Farewell 2017 & Ringing in the New Year
Years come and years go. It’s time to count our blessings and let go of old regrets – opening a clean page to start afresh with new dreams and hopes.
FX Harsono, a seminal figure in the Indonesian contem-porary art scene whose works have been exhibited here and abroad or found homes in collections in renowned museums:
“I took part in four big international exhibitions organized by independent institutions in 2017: A group exhibition entitled `Rosa’s Wound’ at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Taipei; `Sunshower: Art from Southeast Asia 1980s Now’ at the National Art Center Tokyo and Mori Art Museum; ‘After Darkness: South-east Asian Art in the Wake of History’ by Asia Society, New York; and ‘Power & Other Things: Indonesia & Art 1835-Now’ at the Europalia Arts Festival in Brussels.
These international events were happy moments for me. I feel they were good accomplishments. There were also several informal or alternative [art] education projects for young artists that have proven to be very successful in helping the emergence of accomplished young artists. However, I also made plans to take part in several activi-ties which did not materialize this year, hopefully next year. Besides, the unconducive market situation certainly has had an impact, slowing down funding, such as for several research projects and documentary film projects.
Next year I plan to conduct research for a new work, with a new theme and dealing with a new issue. I haven’t decided what the new project will be, but the research will involve taking trips to several regions in Indonesia. [Next year] I will create a new work for my solo exhibition in 2019 and start writing a book on the journey of my creative process all this year.”