Fadjar Sidik
The Modernist Series #7: Ruang: Art:1 New Museum
In the 1950s, what shook my feelings was the national revolution and humanism. So I fought vigorously and emotionally to portray people’s lives, and sought Indonesian
forms. But in the last 30 years, there has been a new, more powerful dynamic that moved me, it is the melancholy that originates from industrialisation
- Fadjar Sidik
Ruang, the seventh edition of Art Agenda’s The Modernist Series, is organised in collaboration with Art:1 New Museum and spotlights Fadjar Sidik, one of Indonesia’s visionary artists who challenged the dominant artistic discourses of his time. The title Ruang which translates to “space” or “room” in English alludes to the complex depths within the seemingly flat forms and compositions in Fadjar Sidik’s paintings. This sense of interiority captured in the title also reflects his creative process: a continuous act of reflection and transformation, where the basic elements of form are reconfigured through introspection.
Fadjar Sidik (1930-2004) has been an influential figure in the Indonesian art scene from the 1950s to the present day. His work holds a significant place in the landscape of Indonesian modern art and has been collected by galleries and collectors around the world. He began his artistic journey with a focus on social realism, often representing the lives and experiences of the people around him. Over time, his methods and artistic process evolved, with his time on the island of Bali marking a significant turning point.
This exhibition explores the shifts in Fadjar Sidik’s artistic language through the lines and forms found in his works. Initially marked by expressive lines that depicted natural landscapes and scenes of daily life, his visual language transformed as Bali underwent its own development and modernisation. He moved away from representational line work, embracing abstract compositions centred on shape and form. This pursuit of purity in form critiques and transcends Western ideals of formal purity that often reject expression, instead drawing on deep internal reflection and a conscious engagement with the dynamics of reality around him.
See Fadjar Sidik's works in person at Ruang, opening 12 June and running till 4 July.
View the works on display here.
Enquiry: Inas +62 815-1906-9694
Fadjar Sidik: Ruang
Level M2, Art:1 New Museum (Jl. Rajawali Selatan Raya no.3, Jakarta, Indonesia 10720)
13 June- 4 July 2025
Tuesday – Saturday 10am-6pm, Sunday 10am-4pm, closed on Monday and public holiday.
VIP Preview: 12 June, starts from 6pm WIB
