Tiffany Chung, Heri Dono, FX Harsono, Sopheap Pich, Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook, Agus Suwage, Yee I-Lann, Manuel Ocampo
Sunshower: Contemporary Art From Southeast Asia 1980s To Now
Group Exhibition
Mori Art Museum and the National Art Center, Tokyo
Tokyo, Japan (through October 23, 2017)
"What to See in New York Art Galleries This Week"
The New York Times, September 2017
“‘The Unwanted Population,’ Ms. Chung’s solo show at Tyler Rollins, is an engrossing survey of work she’s produced over the past few years combining factual material (news reports, archival photographs, interviews) and fine-grained aesthetics. Her “Syria Project,” a highlight of the 2015 Venice Biennale, encapsulates statistical data on chemical warfare, refugee camps and ruined cities in that tortured nation in exquisitely drawn and painted maps that could be mistaken for floral still lifes.” – Holland Cotter
“Here Are 51 New York Gallery Shows That You Need to (Somehow) See This September”
Artnet News, September 2107
“The current refugee crisis has inspired Tiffany Chung to create cartographic work that documents the displacement of people around the globe. Based on extensive academic research and ethnographic fieldwork, Chung’s drawings serve as historical records as well as visual objects.” – Sarah Cascone
“FX Harsono on ‘Brilliant Ideas’”
Bloomberg, September 2017
“FX Harsono has been a central figure of the Indonesian art scene for over four decades. He works across many mediums, experimenting with paintings, installations, film and performance art. Harsono was among the group of artists who founded the New Art Movement (Gerakan Seni Rupa Baru), which rejected Western techniques, and promoted a more conceptual and experimental approach.”
“Southeast Asia Stakes Its Claimin the Art World”
The New York Times, September 2017
“F.X. Harsono, perhaps the most prominent artist in contemporary Indonesia, is represented here by both earlier sculptural installations that took direct aim at the Suharto regime, as well as a more recent video. “The Voices Are Controlled by the Powers,” from 1994, consists of more than a hundred carefully arrayed wooden masks, but they’ve been chopped in half; their mouths are cut off and piled in the center. From the title on, it’s about as direct a protest against free speech as you can make without just hoisting a placard.” – Jason Farago
“Southeast Asia Stakes Its Claimin the Art World”
The New York Times, September 2017
“F.X. Harsono, perhaps the most prominent artist in contemporary Indonesia, is represented here by both earlier sculptural installations that took direct aim at the Suharto regime, as well as a more recent video. “The Voices Are Controlled by the Powers,” from 1994, consists of more than a hundred carefully arrayed wooden masks, but they’ve been chopped in half; their mouths are cut off and piled in the center. From the title on, it’s about as direct a protest against free speech as you can make without just hoisting a placard.” – Jason Farago
“Charcoal, Spices and Ink Color Preview of Museum MACAN”
Jakarta Globe, August 2017
“Internationally acclaimed painter F. X. Harsono – a member of the '70s Indonesian New Art Movement – was up next with his very first live performance of "Writing in the Rain." The piece was previously showcased as a video performance in 2011.” – Dhania Sarahtika
“A Watershed LGBTQ Art Show Opens in Taipei, With a Mission”
Artnet News, August 2017
“‘Spectrosynthesis – Asian LGBTQ Issues and Art Now,’ opening in September, has been in the works for two years… The exhibition will feature 51 works created by 22 artists from Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, and Singapore, over 50 years… Singapore’s Jimmy Ong will contribute two pieces from his “Ancestors on the Beach” series, based on a popular gay beach in Singapore that was targeted in the 1990s by undercover policemen posing as gay men.” – Sarah Cascone
“Taiwan to host LGBTQ show following landmark same-sex marriage ruling”
CNN Style, August 2017
“‘Spectrosynthesis – Asian LGBTQ Issues and Art Now,’ opening in September, has been in the works for two years… The exhibition will feature 51 works created by 22 artists from Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, and Singapore, over 50 years… Singapore’s Jimmy Ong will contribute two pieces from his “Ancestors on the Beach” series, based on a popular gay beach in Singapore that was targeted in the 1990s by undercover policemen posing as gay men.” – Sarah Cascone
“Arahmaiani stays true to herself”
The Jakarta Post, September 2017
“Arahmaiani was surprised to learn that her work, the painting Lingga-Yoni 1993, had returned home nearly 20 years after she sold it to a friend in Thailand… Earlier this year, museum MACAN director Aaron Seeto told her the museum had purchased the painting… ‘It is unbelievable! When Seeto said that I thought he was joking,’ said Arahmaiani, one of Indonesia’s most seminal and respected contemporary artists… Arahmaiani has held 21 solo exhibitions and has taken part in 96 group exhibitions around the world since 1980 but she will never forget Lingga-Yoni 1993.” – A. Kurniawan Ulung
“Museum MACAN first sight putting injustice into the spotlight”
The Jakarta Post, September 2017
“Arahmaiani, one of Indonesia’s most seminal and respected contemporary artists, was silent when asked to compare the country’s problems before and after the fall of the authoritarian New Order regime in 1998… During the 2nd First Sight program at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Nusantara (Museum MACAN), she performed Handle without Care to highlight instances of injustice, including religious intolerance… Previously performed in New York in 2008, Handle without Care is one of Arahmaiani’s most important works.” – A. Kurniawan Ulung
