CHRISTINE AY TJOE

Ay Tjoe’s practice is recognised for its evocative mark-making, rich colour palettes, and the emergence of hybrid figures that reflect both personal and universal narratives. As noted in Ocula Magazine, Ay Tjoe’s paintings are ‘raw and refined, gritty and fragile’, offering a powerful meditation on hope and transformation.

Early Years

Ay Tjoe was born in Bandung, Indonesia, in 1973. She studied painting at the Bandung Institute of Technology, graduating in 1997. Her early career began as a graphic artist, working extensively with intaglio dry point prints and drawing inspiration from the plant life surrounding her in West Java. Ay Tjoe continues to live and work in Bandung, where her environment and cultural heritage remain central to her contemporary art practice.

Christine Ay Tjoe Artworks

Ay Tjoe’s contemporary art practice is defined by her dynamic use of line, colour, and layered forms to express the emotional and spiritual dimensions of the human condition. Her approach to making artwork is rooted in drawing, which she considers foundational across all media.

Drawing and Painting

Drawing is integral to Ay Tjoe’s process, whether working on canvas or paper. She has stated, ‘I will always treat every medium as paper and pencil’ (Studio International, 2018). Her paintings combine the expressive lines of her prints and drawings with swathes of colour and watery glazes, often allowing forms and figures to emerge spontaneously. These hybrid characters act as stand-ins for forces of authority, higher beings, or aspects of her own psyche.

Colour and Sensory Experience

Ay Tjoe’s palette is typically dominated by earthy tones and deep reds, which she uses to evoke emotion and psychological states. In works such as Greed and Greed 1 (2016), dark washes of black and green form the body of a monstrous creature, surrounded by flashes of red and pale grey, symbolising consumption and desire. In her 2021 solo exhibition Spinning in the Desert at White Cube, Hong Kong, Ay Tjoe focused on blue as a colour of hope, particularly in the series Blue Cryptobiosis (2020–2021).

Spirituality and Allegory

Her works often reflect inner thoughts and personal experiences, using colour, form, and movement to create sensory experiences that invite multiple interpretations. Ay Tjoe’s paintings and sculptures embrace imperfection and the unpredictable emergence of forms, echoing the complexities of the human spirit and the cycles of life.

Exhibitions

Christine Ay Tjoe has been the subject of both solo and group exhibitions at important institutions. Below is a selection of important exhibitions.

Solo Exhibitions

• Spinning in the Desert, White Cube, Hong Kong (2021)
• Spirituality and Allegory, 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa (2018)
• Perfect Imperfection, SongEun ArtSpace, Seoul (2015)
• Myriad of ‘paste’, Ota Fine Arts, Tokyo (2013)
• The Path Less Found, Michael Ku Gallery, Taipei (2012)
• Lama Sabakhtani club, Lawangwangi, Bandung (2010)

Group Exhibitions

• We Do Not Dream Alone, Asia Society Triennial, New York (2020)
• Memory Palace, White Cube, London (2018)
• Prudential Eye Award, ArtScience Museum, Singapore (2015)
• Future Pass, National Taiwan Museum of Fine Art, Taichung (2012)
• Indonesian Eye: Fantasies and Realities, Saatchi Gallery, London (2011)
• Closing The Gap: Indonesian Art Today, Melbourne International Fine Art (2011)
• Indonesia Contemporary Drawing, National Gallery, Jakarta (2009)

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Ocula | 2025