Eko Nugroho is one of the most acclaimed members of the young generation of Indonesian contemporary artists. Nugroho’s work represents the daily life of Indonesian society, which is on one hand strongly hierarchical and Muslim-influenced and on the other hand influenced by globalization and the western value system.
Nugroho was born in 1977 and grew up in Java and resides in one of the island’s major art centres, Yogyakarta. His works are grounded in both local traditions and global popular culture. In particular, he has cited the influence of traditional batik and embroidery styles. There is of course also a powerful inspiration from contemporary street art, graffiti and comics. He is part of the generation that came to maturity during the period of upheaval and reform that occurred in the wake of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the subsequent fall of the Suharto regime and the transition to democracy in Indonesia. He is deeply engaged with the culture of his time and is committed to making socio-political commentary in his work. In 2000, Nugroho founded Daging Tumbuh, a collaborative sine that invites participation from non-artists. In addition to drawings and painting, he works in a variety of other media, including murals, sculpture, animation, and tapestry.
In his paintings this contrast is visualized by showing fantasy beings comprised of human limbs and machine elements with faces mostly hidden behind masks or helmets. By juxtaposing these images with humorous but also critical texts and sayings, Nugroho tries to entice especially the young Indonesian generation to deal with political issues. He develops his skills in as many mediums as he can, from painting to drawing and video to more traditional hand craft techniques such as hook rugging. He captures the noise and the frenzy of the street, the eye-contact, identity, attitudes. He translates this flow in his drawings and patterns which invade the space.
Eko Nugroho participated at the 55th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale in 2013 and at the Lyon Biennal, Lyon, France in 2009. He held solo exhibitions at the Singapore Tyler Print Institure, Singapore (2013), at the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, France (2012), at the Peking Fine Art, Beijing, China (2009), at the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki, Finland (2008) and at Artoteek, The Hague, The Netherlands (2005).
Eko Nugroho lives and works in Yogyakarta.
Year | Exhibition Title | Gallery/Museum | Solo/Group |
---|---|---|---|
2012 | Threat as a Flavour | ARNDT, Berlin, Germany | Solo |
2012 | Témoin Hybride, MAM Paris, Paris, France | Solo | |
2012 | Contemporary Indonesia | Ben Brown Fine Arts, London, UK | Group |
2012 | Negari Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat | Jogja National Museum, Jogja, Indonesia Migration, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, Australia | Group |
2012 | Fantasy Islands | Louis Vuitton Island Maison, Singapore | Group |
2011 | The Eko Chamber | Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia | Solo |
2011 | Snobs Behind ketchup | Lombard-Freid Projects, New York, NY, USA | Solo |
2011 | The Republic Needs More Semeleh | ARK Galerie, Jakarta, Indonesia | Solo |
2011 | Beyond the East | Macro (Rome’s Museum of Contemporary Art), Rome, Italy | Group |
2011 | Asia: Looking South | ARNDT, Berlin, Germany | Group |
2011 | Beyond the Self: Contemporary Portraiture from Asia | National Portrait Gallery, Canberra, Australia | Group |
2011 | Transfiguration & Contemporary Mythologies | Espace Culturel Louis Vuitton, Paris, France | Group |
2011 | Close the Gap: Indonesia Art Today | Melbourne International Fine Art, Melbourne, Australia | Group |
2011 | Isles of a City Named Jogja | Primo Marella Art Gallery, Milan, Italy | Group |
2011 | Decompression # 10: Ruangrupa Anniversary | Galeri Nasional Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia | Group |
2010 | Kado #2 | Nadi Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia | Group |
2010 | Group | Galerie Christian Hosp, Berlin, Germany | Group |
2010 | Post-Tsunami Art | Primo Marella Gallery, Milan, Italy | Group |
2010 | The Golden Age | Ark Galerie, Jakarta, Indonesia | Group |
2010 | Milestone | Vanessa Art Link, Jakarta, Indonesia | Group |
2010 | Hibridization | North Art Space, Jakarta, Indonesia | Group |
2010 | Beacons of the Archipelago: Contemporary Art from South East Asia | Arario Gallery, Cheonan, SouthKorea | Group |
2010 | Ni 50 Jar, Part 1 | Galerie Nouvelles Images, The Hague, The Netherlands Contemporaneity: Contemporary Art in Indonesia... | Group |
2010 | Heat Wave | Lombard-Freid Projects, New York, NY, USA | Group |
2010 | The Comical Brothers | Galeri Nasional Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia | Group |
2010 | Lihat! Video Art from Indonesia | Galería Jesús Gallardo, Leon, Mexico | Group |
2009 | Solo Exhibition of Eko Nugroho | Galerie Nouvelles Images, The Hague, The Netherlands | Solo |
2009 | Under the Shadow | Pekin Fine Art, Beijing, China | Solo |
2009 | In the Name of Pating Tlecek, Nadi Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia | Solo | |
2009 | Hidden Violence | Cemeti Art House, Yogyakarta, Indonesia | Solo |
2009 | Biennale Jogja X: Jogja Jamming | Taman Budaya Yogyakarta, Yogyakarta, Indonesia | Group |
2009 | X Biennale DE LYON | The Spectacle of The Everyday, Lyon, France | Group |
2009 | Beyond the Dutch | Centraal Museum Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands | Group |
2009 | Tales from Wounded Land | Tyler Rollins Fine Art, New York, NY, LA, USA | Group |
2009 | Dorodoro, Doron –The Uncanny World in Folk and Contemporary Art in Asia | Hiroshima Museum ofContemporary Art, Hiroshima, Japan | Group |
2009 | Fluid Zones | Jakarta Biennale 2009, Grand Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia | Group |
2008 | Multicrisis is Delicious | Galeri Semarang, Semarang, Indonesia | Solo |
2008 | The Pleasures of Chaos | ARK Galerie, Jakarta, Indonesia | Solo |
2008 | Mask-Gemaskerd | Heden, The Hague, The Netherlands | Group |
2008 | Expenditure: 2008 Busan Biennale | Busan, South Korea | Group |
2008 | Dari Penjara Ke Pigura | Salihara Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia | Group |
2008 | Manifesto | Galeri Nasional Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia | Group |
2008 | Something from Nothing | Contemporary Arts Center New Orleans, New Orleans, USA | Group |
2007 | In Wonderland | Valentine Willie Fine Art Project Room, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | Solo |
2007 | Geopolitical of Animation | The Andalusian Centre of Contemporary Art, Seville, Spain | Group |
2007 | Militia: OK Video Festival | Galeri Nasional Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia | Group |
2007 | 100 Tahun Affandi (100 Years of Affandi) | National Archives Building, Jakarta, Indonesia | Group |
2007 | Masa Lalu Masa Lupa (The Past the Forgotten Times): Six Indonesian Artists Interpret Indonesian History, Artoteek, The Hague, The Netherlands; Cemeti Art | Group | |
2007 | M1- Fringe Festival | National Museum of Singapore, Singapore | Group |
2007 | Wind From the East: Perspectives on Contemporary Asian Art | Kiasma Museum of ContemporaryArt, Helsinki, Finland | Group |
2006 | Merdeka Atoe Sms | Toimoi, Jakarta, Indonesia | Solo |
2006 | 5th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art | Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia | Group |
2006 | Taipei Biennial 2006: Dirty Yoga | Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan | Group |
2005 | Sorry I Am Late to Celebrate | Artnivora Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia | Solo |
2005 | Eko Nugroho | Artoteek, The Hague, The Netherlands | Solo |
2005 | Sub - Version: OK Video Festival | Galeri Nasional Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia | Group |
2005 | Shadow and Spaces: Contemporary Art from South East Asia | Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin,Germany | Group |
2005 | Three Young Contemporaries | Valentine Willie Fine Art, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | Group |
2005 | Bali Art Biennial: Space and Scape | Denpasar, Indonesia | Group |
2004 | Welcome Back Mayonnaise | Cemeti Art House, Yogyakarta, Indonesia | Solo |
2004 | Move on Asia: Animation and Single Channel Video Art Festival | Remo Gallery, Osaka, Japan | Group |
2004 | Reformasi: Contemporary Indonesian Artists In the Post-Suharto Era | Sculpture Square, Singapore | Group |
2004 | Have We Met? | The Japan Foundation Forum, Tokyo, Japan | Group |
2004 | Equatorial Heat | Sichuan Art Museum, Chengdu, China | Group |
2003 | Fight Me | Via-Via Café, Yogyakarta, Indonesia | Solo |
2003 | Countrybution: Yogyakarta Biennial VII | Taman Budaya Yogyakarta, Yogyakarta, Indonesia | Group |
2003 | Ok Video | Galeri Nasional Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia | Group |
2003 | Exploring Vacuum | Cemeti Art House, Yogyakarta, Indonesia | Group |
2002 | Bercerobong (Like a Chimney) | Cemeti Art House, Yogyakarta, Indonesia | Solo |
2002 | Tali Ikat: Fiber Connections | Taman Budaya Yogyakarta, Yogyakarta, Indonesia | Group |
2001 | Gelart | Gelaran Budaya, Yogyakarta, Indonesia | Group |
2001 | Kabinet Komik Indie | Gelaran Budaya, Yogyakarta, Indonesia | Group |