Heri Dono
Exhibition & Residency:
September 1-24, 2015

Heri Dono is a reputable Indonesian artist who has exhibited and traveled worldwide. He is also an active member of the Yogyakarta art community and a strong supporter of young artists. He is renowned for his installation-based experiments that explore popular forms of Javanese Folk Theater–the wayang kulit. Through the guise of theatre and simulacra, Dono enacts myths through his multi-faceted storytelling; he incorporates drawings, paintings, crafted puppets, masks, singing, and music to illustrate pointed critiques of the social and political life of Indonesia.

Dono places particular emphasis on the relationships and dialogues he is able to harness through the performative potential of theater. His predilection for children’s cartoons, animations, and comics transform into sophisticated metaphors that reflect a profound commitment to his local and national audience.

Heri Dono has been honored with a major retrospective of his work, entitled The World and I: Heri Dono’s Art Odyssey, at the Art1: New Museum. His work was exhibited at the Changwon Sculpture Biennale and the Gwangju Biennale 2014. He has been invited to participate in several other international exhibitions including Venice Biennale in Italy (2003), the Asia Pacific Triennial at the Queensland Art Gallery in Brisbane, Australia (2002), and the Yokohama Triennal in Yokohama, Japan (2001). He is the recipient of the Academic Art Awards (presented by Jogja Gallery), the Second Annual Enku Grand Awards (presented by Gifu Prefectural Government, Japan), the UNESCO Prize for the International Art Biennial (Shanghai, China), and the Prince Claus Award, in Recognition of Exceptional Initiatives and Activities in the Field of Art and Development (The Netherlands).

Website