Handiwirman Saputra b. 1975
“When you examine and you look closely, the familiar becomes the strange. That is the difference between seeing and looking.”
– Handiwirman Saputra
Artist Biography
Handiwirman Saputra (b. 1975, Bukittinggi, Indonesia, based in Yogyakarta, Indonesia) reimagines the still-life genre with his paintings and installations constructed from ordinary and often-discarded materials. Meticulously assembled, his abstract forms evoke both the familiar and the otherworldly, inviting viewers to reconsider their relationship with their everyday environments.
The use of mundane materials is characteristic of Saputra and several other prominent Indonesian artists who began their careers after President Suharto’s autocratic regime in the 2000s. Moving away from direct sociopolitical commentary, they turned towards formal explorations and introspection. In his extensive No Roots, No Shoots (2011–ongoing) series, Saputra creates curious sculptures and paintings that reference trash bags, construction tools, fallen branches and other debris found at riverbanks near his home. Focusing on visual qualities such as texture, shape and colour, the works prompt viewers to contemplate the stories residing in each object.
Saputra obtained his BFA from the Indonesia Institute of the Arts, Yogyakarta in 1996. His work is held in leading collections including Mori Art Museum, Tokyo; Museum MACAN, Jakarta; National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane; and Singapore Art Museum.
Notable exhibitions include Materials and Boundaries (2017), Mori Art Museum, Tokyo; Tak Berakar, Tak Berpucuk (No Roots, No Shoots) (2011), National Gallery of Indonesia, Jakarta; Singapore Art Museum; Contemporaneity (2010), Museum of Contemporary Art Shanghai; Classic Contemporary (2010), Singapore Art Museum; Beyond the Deucht (2009), Centraal Museum, Utrecht; Jendela (2009), NUS Museum, Singapore; and Under Construction (2002), Tokyo Opera City. The artist has also participated in major international festivals including May You Live in Interesting Times (2019), 58th Venice Biennale; APT9 (2018), 9th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Brisbane; Not A Dead End (2013), 12th Jogja Biennale, Yogyakarta; Jogja Jamming (2009), 10th Jogja Biennale, Yogyakarta; Fluid Zones (2009), 13th Jakarta Biennale; Belief (2006), 1st Singapore Biennale; and Countrybution (2003), 7th Yogyakarta Biennale.
Saputra had his residency at the STPI Workshop in 2011, resulting in the exhibition Ujung Sangkut Sisi Sentuh/Suspended Forms (2012).