlighting as Curator.

Bunga Jeruk

Outside the commercial gallery scene, the Jendela Group is in Singapore for a major show, A Play of the Ordinary at NUS Museum, curated by Enin Supriyanto. Nearer to home group member Jumaldi Alfi launches a new residency in Yogyakarta for researchers and curators in March.

All this in the midst of election fever in Indonesia. Obviously the Indonesian creative community has long learned to rise above political chaos and economic strife. Come April and the Legislative Elections, we’ll be far more excited about Agus Suwage’s Retrospective held in conjunction with his 50th birthday at Jogja National Museum and his new monograph. (BY)