Artist News | Indonesian artists Affandi and Fadjar Sidik to participate in the 60th Venice Biennale

Asia Art Center is honored to share that Indonesian veteran artists Affandi and Fadjar Sidik’s works will be exhibited at the 60th Venice Biennale. Curated by Adriano Pedrosa, the artistic director of the the Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand – MASP, this year’s Venice Biennale will be focusing on the theme Foreigners Everywhere, bringing together over 300 artists and teams to explore diversity in terms of race, gender, and nationality. The exhibition is divided into two main themes: Nucleo Contemporaneo (Contemporary Core) and Nucleo Storico (Historical Core). In this context, Indonesian artists such as Affandi and Fadjar Sidik are exhibited under the historical theme.

Both Affandi and Fadjar Sidik are pioneers of avant-garde abstract painting in Indonesia, leading the Indonesian art scene into the new realm of modernization after World War II. Although their art developed and was enlightened in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Affandi and Fadjar Sidik’s artistic styles took drastically different paths. Affandi, without formal academic training, observed and self-taught himself to present his observations and thoughts from daily life in a bold and colorful abstract style. He developed a unique “tube-squeezing” technique, adding dynamism and vitality to his paintings. On the other hand, Fadjar Sidik, despite his training at  Indonesian Institute of the Arts, Yogyakarta, remained uninfluenced by his peers’ styles, focusing on innovating abstract forms and compositions using scientific geometric shapes to depict natural scenes. He explored the tripartite relationship between nature, space, and self, along with the cosmic order balance within them.

Meanwhile, Asia Art Center is also hosting the exhibition Geometric Variations, featuring selected works by Fadjar Sidik, Indonesian avant-garde abstract artist Handrio, and pioneering post-war artist Chu Weibor from Taiwan. The exhibition breaks spatial barriers through the artists’ works, showcasing their pursuit of breakthroughs and innovations within their confined environments, despite differing cultural and political backgrounds. The unorthodox discourses they initiated continue to have a lasting and profound impact on the contemporary art community. The exhibition Geometric Variations is on display at Asia Art Center in Taipei until April 28th, inviting viewers to explore the cultural facets reflected in artistic expressions from different geographical backgrounds within the curatorial context of the 60th Venice Biennale.

Affandi exhibited at Art Taipei, 2019

Fadjar Sidik exhibited at “Geometric Variations,” 2024