Heri Dono

Heri Dono
Installation
Heri Dono stands out as one of the most profilic contributors to what the international art community over the last 25 years has chosen to coin New Internationalism; Being understood as a new generation of artists challenging the Western hegemony to contemporary art. He is also an internationally successful representative of a new generation of Indonesian artists respecting and representing the local, while fusing it with the contemporary. This seen in contrast to Indonesian artists who in the 70s and 80s, under the banner of New Art Movement, chose to set local influences aside in favour of a Western modern mode of expression. Heri Dono was born in Yogyakarta on the south of Java in 1960. The city Yogya has a society rooted in traditional Javanese culture, still headed by a sultanate representing centuries upon centuries of heritage. It is however also the centre of contemporary Javanese and Indonesian art, hosting a community richly fusing the elements. Heri Dono studied at the Yogyakarta Indonesian Institute of Arts from 1980-87 and from 1987-88 wayang kulit (traditional shadow puppetry theatre) under the master Sukasman. He started as a painter, of a generation recognisable for bringing traditional elements clearly associated to wayang figurative elements together with elements of the Western modernism of post-expressionism and cubism. Dono brought with him a playful dedication to cartoon animation, of which he had some practical background. He soon moved on into doing installations, performances and working with video and sound. International fame and recognition came with the next decade, bringing Dono’s works to international biennales and recognised museums and galleries around the globe. For this first presentation of Heri Dono in Oslo, the mixed media installations Free-DOM and Interrogation cover the range of the artist’s work. His installations more than anything else, have won him his international reputation. They are typically figures of ambigous nature joined with low-tech machinery filling the gallery space with sinister quirky sounds, playing on one hand with traditional associative phenomenas and on the other hand with uncomfortable political implications. Wayang – shadow puppet theatre – is present in all of Dono’s work, implicitly or direct. Wayang is normally limited to expressing themes from the classical texts of Mahabharata and Ramayana, typically moulded through improvisation to be a medium of social comment. Dono has accordingly adopted the medium as his core element, taking its metaphorical ability to new territories of social and political comment. In a world inviting urban culture conformity, Heri Dono stands with one leg in the future, being distinctly local and conscious about it. Moreover, he’s proving his point in the most renown exhibition rooms around. Representing his city Yogya versus the urban pulse of Jakarta, Dono stands with a reflected position in the dialogue between the rural and the urban, between the traditional and the modern. Text by Brynjar Bjerkem
Curriculum Vitae Education, (formal and non formal) 2004 Fellowship for Curatorial Work, IfA Institute Stuttgart, in Ethnology Museum Berlin, Germany 2004 Sound Art Seminar, Kunstakademiet, Bergen, Norway 2004 Workshop with DIDA Escola de Musica, Salvador, Bahia, Brasil 2003 Contemporary Asian Art Forum, Link, Platform, Networks, Asian Art Archive, Hong Kong 2002 University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia. 1999 Cyfuniad International Artists Workshop, Wales, England 1987-88 Studied Wayang Kulit with Sukasman in Yogyakarta, Indonesia 1980-87 Indonesian Institute of Arts (ISI), Yogyakarta, Indonesia Artist-in-Residencies 2005 Artist in Residence, Australia Indonesia Arts Alliance (A.I.A.A.), Byron Bay, Australia 2005 Artist in Residence, United Sardine Factory, (U.S.F.), Bergen, Norway 2005 Artist in Residence, Australian Print Workshop, Melbourne, Australia 2003 Artist in Residence in Australian Print Workshop, Melbourne, Australia 2002 Artist in Residence in the International Institute of Education, Singapore 2002 Artist in Residence in the Queensland College of Arts and the Queensland 2002 Artist in Residence in Western front, Vancouver, Canada 2000 Artist in Residence in Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, USA 1999 Artist in Residence in Auckland University, Auckland, New Zealand 1999 Artist in Residence in Queensland Art College, Brisbane, Australia 1996 Artist in Residence in Townsville, North Queensland, Australia 1995 Artist in Residence in Museum of Modern Art Oxford with Institute of International Visual Art, London, England 1994 Artist in Residence in Canberra School of Arts, Canberra, Australia 1993 Artist in Residence in 24 Hours Art Gallery, Darwin, NT, Australia 1990-91 International Artists Exchange Program, Basel, Switzerland Selected Solo Exhibitions 2006 Civilization Oddness, Walsh Gallery, Chicago, USA 2006 The Broken Angels, Gertrude contemporary art spaces, Victoria, Australia 2005 Free-D.O.M., 3,14 Stiftelsen, Bergen, Norway 2004 Who’s Afraid of Donosaurus?, National Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia 2002 Heri Dono A Spiritual Journey, Galeri Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia 2002 Heri Dono, Australian Print Workshop, Melbourne, Australia 2002 Up Side Down Mind, Circle Point Art Space, Washington DC, U.S.A. 2002 Re-working Tradition, Singapore Art Museum and Nanyang Technology University, Singapore 2002 Free D.O.M., Bentara Budaya Jakarta, Indonesia 2002 Heri Provokes Heri, Nadi Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia 2002 Interrogation, Center A, Vancouver, Canada 2001 Fortress of the Heart, Gajah Gallery, Singapore 2001 Trap’s outer Rim, Cemeti Art House, Yogyakarta, Indonesia 2000 Humor Rumor in The Republic of Cartoon, Nadi Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia 2000 Dancing Demons and Drunken Deities, The Japan Foundation Forum, Tokyo, Japan 1999 Tirtara, French Cultural Center, Yogyakarta, Indonesia 1999 Virtual Reality, Erasmus Huis, Jakarta, Indonesia 1999 Mythical Monsters in Contemporary Society, Gajah Gallery, Singapore 1998 Tanah dari Merapi, French Cultural Center, Yogyakarta, Indonesia 1997 Blooming in Arms, Museum of Modern Art, Oxford, England 1993 The Chair, Canberra Contemporary Art Space, Australia 1991 Unknown Dimensions, Museum der Kulturen, Basel, Switzerland 1988 Bentara Budaya, Yogyakarta, Indonesia 1988 Mitra Budaya Indonesia Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia 1988 Cemeti Contemporary Art Gallery, Yogyakarta, Indonesia Selected Group Exhibitions 2005 Biennale Internazionale Dell’ Arte Contemporania di Firenze, Fortezza da Basso, Firenze, Italia. 2005 Urban Culture, CP Biennale, Museum of Bank Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia 2005 Equatorial Heat, Edwin Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia 2005 Licking the Ozone, Performance, Melbourne Fringe Festival, Lithuanian Club, Melbourne, Australia 2005 Floating Legacies, Selasar Sunaryo, Bandung, Indonesia 2005 Festival Inspirasi, Dewaruci, Performance Byron Bay, Australia 2005 About Beauty, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, Germany 2005 B.E.T.A. - 20 Post Electronic Art Performances, BIT Teatergarasjen, Bergen, Norway 2005 Exodus Barang, Nadi Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia 2005 Belonging, Sharjah International Biennale, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates 2004 Frankenstein versus Gatotkaca Performance, Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Museum of Ethnology, Berlin, Germany 2004 Z.O.U., Zone of Urgency, in Regge Calabria ( Villa Zenbi), Italy 2004 Equatorial Heat, Indonesian Painters Exhibition, Sichuan Museum, Chengdu, Sichuan, China 2004 The Angel Garden, Esplanade, Theatre on the Bay, Singapore 2004 Artists are making a House, Nijomachi Prefecture, Museum City Project, Fukuoka, Japan 2004 Olympiade, Nadi Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia 2004 Reformasi, Sculpture Square Singapore 2004 Do you believe in Reality?, 3rd Taipei Biennale, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan 2004 On the Edge, Indonesia and China Avant-garde, Pakubuwono Residence, Jakarta, Indonesia 2004 26th Sao Paulo Biennale, Territory Livre, Sao Paulo, Brasil 2004 4th Art Summit Indonesia 2004, Performing and Visual Arts, National Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia 2004 Land Under the Rainbow, Cultural Olympiad, Benaki Contemporary Art Museum, Athens, Greece 2004 2nd Enku Grand Award Exhibition, the Museum of Fine Arts Gifu, Japan 2002 Running Puppet, performance, The Survival and Innovation of Crafts, Royal Palace Amsterdam, The Netherlands 2002 Kado, Nadi Gallery Jakarta, Indonesia 2002 Zaman Edan, Bentara Budaya Yogyakarta, Indonesia 2002 CP Open Biennale, National Gallery Jakarta, Indonesia 2002 Public Art Project, Muza Concert Hall, Kawasaki, Japan 2002 Country-bution, Yogyakarta Art Biennale, Taman Budaya, Yogyakarta, Indonesia 2002 Happiness, Mori Art Museum, Roppongi, Tokyo, Japan 2002 The Eyes, Nadi Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia 2002 Crossing Boundaries, Bali: A window to Twentieth Century Indonesian Art, travel exhibition, Asia Society Australasia Centre, Melbourne, Australia 2002 2nd Echigo Tsummari Art Triennial, Niigata, Japan 2002 Zone of Urgency, Venice Biennale, Italy 2002 Imagining Prometheus, Palazzo della Regione e Loggia dei Mercanti, Milano, Italy 2002 EPIC, Gajah Gallery, Singapore 2002 Budaya Bumi Berbudaya, Museum Benteng Vredenburg, Yogyakarta, Indonesia 2002 Summer Spectacular APT Kids, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia 2002 4th Asia-Pcific Triennial, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia 2002 ARCO, Madrid, Spain 2002 Asian Vibe, EAAC, Valencia, Spain 2002 Awas, Recent Art from Indonesia, Pruss & Ochs Gallery, Asian Fine Arts, Berlin, Germany 2002 Swischen Tradition und Moderne Junge Kunstler aus Indonesien, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Museen Dahlem, Kunst und Kulturen der Welt Ethnologisches Museum, Berlin, Germany 2002 The Wild of Imagination, Langgeng Gallery, Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia 2002 Interrogation, shadow-play, Western Front Society, Vancouver, Canada 2001 Pink Project, Nadi Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia 2001 Awas, Recent Art from Indonesia, W 139 Amsterdam, The Netherlands; traveled to Ludwig Forum Aachen and Koln, Germany 2001 Unpacking Europe, Museum Boijmann van Boningen, Rotterdam, The Netherlands 2001 Membaca Frida Kahlo, Nadi Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia 2001 Artists Commission, The Asia Society, New York, USA 2001 Floating Chimeras, Edsvik von Culture, Sollantuna, Sweden 2001 Yokohama Triennale, Yokohama, Japan 2000 International Art Biennale, Museum of Shanghai, Shanghai, China 2000 Havana Biennale, Pavillion de Cuba, Havana, Cuba 2000 Awas, Recent Work from Indonesia, Museum in Hokaido, Osaka and Fukuoka, Japan 2000 Fuori Uso, Pescara, Italy 2000 Humanism in Art, Volkunkundig Museum Nusantara, Delft, The Netherlands 2000 12 Asian Artists, National Art Gallery, Kualalumpur, Malaysia 2000 Sonic Boom, Hayward Gallery, London, UK 1999 Tachikawa Art Festival, Tachikawa Perfecture, Tokyo, Japan 1999 Awas, Recent Work from Indonesia, Museum Vredeburg, Yogyakarta; traveled to CCA., Melbourne and Canberra, Australia 1999 Makasar Art Forum '99, Ujung Pandang, South Sulawesi, Indonesia 1999 Sound Culture, Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand 1999 Knalpot, Fine Arts Exhibition, Cemeti Art House, Yogyakarta, Indonesia 1999 Cities on the Move, Louisiana Museum of Moderne Kunst, Humlebaek, Denmark and Hayward Gallery, London, England; traveled to Kiasma, Helsinki, Finland 1999 Media dalam Media, National Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia 1999 6th Yogyakarta Biennial, Purna Budaya, Yogyakarta, Indonesia 1998 50th Anniversary of Human Rights, Boijmann Museum of Art, Rotterdam, The Netherlands 1998 Tradition/Tension, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth Cultural Center, Perth, Australia; traveled to Taipei Museum of Modern Art, Taipei 1998 Images of Power, Expressions of Cultural and Social Awareness in South East Asia, Jakarta International School, Jakarta, Indonesia 1998 Resurrection of Topos 3, Collaboration between artists and architects, Toyama Shimin Plaza, Toyama, Japan 1997 A Gift for India, New Delhi, India 1997 Cities on the Move, Secession Vienna, Austria 1997 Asian Contemporary Art, Base Gallery, Tokyo, Japan 1997 Resurrection of Topos 3, Hillside Gallery, Tokyo, Japan 1997 Exploring the Future of the Imagination, The Intercommunication Center, Tokyo, Japan 1997 Innensite, Projektgruppe Stoffwechsel, Kassel, Germany 1997 Sounding Sphere, Harima Science Garden City Opening, Hyogo Perfecture, Japan 1996 Universalis, 23rd Bienal Internacional Sao Paulo, Brazil 1996 The Spiritual and The Social, Nine Artists from Thailand, Indonesia and The Philippines, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane (touring exhibition), Australia 1996 Tradition/Tension, Contemporary Art in Asia, The Asia Society, New York, USA 1996 Drawing, Institute of International Visual Arts, London, England 1996 The Huid van De Witte Dame, Arctic Foundation, Eindhoven, The Netherlands 1996 Jurassic Technologies, 10th Biennial of Sidney 1996, Art Gallery of South Wales Sidney, Australia 1996 Orientation, Stedelijk Museum de Lakenhal, Leiden, The Netherlands 1996 Modernity and Beyond, National Museum of Modern Art, Singapore 1995 Beyond the Border, 1st Kwangju Biennial 1995, Kwangju, Korea 1995 Unity in Diversity: Contemporary Art of the Non-Align Countries, National Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia 1995 Vision of Happiness, The Japan Foundation Art Forum, ASEAN Culture Center, Akasaka, Tokyo, Japan 1994 Super Suburb, Museum City Tenjin ’94, Fukuoka, Japan 1994 Realism as an Attitude, 4th Asia Art Show Fukuoka, Fukuoka Art Museum, Fukuoka, Japan 1994 9th Asian International Art Exhibition, National Museum of History, Taipei 1994 The Jakarta International Art Exhibition 1994, The Indonesian Fine Arts Foundation, Indonesia 1994 Kuda Binal, Performance 24-HR Art Gallery, Northern Territory Center for Contemporary Art, Darwin, Australia 1994 Adelaide Installations, Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia 1993 9th Jakarta Biennial, Taman Ismail Marzuki, Jakarta, Indonesia 1993 1st Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia 1993 International Festival of Puppetry in the World, Taman Budaya, Yogyakarta, Indonesia 1993 Indonesian Modern Art: Indonesian Painting since 1945, Gate Foundation, De Oude Kerk, Amsterdam, The Netherlands 1992 New Art from Southeast Asia 1992, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Space; traveled to Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Osaka, Japan 1992 Kuda Binal, Performance, Alun-Alun Utara, Yogyakarta, Indonesia 1992 7th Asian International Art Exhibition, Gedung Merdeka, Bandung, Indonesia 1992 Sanggar Dewata: Indonesian Art Exhibition, Museum Nyoman Gunarsa, Yogyakarta Indonesia 1991 Destructive Images, Performance, Seni Sono Gallery and Malioboro, Yogyakarta, Indonesia 1991 Wayang Top, Performance, International Culture Camp Desa Apuan, Tabanan, Bali, Indonesia 1991 Man and Human Expression, Tropen Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands 1991 Wayang: From Gods to Bart Simpson, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada 1991 Sama-Sama, Centrum Beeldende Kunst Oosterpoort, Groningen, The Netherlands ; traveled to Tillburg, The Netherlands, Yogyakarta and Jakarta, Indonesia 1990 Modern Indonesian Art: Three Generations of Change, 1945-1990, Festival of Indonesia 1990, Sewall Gallery, Rice University, Houston; travelled to San Diego, Oakland, Seattle and Honolulu, USA 1989 Indonesia Competitive Exhibition of Young Indonesian Artists, Institute of Technology Bandung (ITB), Bandung, Indonesia 1989 Wayang Imaginative, Performance, Mendut Temple, Central Java, Indonesia 1988 Hedendaagsde Indonesische Kunst, Volkenkundig Museum Nusantara, Delf, The Netherlands 1988 Wayang Legenda (shadow play), Seni Sono Gallery, Yogyakarta, Indonesia 1987 Three Indonesian Artists, De Schone Kunsten, Heemstede, The Netherlands 1987 Sandiwa, Kulay-Diwa Art Galleries/Cultural Center of the Philippines, Manila, The Philippines 1986 Experimental Music and Visual Art, Seni Sono Gallery, Yogyakarta, Indonesia 1986 5th Biennial of Indonesian Young Artists, Taman Ismail Marzuki, Jakarta, Indonesia 1985 3rd ASEAN Youth Artists Exhibition, ISI, Yogyakarta, Indonesia 1984 4th Biennial of Indonesian Young Artists, Taman Ismail Marzuki, Jakarta, Indonesia 1982 Art on the Environment, Parangtritis Beach, Yogyakarta, Indonesia Honorary positions 2005 The International Jury of the XI Triennale India; New Delhi, India Honor and Awards 2002 Yogyakarta Art Prize, Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, Indonesia 2002 2nd Annual Enku Grand Awards, Gifu Perfectural Government, Japan 2000 Unesco Prize for the International Art Biennale, Shanghai, China 1998 Prince Claus Award, The Netherlands 1992 Gusti Nyoman Lempad Prize, Sanggar Dewata Indonesia, Yogyakarta, Indonesia 1989 Young Indonesian Artists, L' Alliance Francaise and Institute of Technology Bandung (ITB), Bandung, Indonesia 1985 The Best Painting Awards, Indonesia Institute of Arts, Yogyakarta, Indonesia 1981 The Best Painting Awards, Indonesia Institute of Arts, Yogyakarta, Indonesia Public Collections Artoteek Den Haag, The Hague, The Netherlands Cemeti Contemporary Art Gallery, Yogyakarta, Indonesia Fukuoka Art Museum, Fukuoka, Japan Indonesian Institute of Arts, Yogyakarta, Indonesia The Intercommunication Center, Tokio, Japan Kirishima Contemporary Open-Air Art Museum, Japan Museum der Kulturen, Basel, Switzerland Nadi Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia National Gallery, Canberra, Australia Okinawa Art Museum, Okinawa, Japan Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia Singapore Art Museum, Singapore Stedelijk Museum de Lakenthal, Leiden, The Netherlands Selected Bibliography 2001 Sindhunata, Rire d’homme entre deux toiles, in: Courrier International (Jan. 4 – 10, 2001) 2000 Mulyadi, Efix, and Redana, Bre, Lebih Jauh dengan Heri Dono, in: Kompas (Oct. 8, 2000) 2000 Sindhunata, Hidup untuk Tertawa, in: Basis (Sept. – Oct. 2000) 1995 Shimizu, Toshio, Visions of Happiness – Ten Asian Contemporary Artists (ex. cat.), The Japan Foundation, Tokyo, Japan 1994 Ushiroshoji, Masahiro, 4th Asian Art Show Fukuoka – Realism as an Attitude (ex. cat.), Fukuoka Art Museum, Japan 1994 Wright, Astri, Soul, Spirit and Mountain: Preoccupation of Contemporary Indonesian Painters, New York 1993 Wright, Astri, Drinking from the Cup of Tradition, Modern Art in Yogyakarta, in: Indonesian Painting Since 1945, exhibition catalogue, Gate Foundation, Amsterdam 1993 McFarlene, Jenny, Heri Dono’s The Chair, in: Muse (Nov. 1993) 1993 Supangkat, Jim, Wajah Seni Rupa Asia Pasifik, in: Tempo (Oct. 16, 1993) 1993 Musa Helen, Veiled Political Performance, in: The Canberra Times, Canberra (Oct. 15,1993) 1993 Geh, Linda, The Last of the Asian Shamans, in: Sunday Star (Oct. 10, 1993) 1993 Virgo, Ann, Heri Dono – The Chair, in: Canberra Contemporary Art Space, Canberra (Oct. 1993) 1993 Dwi Marianto, Martinus, The Experimental Artist Heri Dono from Yogyakarta and His ‘Visual Art’ Religion, in: Art Monthly Australia (Oct. 1993), p. 21 – 24 1993 Supangkat, Jim, The First Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (ex. cat.), Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia 1993 Supangkat, Jim, Indonesian Report: A Different Modern Art, in: Art and Asia Pacific (Sept. 1993), p. 20 – 24 1993 Alternative Approches for Artistic Expression, in: Brisbane Review Asia-Pacific Liftout (Sept.16, 1993) 1992 Daniswara, Ugeng T. Kartunal, Lukisan-Lukisan Heri Dono, in: Laras 46 (Oct. 1992) 1992 Fadjri R., Gebu Yogya 1992 – Terobosan Kuda Binal, in: Tempo (Aug. 8, 1992) 1991 Duerst, Renata, Menschenzertreter, in: Baseler Zeitung (Oct. 24, 1991) 1991 Spanjaard, Helena, Sama-Sama, in: Maandbeeld, Centrum Beeldende Kunst Groningen (no. 5, May 1991) 1991 Sakonakan, Yuko, New Art from South East Asia 1992 (ex. cat.), the Japan Foundation, Tokyo (Feb. 1991) 1991 Waldmann, Thomas, Eine Figurenwelt mit Indonesischen Wurzeln, in: Baseler Zeitung (Jan. 17, 1991) 1991 Ramseyer, Urs, Heri Dono – Unknown Dimensions, in: Die Museen in Basel (no. 344, 1991) 1991 Wright, Astri, Indonesia in the 1980s, in: Art Monthly Australia (no. 14, June 1991) 1998 Wright, Astri, Dono Tries to Expand the Use of ‘Wayang’ Puppets, in: Jakarta Post (Oct. 6, 1988) 1998 Wright, Astri, Artist Espouses Laughter and Humour, in: Jakarta Post (Jun. 16, 1988)

Heri Dono

Curriculum Vitae