KOREA FOUNDATION

STORY

Indonesian Artist Eko Nugroho
Encountering the free-spirited sensibility of Eko Nugroho, who straddles tradition and the modern.
By Baek Ah-young Art Columnist

Eko Nugroho, Unity in Hiding #1, Acrylic on Canvas, 200x200cm, 2018, Image Courtesy of Studio Eko Nugroho

Eko Nugroho is one of Indonesia’s most famous contemporary artists. Nugroho promotes the cultural identity of his home country to a growing international audience through his modern, original interpretations of traditional Indonesian techniques and materials, which he merges with contemporary media, such as pop art, books, comics, and animations. His works are expanding the horizons of Indonesian art through their skillful blend of pop culture and the traditions of his native country. Nugroho’s most famous creations, are paintings that depict traditional Indonesian crafts (e.g. embroidery or batik, a dying method) in bold, dark colors. There are also artworks that are inspired by wayang kulit, a traditional form of puppet shadow theater that dramatizes Indonesian legends and fables. Nugroho is also an artist who looks contemporary issues squarely in the face and is deeply interested in them, mostly in regard to society, culture, and environmental conservation. The late 1990s were a time of reform in Indonesia, in which freedom of expression had come to the fore, not only among civil society actors but also in the art community. In response, Nugroho created works of street art, graffiti, hanging illustrations, and wall paintings that expressed a thirst for freedom. Since then, Nugroho has greatly expanded the number of mediums he is proficient in (sculpture, animated film, painting, installation art, puppet theater, etc.) and used his creations to offer witty, piercing insights on a wide range of social, historical and other issues that are relevant to Indonesia. Nugroho first made his name known in international circles by featuring at the 2013 Venice Biennale’s Indonesian pavilion and again proved his indispensability to the global art scene by being included in the same year by the American art magazine Art+Auction as one of “Fifty Most Promising Artists Under the Age of 50.”

Eko Nugroho. Image Courtesy of Studio Eko Nugroho, Photo by Regina Sari Dewi