Press Release

Gajah Gallery Yogyakarta is proud to announce an upcoming exhibition, titled Cut on the Bias featuring a dynamic showcase of young to mid-career artists from Austria, Indonesia, India, and Malaysia, who have been fearlessly experimenting with unconventional mediums and themes.

This exhibition emerges from the recognition that usage of unconventional mediums and visuals, related to traditional distinctions between fine art, craft, and outsider art, have unjustly marginalised artists, particularly those seen as ‘othered’. Despite assumptions that the art world has moved beyond these biases, arbitrary distinctions persist, perpetuating elitism and reinforcing stereotypes. Textile, ceramics, woven crafts, and fibre art, often dismissed as ‘craft,’ are, however, ironically and routinely appropriated by mainstream art without proper acknowledgment.

Moreover, the exhibition challenges the perception of avant-garde breakthroughs versus deviations, with the latter unfairly stigmatised as incompetence, further entrenching stereotypes. Artists are often accused of not grasping the subtleties of fine art, highlighting disparities in recognition based on perception rather than merit. For example, the phenomenon of chromophobia, deeply ingrained in Western culture, perpetuates fear and aversion to vibrant colours and non-traditional aesthetics associated with femininity and non-Western cultures.

Cut on the Bias thus serves as a platform for artists to explore unconventional themes, visuals, mediums, and expressions, transcending traditional categorisations and biases. Inviting artists from diverse background such as Maria Koefler, Fika Ria Santika, Satya Cipta, Kara Inez, and many others, this exhibition confronts unseen biases against alternative mediums while addressing broader societal attitudes towards color, styles, and materials we inherited from oppressive narratives.

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Also Exhibiting at Gajah Gallery

About the Gallery
Launched in 2015, Gajah Gallery – Yogyakarta is the main Gallery’s outpost located within a major arts hub in Indonesia. The space expands the Gallery’s mission in actively promoting and representing Southeast Asian contemporary art in the international platform. Through dynamic exhibitions that gather artists across the region, the Gallery fosters a space for critical discourse among diverse artists and audiences. Furthermore, the space is adjunct to the Yogya Art Lab (YAL), a major initiative that enables both emerging and prominent artists to come together and collaborate with local craftsmen; experiment with a variety of media ranging from paper, sculpture, performance, to digital art; and produce fresh work that push beyond the limits of their oeuvre. Gajah Gallery – Yogyakarta is thus a space that nurtures artists’ creative process and finished output, giving them the stage to play, expand, and thrive.
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Address
Jl. Keloran No. 6
Yogyakarta
Indonesia
Opening Hours
Monday – Friday
9am – 5pm

Saturday
10am – 4pm
(1)
Yogyakarta Jl. Keloran No. 6
Gajah Gallery
Jl. Keloran No. 6, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
+62 (0) 878 3834 7868
http://www.gajahgallery.com

Opening hours
Monday – Friday
9am – 5pm

Saturday
10am – 4pm
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