BAGUS PANDEGA

Early Years and Background

Pandega grew up in Jakarta before pursuing formal artistic training at Bandung Institute of Technology, one of Indonesia’s leading tertiary institutions for art and design. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in sculpture and fine art in 2008, later completing his Master of Fine Arts from the Faculty of Art and Design in 2015. Currently based in Bandung, Pandega has established himself as a significant voice in contemporary Indonesian art through his distinctive approach to reimagining sculpture beyond traditional static forms.

His trajectory reflects a deliberate shift away from conventional sculptural practice toward mechanical and electronic assemblage—a transition rooted in practical necessity that evolved into a profound conceptual commitment. Working primarily through installation, Pandega employs a ‘modular’ methodology, assembling various electronic systems and recycled materials into interconnected sculptural propositions.

Bagus A. Pandega’s Artworks

Bagus A. Pandega constructs immersive kinetic artworks that activate relationships between objects, viewers, movement, sound, and light. His practice directly engages with themes of extraction, energy, temporality, and Indonesia’s ecological and socio-political conditions, using DIY engineering principles and material experimentation to foreground cycles of life, depletion, and reciprocity.

Explorations of Time and Dynamism

Rejecting the inherent stillness of traditional sculpture, Pandega introduces temporal dimensions through dynamic elements. He integrates voice recorders, cassette and record players, electronic circuit boards, and lamps as components within larger kinetic systems. This approach emerged from a conceptual conviction that sculpture required temporal elements—movement, sound, and light—to express ideas about uncertainty, unpredictability, and continuous change. Rather than adopting overused art terminology, Pandega’s practice centres on materiality and systemic thinking, acknowledging how time itself functions as a sculptural medium.

Modular Systems and Circular Economies

Pandega’s artworks increasingly engage with recycled materials and circular economic processes. His modular assembly method mirrors industrial production whilst simultaneously critiquing extraction-based consumption. Works incorporate plant biofeedback systems, industrial machines, and programming as integral components. This methodology reflects his broader interest in how objects, systems, and natural processes become entangled within contemporary global economies, particularly within Indonesia’s colonial legacy and resource-dependent industries.

Bagus A. Pandega’s Exhibitions and Developments

Early works including A Monument That Tells Anything (2015) and Random Black (2016) established Pandega’s signature aesthetic. A Pervasive Rhythm (2018) at Yamamoto Gendai in Tokyo marked significant international recognition. The artist’s recent exhibitions 〇 (2024) and Stomata (2024—2025) continue developing these concerns, with Stomata on view at Esplanade Concourse, Singapore in 2026. Concurrent exhibitions Daya Benda at Swiss Institute and Sumber Alam at Kunsthalle Basel (both 2025—2026) present his most ambitious institutional presentations, organised in collaboration and addressing resource extraction with renewed conceptual depth. The exhibition titles reference Indonesian idioms denoting natural resources, still life, and object power.

Bagus A. Pandega’s International Recognition

Pandega has achieved significant presence within international contemporary art discourse. He represented Indonesia at Art Basel Hong Kong in 2015 under ROH Projects. His participation in the 10th Asia Pacific Triennial at QAGOMA, Brisbane (2021—22) alongside Venice Biennale — adjacent contexts positions him within major curatorial frameworks examining Asia-Pacific contemporary art. Additional significant group exhibitions include presentations at Taipei Dangdai, Amsterdam Light Festival, and multiple Art Basel platforms. In 2017, Pandega won the Young Artist Award at Art Jog, Indonesia’s premier contemporary art fair.

Select Public Commissions and Installations

• Stomata, Esplanade Concourse, Singapore (2024—25)
• Daya Benda, Swiss Institute, New York, USA (2025—26)
• Sumber Alam, Kunsthalle Basel, Switzerland (2025—26)

Select Awards and Accolades

• Young Artist Award, Art Jog, Jakarta, Indonesia (2017)
• Third Place, Jakarta 2nd Contemporary Ceramic Biennale, Museum Seni Rupa dan Keramik, Jakarta, Indonesia
• Taipei Artist Village residency
• FACT (Foundation for Art and Creative Technology) residency, Liverpool, United Kingdom

Bagus A. Pandega Exhibitions

Bagus A. Pandega has exhibited extensively across institutional and commercial platforms throughout Asia, Europe, and beyond. His work has been shown at leading contemporary art venues and biennial exhibitions, establishing a significant exhibition history within international circuits.

You can follow Bagus A. Pandega on Ocula to receive alerts on upcoming exhibitions and learn more about his artworks.

Select Solo Exhibitions

• Daya Benda, Swiss Institute, New York, USA (2025—26)
• Sumber Alam, Kunsthalle Basel, Switzerland (2025—26)
• Stomata, Esplanade Concourse, Singapore (2024—25)
• 〇, ROH Projects, Jakarta, Indonesia (2024)
• A Pervasive Rhythm, Yamamoto Gendai, Tokyo, Japan (2018)
• Distorted Alteration, Project Fulfill, Taipei, Taiwan (2018)
• Random Black, ROH Projects, Jakarta, Indonesia (2016)
• A Monument That Tells Anything, Cemeti Art House, Yogyakarta, Indonesia (2015)

Select Group Exhibitions

• An Endless Harvest, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore (2024—25)
• Art Basel Hong Kong, with ROH Projects, Hong Kong (2023)
• The 10th Asia Pacific Triennial, Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane, Australia (2021—22)
• Tiger Orchid, Art Basel OVR: Miami Beach, USA (2020)
• Condo London, Project Native Informant, London, UK (2020)
• Ripples: Continuity in Indonesian Contemporary Art, Taipei Dangdai, Taipei, Taiwan (2019)
• Amsterdam Light Festival, Amsterdam, Netherlands (2017)
• Clandestine Transgression, Art Basel Hong Kong: Discoveries, Hong Kong (2015)
• Bayang: Contemporary Islamic Art, Galeri Nasional, Jakarta, Indonesia
• Ekspansi: Indonesia Contemporary Sculpture Exhibition, SIGIarts, Jakarta, Indonesia
• Biennale Indonesian Art Awards, Galeri Nasional, Jakarta, Indonesia (2010)

Website and Instagram

Bagus A. Pandega is represented by ROH Projects. Further information about the artist and upcoming exhibitions can be found through Ocula by following the artist.

Bagus Pandega FAQs

Ocula | 2026