[caption id="attachment_14136" align="aligncenter" width="613" caption="Heri Dono's "Angels face to the future", 2007 (a sound installation) / Courtesy l'artiste. © Louis Vuitton, Pauline Guyon "][/caption] "Trans-Figurations" exhibition presents 11 Yogyakarta-based contemporary artists at the Espace culturel Louis Vuitton in Paris until October 23. For its 16th exhibition, the Espace culturel Louis Vuitton continues its regular exploration of emerging artistic scenes in distant countries with the presentation of Trans-Figurations - Indonesian Mythologies. The Espace culturel invites visitors to discover an energetic and effervescent generation of Indonesian artists. Consisting of more than seventeen thousand islands and a population of two hundred and forty million inhabitants, Indonesia is the fourth most highly populated country in the world. Nowadays, it is a secular democracy in which all religious movements live side by side. At the centre of the island of Java is the city of Yogyakarta, a real “hive of artistic activity” marked by its ancient beliefs, its history and its geography, which are a continual source of inspiration for artists. Artists: Heri Dono, Arie Dyanto, Mella Jaarsma, Jompet Kuswidananto, Agung Kurniawan, Eko Nugroho, Garin Nugroho, Ariadyhitya Pramuhendra, Eko Prawoto, Bayu Widodo, Tintin Wulia Exhibition curator: Hervé Mikaeloff

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PARIS—Indonesia is an art scene often overlooked, historically buried in religious and political turmoil and overshadowed by India's emergence. Group shows or coherent surveys of artists from the world's most populous Muslim nation have been few and far between, so "Trans-Figurations", presenting 11 Yogyakarta-based contemporary artists at Espace Culturel Louis Vuitton in Paris, not only illuminates Indonesian art but elevates it beyond the expected, showing a seamless crossroads of traditional mythology, newly harnessed creative freedom, national unity and touches of global inspiration. "What makes Yogyakarta special is the combination of intellectual and artistic aesthetics," says Heri Dono, a veteran of the capital's scene and, at age 51, something of an informal godfather to the exhibition, for which he presents a line-up of figures inspired by traditional wayang golek shadow puppets. The works bear a slight ressemblance to the Japanese manga cartoon "UFO Robot Grendizer," outfitted with little chest-transistors. "From the outside, you only see Indonesian tradition, but inside, nothing is dictated by that," Dono told ARTINFO."The artists gain from exhibiting internationally, but keep the local issues and context - problems as basic as earthquakes and volcanos. The art, the culture and the people are all connected, art is never just for its own sake. Artists have become mediators." [article continues...] Read the rest of this exhibition review from ArtInfo ——————————————————————————--------------------- This event came via Twitter user artdialog (Thanks!) -----------------------------------------------------------------------------