Museum MACAN announces 2019 program highlights following a successful first year that saw over 350,000 people visit the Museum – Indonesia’s leading institution dedicated to modern and contemporary art. As MACAN enters its second year since launching in November 2017, the program continues to reflect its mission of supporting local talent and bringing important international artists to Indonesia, reinforced by a steadfast educational program.
Aaron Seeto, Director of Museum MACAN, said: “The team at MACAN is proud to announce the 2019 program following a positive first year. The program presents focused historical exhibitions of important Indonesian artists, a major curated exhibition that explores the impact of the transition from the New Order Regime to Reformation by an internationally influential group of artists between the 1990s and early 2000s, as well as a major retrospective by the globally influential artist from China, Xu Bing.”
Photography by Sun Shi. Image courtesy UCCA
In March, the Museum will present Jeihan: Hari-hari di Cicadas (Jeihan: Days in Cicadas), an intimate historical exhibition of work by Jeihan Sukmantoro (born in 1938, and simply known as Jeihan), who is an influential painter and poet from Indonesia. The exhibition will provide a renewed insight into a critical period of Jeihan’s practice in the 1960s to 80s, when the artist lived in Cicadas, a deprived area of Bandung, which was densely populated and known for prostitution and petty crime.
Known for his expressionistic figurative paintings, which have been widely appreciated since the 1960s, the portraits in this exhibition depict the artist, his family members and people from the neighborhood, where Jeihan’s house functioned as a communal space as neighbors would come together to watch television, which was one of the first in the area.In April, the Museum will present a group exhibition Matter and Place, which features six large-scale works and installations by local and international artists.
Andra Matin – Elevation (2018)
It brings together an award-winning installation, Elevation, by the prominent Indonesian architect Andra Matin who was awarded a special mention at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2018, as well as a site-specific installation by Malaysian artist Shooshie Sulaiman with other works from the Museum MACAN Collection. The exhibition explores the relationship between people and place, investigating how materials and sensory observation help to define human understanding of identity.
May will see a major retrospective of Indonesian artists that examines the political upheaval leading to and following the Reformation in 1998. Dunia dalam Berita (translated as The World in News) is named after a popular Indonesian news program, which has been on air since 1973. This landmark exhibition will feature 10 leading Indonesian artists: Mella Jaarsma, I GAK Murniasih, Nyoman Masriadi, FX Harsono, Tisna Sanjaya, Agus Suwage, Heri Dono, Krisna Murti, S. Teddy D., and Taring Padi. Source and photos Courtesy of MUCAN.
Photography by Sun Shi. Image courtesy UCCA 
Photo by Mario Wibowo 
Photo by Mario Wibowo Andra Matin – Elevation (2018) 
Refugee Only and Shameless Gold by Mella Jaarsma 
Unknown Title and Agnes Maulet by Jeihan
