Antony Micallef, ‘Raw Intent No.6’, 2016. Image courtesy Pearl Lam Galleries

The sophomore edition of Art Stage Jakarta will take place from August 11 to 13 at Sheraton Grand Jakarta Gandaria City Hotel, owned by major Indonesian art collector Alex Tedja.

The art fair, this year with Bank Mandiri as main sponsor, continues to be driven by Indonesian collectors. The fair’s Board of Art Patrons continues to be led by President Deddy Kusama, with Tom Tandio at the helm of Board of Young Collectors. This year, there will additionally be a new Board of Friends, representing Indonesian high society, led by Maria Lukito.

Lorenzo Rudolf, Founder and President of Art Stage Singapore and Jakarta continues to build the two art fairs as premier events in the Southeast Asian art scene, with the upcoming one in Jakarta zooming in on art and the people in the Indonesian art scene . “Art Stage Jakarta 2017 offers visitors the platform to explore the artistic connections among Southeast Asian countries and discover cross-market opportunities,” says Rudolf. “And of course, it presents an unparalleled experience of Indonesian contemporary art and personal encounters with the country’s community of collectors, artists and galleries.”

Given its focus on the Indonesian art scene, approximately two dozen Indonesian galleries will be participating at the fair from Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Bandung, Surabaya and Semarang, with many galleries returning to the fair after a successful outing in the first. Jakartan galleries lead the pack, including Nadi Gallery, ROH Projects, D Gallerie, Rachel Gallery and CAN’s Gallery.

Faisal Habibi, ‘This Thing #17’, 2017. Image courtesy ROH Projects

Tommy Sutomo, founder of CAN’s Gallery, says “ The first edition of Art Stage was good for us and I believe good for everyone as well. We hope that the second edition will bring more collectors and institutions from abroad to Jakarta.” He added that he thought it was important for galleries in Indonesia, especially the ones in Jakarta, to support the event.  

Semarang Gallery, which had one of the most interesting booths at the first edition showcasing work from Indonesian artists such as Eko Nugroho, Samsul Arifin, M. Irfan, Lugas Syallbus and Bestrizal Bestia, will be returning as well. “The first edition of Art Stage Jakarta showed that for the first time, Indonesia is capable of having an international-standard art fair,” says gallerist Chris Darmawan.

Fair visitors can look forward to discovering the best of art from not only Indonesia but also the rest of Southeast Asia, with the fair consisting of approximately 50 galleries in all. Number1Gallery from Bangkok will present the young Thai artist Kittisak Thapkoa. FOST Gallery, which had previously brought only the works of Jimmy Ong, will be introducing to Indonesian collectors a wider selection of the gallery’s artists, including Heman Chong, Donna Ong, Jimmy Ong, Wyn-Lyn Tan. “I hope to continue to build on the connections that were established at last year’s inaugural Art Stage Jakarta,” says gallery founder Stephanie Fong.

Kittisak Thapkoa, ‘Fact of Life 4’ (detail view), 2016. Image courtesy Number1Gallery

Mizuma Gallery, with spaces in Singapore and Tokyo, will be in attendance again as well. “For this second edition of the art fair, we hope to introduce artworks by Singaporean and Japanese artists to the local audience, and to present works by Indonesian artists alongside international names,” says gallery manager Theresia Irma. “We would like to maintain our presence in Indonesia, and Art Stage Jakarta will be the perfect venue and occasion for this.”. She added, “As envisioned by Mr Mizuma Sueo, the founder of the gallery, we hope to create a new vector of dialogue within Asia by promoting art and cultural exchange between Singapore, Japan, and Indonesia”.

In the same spirit, Whitestone Gallery, another Japanese gallery located in Hong Kong and Taipei aside from Japan, will bring works of well-known artists Yayoi Kusama and Yoshitomo Nara, as well as the Gutai Group, exhibiting masterpieces of artists including Kazuo Shiraga, Atsuko Tanaka, Shozo Shimamoto and Tsuyoshi Maekawa. “As a faithful participant of Art Stage, Whitestone Gallery looks forward to witnessing the art fair’s successful experience in Singapore being transferred to Jakarta and its unique Asian representation continues to grow in the world,” says exhibition manager Muchi Shaw. “We are also excited that Whitestone Gallery may bring to Jakarta a sophisticated Japanese aesthetic spirit.”

Yayoi Kusama, ‘Untitled’, 1991. Image courtesy Whitestone Gallery

There will also be galleries from Asia participating in the art fair with Indonesian artists. As an example, Edouard Malingue Gallery from Hong Kong and Shanghai will include in their booth Tromarama, established in 2006 in Bandung by Febie Babyrose, Ruddy Hatumena and Herbert Han, and known for their multimedia work responding to contemporary urban culture, primarily through video art. The gallery has worked closely with the Indonesian art collective in recent years, presenting their first solo exhibition in Hong Kong, ‘Panoramix’, back in 2015. One of the works at the booth, ‘Mirage’ was presented at the Liverpool Biennale Fringe in 2016.

Art Stage Jakarta has also unveiled a shortlist of nominees for its inaugural Indonesian Award for Authenticity, Leadership, Excellence, Quality, Seriousness in Art. The 13 award categories will be judged by an “academy” of between 100 and 200 recognised individuals within the Indonesian art scene. Nominees include Indonesian representative for the Venice Biennale 2017 Tintin Wulia for Best Artist and Bandung-based gallery Lawangwangi for Best Gallery.

This edition of Art Stage Jakarta will also feature a forum on issues faced by countries in twenty-first century Southeast Asia. Other highlights include a segment titled ‘Off the Wall’, an exhibition featuring urban art from Europe and Southeast Asia, juxtaposed against each other, as well as a special interactive art project, ‘Transform and Undisplay’ by emerging collective Double Deer, that will combine elements of art, science and music.

Double Deer, ‘Transform’, 2017.

Watch the teaser video here. More information at artstage.com/jakarta/site/home

This story is updated from the original version that appeared in the Jun-Aug issue of ART REPUBLIK.