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Ocula Member Galleries are selected by a committee of respected gallerists to present only the best of contemporary art on Ocula.
Read MoreWhether you want to discover contemporary art created by established artists or by emerging talents, below you will find some of the best galleries across Jakarta's vibrant art scene presenting a range of both.
Explore current and upcoming exhibitions across Jakarta's best galleries, institutions, and non-profit art spaces.
Ocula Magazine is an online platform dedicated to publishing the best in contemporary art internationally. Explore our in-depth conversations, insights, features, news stories, and photologs covering the Jakarta's arts scene here.
Read MoreSince its launch in 2010, Ocula Magazine has interviewed some of Indonesia's most significant artists including Tromarama, Eko Nugroho, Heri Dono, and Ruangrupa.
In any given week, you can see the works of some of the world's most exciting artists in Jakarta. Here you will find a selection of artists whose works are currently on show in the city.
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Each year, Jakarta sees the return of important international art events in Indonesia. Jakarta Biennale (JB), first established in 1968 under the name of Grand Exhibition of Indonesian Painting, became an international contemporary biennale in 2009. Art Jakarta, Indonesia's premier art fair, was launched in 2009 and has steadily built a reputation for presenting smaller galleries and experimental art with a focus on artists and contemporary art from Southeast Asia.
Jakarta has long held an indispensable position in Indonesia. Established as early as the 5th century, the city quickly became an important trading port and was the de facto capital of the Dutch East Indies during colonial rule. Today, Jakarta's business opportunities attract people from across the island nation, bringing together many communities and cultures. A reflection of this cultural and historical diversity can truly be felt in Jakarta's vibrant art sphere.
Read MoreJakarta is home to the National Gallery of Indonesia, one of the country's most important institutions, which houses over 1700 artworks by Indonesian and international artists such as Raden Saleh, Pierre Soulages, Sutjipto Adi, and Zao Wou-Ki.
The most recent addition to the energetic art scene in Jakarta, The Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Nusantara (Museum MACAN), is the first Indonesian museum fully devoted to modern and contemporary art. Works by both Indonesian and international artists, among them Andy Warhol, Arahmaiani, Cai Guo Qiang, Christine Ay Tjoe, Karel Appel, Lee Ufan, Robert Rauschenberg, and Yayoi Kusama, have been shown at the museum.
Based in the southern part of the city, Ruangrupa—loosely translating to 'space for art'—is a leading artist-run space in Jakarta. It is also the name of the founding art collective, established in 2000, that consists of Indonesian contemporary artists Ade Darmawan, Reza Afisina, and Iswanto Hartono, among others. The collective's initiatives include OK. Video—Indonesia Media Arts Festival, which created a platform for a wider range of artworks than the standard art fair encompassing digital imaging, sound art, and internet-based works, along with an exciting programme of workshops. Ruangrupa was appointed as the curator of the 2022 edition of Documenta in Kassel, becoming the first Documenta artistic director from the Asian region.
Jakarta has also witnessed pivotal moments in Indonesian modern art history. In 1902, an arts organisation called Batavia Art Circle (Bataviasche Kunstkring) was founded . After moving into a building in the centre of the city in 1914, the art society presented important exhibitions of works by Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Kees van Dongen, Marc Chagall, Wasilly Kandinsky, James Ensor, and Käthe Kollwitz, among others.
In the late 1930s, the Union of Indonesian Painters (Persatuan Ahli-Ahli Gambar Indonesia or PERSAGI)—Indonesia's first artist association founded in Jakarta in 1938—criticised the European style of paintings that depicted the romantic landscapes of the Dutch East Indies. They advocated a new modern art that held a distinctly Indonesian identity and highlighted the struggle of the Indonesian people under the colonial system.
The New Art Movement (Gerakan Seni Rupa Baru) of 1974 sprung out of protests during the judging of the first edition of what would later be known as the Jakarta Biennale, centering on the institutional limitation of what could constitute Indonesian fine art practice. Key figures of the movement include artists and art-world figures, such as Jim Supangkat, Dadang Christanto, and FX Harsono, who experimented with the various media of installations, ready-mades, photographs, and photo-realist paintings.
Image: National Gallery of Indonesia, Gambir, Central Jakarta, Indonesia. Photo: Chongkian (CC BY-SA 3.0).
