# Gajah Gallery

Gajah Gallery is an art gallery in Singapore that hosts artwork related to the socio-cultural interests of Asia. 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). Gajah Gallery is also a member of Art Galleries Association in Singapore.

## Description

Gajah Gallery displays, promotes and researches Southeast Asian art. 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.
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.

## Collections and exhibitions

Gajah Gallery focuses on displaying contemporary Southeast Asian art from the region, including art from Singapore. The Gallery exclusively represents six of the leading Indonesian contemporary artists, Nyoman Masriadi, Rudi Mantofani, Yunizar, Handiwirman Sahputra, Yusra Martunus and Jumaldi Alfi. This limited scope ensures that the Gallery 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 | 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 | 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

Gajah Gallery contributes to research into Southeast Asian art. 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
#### Commemorative postcard set

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, Jumaldi Alfi, M. Irfan, Mangu Putra, Nyoman Masriadi, Rudi Mantofani, Teng Nee Cheong and Yunizar.

#### Nyoman Masriadi, Reconfiguring the Body

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.
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

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

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

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

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.