Maryanto at Gillaman Barracks, Singapore. ‘Tales of the Gold Mountain’, acrylic on canvas (201)2. Photo Courtesy of the artist. Maryanto
Maryanto (1977) currently resides in Yogyakarta, having previously completed his study in Fine Arts at Indonesian Institute of the Art (ISI) and a residency at the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam. His early work captured double-sided realities – the overlapping realities of the international contemporary world, and postcolonial, recently neoliberal Indonesia. It also addressed Indonesia’s local figurative art- and craftsmanship- dominated art scene, through the lens of his fine-art training, personal reflections and resources. In addition to his artistic practice, Maryanto has worked for the NGO Anak Wayang Indonesia. His role as a social worker evoked a deep understanding of society, that can be felt in his artistic practice.
Selected solo and group exhibitions include: Meru / Fractured Paradise, Tabula Rasa Gallery, London (2023); 16Albermarle, Sydney (2023); MAIIAM Contemporary Art Museum, Thailand (2021); Jogja National Museum, Yogyakarta (2020); Yeo Workshop, Singapore (2019, 2017 and 2015); the 2nd Industrial Biennale, Labin, Croatia (2018); Framer Framed, Amsterdam (2018); Koganei Art Spot Chateau, Tokyo (2018); Setouchi Triennale, Naoshima, Japan (2016); Samstag Museum of Art, Adelaide; the Asia Culture Centre, Gwangju; the Bozar Centre for Fine Arts, Brussels (2017); Singapore Art Museum (2015); Jakarta and Jogja Biennales, Indonesia (2015); Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam, Amsterdam; Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten, Amsterdam; ArtAffairs, Amsterdam; and Heden, Den Haag (2013).
His works are in the public collection of Kadist Foundation, Tropen Museum (Netherlands), Macan Museum (Indonesia), among others.
At Framer Framed Maruanto participated in the group exhibition Pressing Matters (2018) curated by Kevin van Braak. His work on the Pentagonal Icositetrahedron is inspired by Maryanto’s previous work called Banyu Mas, which literally means ‘golden water’ and simultaneously refers to the name of a city in Central Java. The roots of Maryanto and his family are in this city of Banyumas, which has a river famous for its gold. Many people have come to mine gold from this river in the past. With the number of gold miners growing explosively, the river was becoming more and more damaged. Anxious to save the river, at some point local people forbade the miners to mine any more gold. From this story, Maryanto reflects on the basic values in life. History shows that rivers are one of the core elements of human civilisation, from the era of Mesopotamia until Babylon. The artist’s message is therefore to take better care of our rivers: they are more vital to us than gold.
Exhibitions
