Artist Biography
Agus Suwage (b. 1959, Purworejo, Indonesia, based in Yogyakarta, Indonesia) is known for his bold explorations of personal identity that reflects broader issues of society, politics, culture and religion. Often employing the approach of self-portraiture, Suwage’s paintings, drawings, sculptures and installations invite viewers to contemplate on the realities, myths and symbols that shape the self.
Numerous points of reference are layered into many of Suwage’s self-portraits like Circus of Democracy I (1997) and Self Portrait and the Theatre Stage (2019), from the inclusion of popular and religious iconography to the appropriation of historic artworks. They mirror the pluralism of the artist’s personal experience, such as his mixed Chinese-Javanese heritage and his conversion from Christianity to Islam. In the highly-charged Social Mirrors (2013), Suwage places a small copper figure of himself with his ears covered in front of a brass cornet playing the Muslim call to prayer. Referencing Indonesia’s authoritarian past and the rise of religious fundamentalism, the work prompts viewers to consider forms of power and intolerance imposed on individual and collective expression.
Suwage obtained his MFA in Graphic Design from the Bandung Institute of Technology in 1986. His work is held in various collections including the Singapore Art Museum; Fukuoka Art Museum; Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum; Museum of Modern Art, Saitama; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; and Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca.
Notable recent exhibitions include SUNSHOWER (2017), National Art Center, Tokyo and Mori Art Museum, Tokyo; Manifesto V (2016), National Gallery of Indonesia, Jakarta; After Utopia (2015), Singapore Art Museum; and Panorama (2012), Singapore Art Museum. The artist has also participated in major international festivals including Indonesia Encounters the Arab Region (2013), 12th Biennale Jogja, Yogyakarta; Neo-Nation (2007), 9th Biennale Jogja, Yogyakarta; Belief (2006), 1st Singapore Biennale; Countrybution (2003), 7th Yogyakarta Biennale; Man + Space (2000), 3rd Gwangju Biennale; Collective Memories (1997), 6th Havana Biennale; and APT2 (1996), 2nd Asia Pacific Triennial, Brisbane.
Suwage had his residency at the STPI Workshop in 2009, resulting in the exhibition Circle (2009).