Indonesian Art

“According to the theory of entropy we may presuppose that the condition of disorder we have today in modern life is not a negative symptom…”. These are the words of Jim Supangkat, an authoritative Indonesian critic and curator, in the introduction to this book which investigates the contemporary art scene in his country through the work of ten key artists. Similar to the artistic production of other Asian scenes – China and India especially – Indonesia celebrates chaos as, precisely, a globalised symptom that is not necessarily lacking in expressive possibilities. In fact Supangkat continues: “When chaos reaches its critical point the process of decadence and the conditions of disorder are concluded and a new substance takes shape, with a level of order that is wholly different from what existed previously…”. artists: Gede Mahendra Yasa, Handiwirman Saputra, F.X. Harsono, Ichwan Noor, Haris Purnomo, Rudi Mantofani, Wayan Sija, Yuli Prayitno, Agus Suwage, Entang Wiharso.