Three Decades of Gajah Gallery: Celebrating Southeast Asian Art Under One Sky
On June 18, coinciding with the Fine Arts Festival in Yogyakarta, Gajah Gallery opened the exhibition Many Horizons, One Sky. This is how the gallery celebrates thirty years of its journey through a presentation featuring 19 artists from different generations, mediums, and regions across Southeast Asia.
Three decades is a long enough time to witness how the art landscape has transformed, how artists have evolved, and how perspectives on contemporary Southeast Asian art have shifted. Gajah Gallery has been present through all of these changes. Through cultural exchange, residency programs, and cross-border collaborations, the gallery has opened spaces for Southeast Asian art practices to be seen and understood internationally.
The vision at the heart of all this is quite simple yet powerful: contemporary Southeast Asian art possesses a distinctive visual language, perspective, and critical position. It is not an extension of a larger global narrative, but rather a conversation that stands on its own with its own relevance.
Many Horizons, One Sky is an exhibition that brings together cross-generational dialogue. Established artists are presented alongside emerging names. I Gusti Ayu Kadek Murniasih presents paintings and soft sculptures with a radical visual language. Semsar Siahaan transforms his artistic practice into a space for voicing social critique in complex times. Ugo Untoro contemplates human existence in contemporary life, while Handiwirman Saputra seeks hidden beauty within everyday objects.
Yunizar's newest works, presented here for the first time, bring a simplification of figures and objects through an intuitive and emotionally resonant approach. This marks a different artistic step from what the artist has done before, demonstrating how artistic practice continues to evolve and shift.
The younger generation also brings different energy. Rosit Mulyadi employs appropriation for socio-political critique. Ridho Rizki blends pointillism and impressionism in still life compositions. Kayleigh Goh works with cement and gesso to explore materiality within urban landscapes. Jemana Murti uses 3D printing to highlight the relationship between technology and tradition. Dini Nur Aghnia, Satya Cipta, and Fika Ria Santika bring artistic experimentation and material research that reflect visual shifts across the region.
The exhibition also features works from Yogya Art Lab, a bronze casting studio that functions as a space for experimentation and exchange between artists and local craftspeople. Here, artistic approaches are translated into three-dimensional form. Intimate gestures in the works of Benedicto "BenCab" Cabrera. Social sensitivity in Charlie Co's practice. Poetic depictions of nature in Han Sai Por's work. Jigger Cruz's exploration of surface and form. Jane Lee's investigation of material boundaries. Ashley Bickerton's reflection on the relationship between humans and nature. And Wei Ligang's response to his experience in Yogyakarta.
Through this exhibition, Gajah Gallery reaffirms its vision: art as a force capable of moving, connecting, and opening new possibilities for the future.
Many Horizons, One Sky runs until July 19, 2026 at Gajah Gallery Yogyakarta.
