Artist Biography
Heri Dono (b. 1960, Jakarta, Indonesia, based in Yogyakarta, Indonesia) is recognised as the first Indonesian artist to gain prominence in the global art landscape in the early 1990s. Merging contemporary influences such as cartoon animations with the art of wayang kulit, the traditional Javanese shadow puppet theatre, his paintings, sculptures, installations and performances employ satire to confront systems of oppression.
The New Order authoritarian regime of Indonesia (1966–1998) formed the backdrop to Dono’s early art education and career. It motivated his creative experiments with wayang kulit—commonly used to promote Javanese traditions—to subtly express sociopolitical criticism amid widespread censorship. Across canvases, theatre screens and freestanding forms, satirical renderings of humans, animals, machines and hybrid creatures play out stories that merge reality and fantasy. Since the 1990s, Dono has introduced multimedia elements into his installations. The kinetic work Flying Angels (1996) features floating figures—a cross between biblical cherubs and traditional Javanese puppets—equipped with mechanised wings and open chests that emit recordings of birds and crickets. It explores the complex sociopolitical realities faced by a rapidly transforming Indonesia in the wake of globalisation.
Dono received his art education at the Indonesian Institute of the Arts, Yogyakarta (1980–1987) and studied wayang kulit under the master Sigit Sukasman in Yogyakarta (1987–1988). His work is found in major collections including Guangdong Museum of Modern Art, Guangzhou; Fukuoka Art Museum; Museum der Kulturen, Basel; National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; Okinawa Art Museum; National Gallery of Indonesia, Jakarta; Queensland Art Gallery and Museum of Modern Art, Brisbane; Singapore Art Museum; Museum de Lakenhal, Leiden; and Tropenmuseum, Amsterdam.
Notable solo exhibitions include Animachines (2015), Färgfabriken, Stockholm; De Dono Code (2009), Tropenmuseum, Amsterdam; Nobody’s Land (2008), National Gallery of Indonesia, Jakarta; Broken Angels (2006), Gertrude Contemporary Art Space, Melbourne; Who’s Afraid of Donosaurus (2004), National Gallery of Indonesia, Jakarta; Blooming in Arms (1996), Museum of Modern Art, Oxford; The Chair (1993), Canberra Contemporary Art Space; and Unknown Dimensions (1991), Museum der Kulturen, Basel. The artist has also participated in major international festivals including Possibilities for a Non-Alienated Life (2018), 4th Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Kochi; Beyond Bliss (2018), 1st Bangkok Art Biennale; Myths and Science (2017), 5th Animamix Biennale, Jakarta; Ways of Clay (2016), 4th Jakarta Contemporary Ceramics Biennale; and Maximum City (2011), 14th Jakarta Biennale. The artist represented Indonesia at All The World’s Futures (2015), 56th Venice Biennale.
Dono had his residency at the STPI Workshop in 2015, resulting in the exhibition “Zaman Edan” (The Age of Craziness) (2016).
