Gajah Gallery is an art gallery in Singapore that hosts artwork related to the socio-cultural interests of Asia.[1][2] It was established in 1995 by Jasdeep Sandhu and promotes Southeast Asian Contemporary Art with an emphasis on Indonesian Contemporary. The gallery holds exhibitions, some of which have been collaborations with the Singapore Art Museum (SAM) and the National University of Singapore Museum (NUS).[3] Gajah Gallery is also a member of Art Galleries Association in Singapore.

Description

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Gajah Gallery displays, promotes and researches Southeast Asian art.[1] The collection was previously housed at the MICA building, adjacent to Singapore City Hall and close to the Singapore Philatelic Museum, Singapore Art Museum and National Museum of Singapore.

The MICA building, formerly known as the Old Hill Street Police Station, was erected in 1934 to house the Hill Street Police Station and Barracks, and was gazetted as a national monument in 1998 and transformed into premises for MICA.[4]

In 2015, Gajah Gallery moved to an even bigger space located at Tanjong Pagar Distripark. The new space features white walls over 18 ft high and 4500 sqft of floor space. It is situated in a fully operational shipping warehouse on the historic port of Tanjong Pagar.

Following that, Gajah Gallery also opened up a second space in Indonesia's arts capital, Yogyakarta. Yogya Art Lab (YAL) is an experimental platform for prominent and emerging artists to come together to produce works across various mediums such as paper, sculpture, performance and digital visual production. As for now, the lab has collaborated with established artists like Yunizar and Ashley Bickerton in producing some of their finest bronze and aluminium sculptures respectively.[5]

Collections and exhibitions

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Gajah Gallery focuses on displaying contemporary Southeast Asian art from the region, including art from Singapore.[1][6] The Gallery exclusively represents six of the leading Indonesian contemporary artists, Nyoman Masriadi,[7] Rudi Mantofani,[8] Yunizar,[9] Handiwirman Sahputra, Yusra Martunus and Jumaldi Alfi. This limited scope ensures that the Gallery[1] fulfill's their primary mission which is to gain representation for the artist before increasing their stable of artists.

Year Exhibition Artist Country Venue
1996 A celebration of Culture Truong Dinh Hao, U Aung Soe, Wayan Paramartha, Surachet Kaewchamras Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand Alliance Francaise (Singapore)
1997 Illusion Myth and Reality Entang Wiharso and Nasirun Indonesia Gajah Gallery
1998 Bleeding in the Sun Gorbadhan Ash India Gajah Gallery
1998 Mystical Monsters in Contemporary Society Heri Dono Indonesia The American Club (Singapore)
1999 Myths and Mystic I Made Djirna and Wayan Paramartha Indonesia Gajah Gallery
1999 Waiting for Nothing Vasan Sitthiket Thailand Gajah Gallery
2000 Between Abstract and Figurative Sporean artists including Thomas Yeo, Koh Sia Yong, Tang Da Wu Singapore Gajah Gallery
2000 Sau Dinh Quan, Bui Huu Hung, Phan Cam Thuong, Bang Sy Truc, Hong Viet Dung, Nguyen Thanh Binh Vietnamese Gajah Gallery
2000 Heart of Yogya Nasirun and Pupuk Daru Purnomo Indonesia Gajah Gallery
2000 In Full Bloom Olga Polunin Singapore Gajah Gallery
2000 Rustic Charm Chandra Bhattacharjee, Gautam Basu India Gajah Gallery
2001 Unbound Linearity Jogen Chowdhury India Gajah Gallery
2001 Vietnamese Affair Dinh Quan, Bang Sy Truc, Dao Ha Phong, Le Thiet Cuong, Quach Dong Phuong, Nguyen Quoc Hoi, Nguyen Xuan Tiep Vietnam Gajah Gallery
2001 Of Land and Tradition Pham Cam Thuong, Bang Sy Truc Vietnam Gajah Gallery
2001 Silent Spaces Ali Esmaelipour Iran Gajah Gallery
2001 Interactions Jaya Ganguly India Gajah Gallery
2001 Fingerprint of an Artist Haji Widayat Indonesia Gajah Gallery
2001 The New Sensation Yunizar Indonesia Gajah Gallery
2001 Fortress of the Heart Heri Dono Indonesia Gajah Gallery
2002 Truth and Tradition Nyoman Sukari Indonesia Gajah Gallery
2002 Taksu I Made Djirna Indonesia Gajah Gallery
2002 10 Wasted Years Jason Lim Singapore Gajah Gallery
2005 Expressions on Paper Mochtar Apin Indonesia Gajah Gallery
2005 Between A Glass and two Bottles Nguyen Trung and I Made Djirna Vietnam and Indonesia Gajah Gallery
2006 Drawing Ground Srihadi Soedarsono and Chua Ek Kay Indonesia and Singapore SAM and Gajah Gallery
2007 Coretan : Recent Works by Yunizar Yunizar Indonesia NUS Museum and Gajah Gallery
2008 Silent Words Mangu Putra Indonesia Gajah Gallery
2008 Black is my Last Weapon Nyoman Masriadi Indonesia SAM and Gajah Gallery
2009 JENDELA: A Play of The Ordinary[10] Handiwirman Saputra, Jumaldi Alfi, Yusra Martunus, Rudi Mantofani, Yunizar Indonesia NUS Museum and Gajah Gallery
2009 Being: Ahmad Zakii Anwar Malaysia NUS Museum and Gajah Gallery
2009 Spacing Identities J Ariadhitya Pramuhendra[11] Indonesia NUS Museum and Gajah Gallery
2010 Masriadi Diary 2010 Nyoman Masriadi Indonesia Gajah Gallery
2010 Jogja Psychedelia Yunizar Indonesia Soemadja Gallery, Faculty of Art and Design, Bandung Institute of Technology and Gajah Gallery
2011 Nyoman Masriadi- Recent Works Nyoman Masriadi Indonesia Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York and Gajah Gallery
2011 Those the Gods Love Grow Mightier Teng Nee Cheong Singapore Gajah Gallery
2012 The Fountain of Lamneth Group Exhibition-Badung Artist Singapore Gajah Gallery
2012 Art Stage 2012 Nyoman Masriadi, Yunizar, M.Irfan, Rudi Mantofani, Handwirnan Saputra, Ahmad Zakii Anwar Gajah Gallery
2012 India Art Fair 2012 Nyoman Masriadi, Yunizar, M. Irfan, Handwiriman Saputra, Aye Tjoe Christine India Okla, New Delhi, India
2012 Art Hong Kong Nyoman Masriadi Hong Kong Hong Kong Convention Centre
2013 Art Stage Singapore Nyoman Masriadi, Yunizar, Ashley Bickerton, Nam June Paik, Lotta de Beus and Teng Nee Cheong Singapore Marina Bay Sands
2013 Art 13 Nyoman Masriadi, Yunizar, Ashley Bickerton, Handiwirman Saputra UK Olympia, London, United Kingdom
2013 Art Basel Hong Kong Nyoman Masriadi, Yunizar, Ay Tjoe Christine and Ashley Bickerton Hong Kong Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre
2013 I Made Djirma – Logic of Ritual I Made Djirma Indonesia Sangkring Art Space, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
2013 Jason Lim – Bukit Musings Jason Lim Singapore Gajah Gallery
2013 Lokanat – Ground Zero Nyoman Masriadi, Handiwirman Saputra, Putu Sutawijaya, Mangu Putra, Yunizar, Ai Wei Wei, Ashley Bickerton Singapore Gajah Gallery
2013 Seeing Paintings: Conversations Before The End Of History Ay Tjoe Christine, Handiwirman Saputra, I Made Djirna, Jumaldi Alfi, Koesoema Affandi, M Irfan, Mangu Putra, Nyoman Masriadi, Putu Sutawijaya, Yunizar Indonesia Sangkring Art Space, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
2014 Art Stage Singapore Abdi Setiawan, Ahmad Zakii Anwar, Ashley Bickerton, Gu Wenda, Li Jin, Qiu Deshu, Rudi Hendriatno, Ugo Untoro, Wang Tiande, Yunizar Singapore Marina Bay Sands
2014 Abstraction and Refinement: Contemporary Chinese Ink Paintings Gu Gan, Qiu Deshu, Wang Tiande, Wei Ligang Singapore Gajah Gallery
2014 Junk Anthropologies Ashley Bickerton Singapore Gajah Gallery
2014 Art Basel Hong Kong Abdi Setiawan, Ahmad Zakii Anwar, Ashley Bickerton, Gu Gan, Gu Wenda, Qiu Deshu, Ugo Untoro, Wang Tiande, Wei Ligang, Yunizar Hong Kong Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre
2014 Bazaar Art Jakarta Ashley Bickerton, Gu Gan, Gu Wenda, Mangu Putra, Qiu Deshu, Rudi Hendriatno, Ugo Untoro, Wang Tiande, Wei Ligang, Yunizar Indonesia The Ritz Carlton Pacific Place Ballroom
2014 Tempus Fugit (Time Flies) Jason Lim Singapore Gajah Gallery
2014 Intersections: Latin American and Southeast Asian Contemporary Art Ahmad Zakii Anwar, Handiwirman Saputra, Putu Sutawijaya, Ugo Untoro, Yunizar, Adonis Flores, Douglas Arguelles, Ivan Capote, Yoan Capote and Maykel Linares Indonesia Sangkring Art Space, Yogyakarta
2014 Yunizar Solo Exhibition Yunizar Singapore Gajah Gallery
2014 Trajectories Ashley Bickerton, Ahmad Zakii Anwar, Mangu Putra, Yunizar, Yusra Martunus, Putu Sutawijaya, Jumaldi Alfi, Handiwirman Saputra and Ugo Untoro Cuba Gallery Habana
2014 Zheng Lu: Resurface Zheng Lu Singapore Gajah Gallery
2015 Yogyakarta Art Lab Opening Show Ahmad Zakii Anwar, Ashley Bickerton, I Made Djirna, Jason Lim, Ivan Capote, Kumari Nahappan, Mangu Putra, Sabri Idrus, Suzann Victor, Ugo Untoro, Jumaldi Alfi, Yunizar, Rudi Hedriatno and Abdi Setiawan Singapore Gajah Gallery
2015 Bermain Rasa Yunizar and Ugo Untoro Yogyakarta Gajah Gallery
2015 Sabri Idrus Solo Exhibition Sabri Idrus Singapore Gajah Gallery
2015 Gajah Gallery Grand Opening at Tanjong Pagar Distripark Ashley Bickerton, Yunizar, Kumari Nahappan, Ugo Untoro, Li Jin, Yusra Martunus, Sabri Idrus, Ahmad Zakii Anwar, R.Yuki Agiardi, Teng Nee Cheong, Suzann Victor, Wei Ligang, Wang Tiande, Gu Wenda, Chua Ek Kay, Ho Ho Ying and Ng Joon Kiat Singapore Gajah Gallery
2016 Gajah Gallery 20th Anniversary Ashley Bickerton, Li Jin, Yunizar, Kumari Nahappan, Vasan Sitthiket and Putu Sutawijaya Singapore Gajah Gallery
2016 Archaeology of the Present Ashley Bickerton, Jason Lim, Yunizar, Suzann Victor, Yusra Martunus, S. Nandagopal, Kumari Nahappan, Rudi Hendriatno, Handiwirman Saputra, Ugo Untoro and Afdhal Singapore Gajah Gallery
2016 Erizal As: Re figuring Portraiture Solo Exhibition Erizal As Singapore Gajah Gallery
2016 Galeri Petronas – Southeast Asian Show Handiwirman Saputra, Yusra Martunus, Jumaldi Alfi, Rudi Mantofani, Yunizar, Ugo Untoro, Kumari Nahappan and Vasan Sitthiket Singapore Gajah Gallery and Galeri Petronas, Kuala Lumpur
2016 Gobardhan Ash: Famine and Empire Solo Exhibition Gobardhan Ash Singapore Gajah Gallery
2016 Mangu Putra: Between History and Quotidian Solo Exhibition Mangu Putra Singapore Gajah Gallery
2016 Semsar Siahaan Solo Exhibition Semsar Siahaan Yogyakarta Gajah Gallery (Yogyakarta Art Lab)
2016 Wakidi: The Light Before Dusk Solo Exhibition Wakidi Singapore Gajah Gallery
2016 Yunizar: The Garden In Eden Yunizar Singapore Gajah Gallery
2017 Art Stage Singapore 2017 Ahmad Zakii Anwar, Ashley Bickerton, Erizal As, Jason Lim, Kumari Nahappan, Li Jin, Mangu Putra, Rudi Mantofani, Sabri Idrus, Semsar Siahaan, Suzann Victor, Wei Ligang, Yunizar Singapore Marina Bay Sands
2017 Art Fair Philippines 2017 Ahmad Zakii Anwar, Ashley Bickerton, Erizal As, Mangu Putra, Rudi Mantofani, Sabri Idrus, Suzann Victor, Yunizar Philippines The Link Carpark
2017 Art Basel Hong Kong 2017 Ahmad Zakii Anwar, Ashley Bickerton, Jason Lim, Kumari Nahappan, Li Jin, Mangu Putra, Rudi Mantofani, Sabri Idrus, Suzann Victor, Wei Ligang, Yunizar Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre
2017 Supernatural Chong Weixin, Jason Lim, Lavender Chang, Maxine Chionh, Melissa Tan, Robert Zhao, Ruben Pang, Zen Teh, Sarah Choo Jing, Warren Khong, Kumari Nahappan, Ng Joon Kiat, Suzann Victor, Ian Woo and Adeline Kueh Yogyakarta Gajah Gallery (Yogyakarta Art Lab)
2017 Matters and Manipulations Sabri Idrus Singapore Gajah Gallery
2017 Thinking Ink: Improvisations on Cultural Criteria Chua Ek Kay, Gu Gan, Gu Wenda, Wei Ligang Singapore Gajah Gallery
2017 Knowing Incompleteness Agung Santosa, Fika Riasantika, Gusmen Heriadi, Iabadiou Piko, Nofria Doni Fitri, Ridho Rizki Yogyakarta Gajah Gallery (Yogyakarta Art Lab)
2017 Art Stage Jakarta 2017 Ashley Bickerton, Erizal As, Kumari Nahappan, Li Jin, Mangu Putra, Rudi Mantofani, Sabri Idrus, Semsar Siahaan, Suzann Victor, Wei Ligang, Yunizar Jakarta Grand Sheraton Jakarta, Indonesia
2017 The New Now Benedict Yu, Charlotte Lim, Gabrielle Tolentino, Kayleigh Goh, Kuat Zhi Hooi, Leonard Wee, Wong Jia Yi Singapore Gajah Gallery
2017 Under The Shadow of the Banyan Tree Jason Lim Singapore Gajah Gallery
2017 Gajah Open House Ayu Arista Murti, Dery Pratama, Erizal As, Fika Ria Santika, Iabadio Piko, Loli Rusman, Suzann Victor, Rudi Mantofani, Yunizar Yogyakarta Gajah Gallery (Yogyakarta Art Lab)
2017 Semsar Siahaan: Art, Liberation Semsar Siahaan Singapore Gajah Gallery

Fairs and Projects

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Gajah Gallery contributes to research into Southeast Asian art.[1] The gallery consistently exhibits in various local and international art fairs such as Art Basel Hong Kong, Art Stage Singapore, Art Stage Jakarta, Art Fair Philippines, Art Fair Tokyo, India Art Fair (formerly known as the India Art Summit) and Art021 Shanghai. The artists that they represent not only gain valuable exposure, but the fairs serve as a platform through which ideas are exchanged and better ties are built with other exhibitors.

Publications

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Commemorative postcard set

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A set of 15 postcards were designed as a commemorative piece for the gallery's 15th year anniversary celebration. The set is a compilation of work by Ahmad Zakii Anwar, J. Ariadhitya Pramuhendra,[11] Jumaldi Alfi, M. Irfan, Mangu Putra, Nyoman Masriadi, Rudi Mantofani,[8] Teng Nee Cheong and Yunizar.[9]

Nyoman Masriadi, Reconfiguring the Body

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Nyoman Masriadi's work Reconfiguring the Body offers a review of Nyoman Masriadi's works, his life and inspirations – through the words of art critics, TK Sabapathy and Goenawan Mohamed. Masriadi is Southeast Asia's most well-received contemporary artist.[12]

 
Nyoman Masriadi- Reconfiguring the Body Book Cover

The visual imagery and narratives in his paintings are derived from observation of social life. Reactive against formalism, his early works show him sparring with Western modernism in the guise of cubism but meshing it with caricature, the cutting street language Indonesians use and graffiti. The wit and humor embodied in his works are shaped by the computer game culture that he grew up with. He overdraws finished paintings with a marker.

Nee Cheong, Those The Gods Love Grow Mightier

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Teng Nee Cheong's book Those the Gods Love Grow Mightier offers an insight on the life, works and thoughts of renowned Singaporean artist Teng Nee Cheong that span a period of 40 years. Art critic TK Sabapathy, art curators Low Sze Wee and Lindy Poh, as well as Jasdeep Sandhu, Suteja Neka and Teng Nee Cheong himself, have provided a commentary, uncovering the artist's works, as well as inspirations that have influenced him.

Nee Cheong's works encapsulate the influences of culture and traditions around Asia by using symbols of Balinese mythology, Hinduism, and Buddhism.

Seeing Paintings: Conversations Before the End of History

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Seeing Paintings: Conversations Before the End of History highlights the development of painting in Indonesia over the past 70 years, from the late 30s – 40s to the late 90s – 2000, and the historical contributions by both artists and writers to painting in Indonesia. The artists included in the publication, such as Affandi, Oesman Effendi, Djoko Pekik, Lucia Hartini, Made Djirna, Mangu Putra and Yunizar, have contributed significantly to the field of history and are presented in a comparative framework. The publication shows the history of Indonesian art as a mode of discourse that consists of an intricate journey due to the process of acculturation and enculturation in the form of vocabulary, speech, criticism, polemics, writings, doctrine, bureaucracy, schools, social institutions, and so on.

Mangu Putra, Between History and Quotidian

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Mangu Putra: Between History & the Quotidian introduces the artist's efforts to re-examine historic archival footage of the Dutch colonisation in Bali in the early to mid 1900s and to draw together visual and verbal narratives to stage an untold account of history. With essays from art historian Adrian Vickers and curator Jim Supangkat, the publication explores how Putra re-imagines historic scenes, changing the emphasis by placing the Balinese people at the center, and shifts his attention towards the degradation of the natural world and the neglect of those who made Indonesia, as part of a search for spiritual meaning.

Semsar Siahaan, Art, Liberation

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Semsar Siahaan: Art, Liberation is the most extensive printed publication on the late Indonesian artist Semsar Siahaan – a seminal figure of the progressive movement in Indonesia, who tirelessly campaigned and used his art as a tool to advocate social justice. Art critics TK Sabapathy, Astri Wright and Aminudin TH Siregar discuss Siahaan's emergence and his art in relation to prevailing sociopolitical conditions. They propose perspectives for relooking at the often-overlooked artist, appraising him historically and projecting him with fresh impetus for critical attention, presently.

References

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  1. ^ "additional information from". artabase. Retrieved 3 January 2012.
  2. ^ "NUS Museum". Nus.edu.sg. Archived from the original on 3 December 2011. Retrieved 13 December 2011.
  3. ^ "MICA Building". App.mica.gov.sg. 19 August 2011. Archived from the original on 4 January 2012. Retrieved 13 December 2011.
  4. ^ Gajah Gallery. "Yogya Art Lab". Retrieved 4 June 2017.
  5. ^ "Gajah Gallery". YourSingapore.com. Retrieved 3 January 2012.
  6. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 April 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. ^ a b "Rudi Mantofani". Indonesianeye.com. Retrieved 13 December 2011.
  8. ^ a b "Yunizar" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 13 December 2011.
  9. ^ "Museum, NUS Centre for the Arts > Exhibitions > Jendela – A Play of the Ordinary". Nus.edu.sg. Retrieved 3 January 2012.
  10. ^ a b "Pramuhendra". Nus.edu.sg. 31 May 2009. Retrieved 3 January 2012.
  11. ^ "Nyoman Masriadi Book Launch". Eventful.com. Retrieved 3 January 2012.
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