Artists' Biographies

Affandi (1907 - 1990)
Affandi was born 1907 in Cirebon, West Java, in 1907. Affandi taught himself how to paint since 1934 and in the mid 50’s began to create expressionistic paintings. He is considered as one of the founding fathers of Indonesian Modern Art. He founded the “Community Artist” and the “People’s Artist” organizations in 1946 and 1947 respectively. He also taught painting and sculpture at the Indonesian Academy of Fine Arts in Yogyakarta. In his lifetime, Affandi received numerous awards and accolades in Indonesia as well as abroad, with the crowning glory being the Grand Maestro title in Florence, Italy. He had held numerous solo and group exhibitions in several countries including Indonesia, France, Belgium, Brazil, USA, Italy, India and Singapore.

Agung Mangu Putra (b. 1963)
Agung Mangu Putra was born 1963 in Bali, Indonesia. He studied at the faculty of Art and Design at ISI (Indonesia Arts Institute) and graduated in 1990. His first group exhibition was held in Denpasar, bali in 1987, and his first solo exhibition was held 3 years later in Ubud. He received the Best in Design Arts award at the 4th and 5th Anniversary of ISI, and was one of 10 finalist at the 1994 Philiip Morris Award. Mangu Putra's presents dreamlike landscapes rendered on canvas using unusual texturing materials which can include such materials as pasta and glue. This exciting and very talented artist has participated in a number of group and solo exhibitions throughout Indonesia and abroad.

Agus Suwage (b. 1959)
Born in 1959, in Purworejo, Central Java, Agus Suwage was initially trained as a graphic designer at Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB). His works is about the ironies of the human condition – how violence and pain are irrevocably connected to happiness and pleasure. Married with 2 children, Agus Suwage currently lives and works in Yogyakarta, Central Java, Indonesia. He has several solo exhibitions, including Ough... Nguik!, at the National Gallery of Indonesia and Countrybution, the 7th Yogyakarta Biennial in 2003. He also exhibited at the 2nd AsiaPacific Triennial (1996), Awas! Recent Art from Indonesia (a touring exhibition to Australia, Japan, Germany and the Netherlands, 1999-2000) and Man + Space at Gwangju Biennale (2000).

Alit Sembodo (1973 – 2003)
Born in 1973 in Magelang, Central Java. Alit Sembodo’s work is characterized by dramatic throngs of diminutive human figures in intense activity dominating his canvases. Despite a short- lived artistic career, dying at the age of 30, he created a number of significant and noteworthy works. He often exhibited his artworks. He won the Pratisara Affandi Adi Karya Prize in 1999 when he was still attending at the Indonesia Institute of the Arts Yogyakarta. He combines a powerful narrative talent through his illustration to comment on society. Thus Alit's paintings have shown the tendency to become a media for social commentary.

Anton Huang (1935 – 1985)
Born in Bandung, 1935. At 20s, he learnt painting from painter Kartono Yudhokusumo at Sanggar Seniman and continued to study under painter Barli. In 1959, he held his exhibition in several major cities in Indonesia among others in Jakarta, Bandung and Surabaya. He was also active participating in many exhibitions abroad such as in Denmark and Amsterdam. In 1969, he moved to Bali where he strongly in contact with European artist that develop his painting.

Antonio Blanco (1911 – 1999)
Antonio Blanco was born on September 15, 1911, in Manila, the capital of the Philippines. Both of his parents were Spanish. Blanco was educated at the American Central School in Manila. After completing high school in Manila, Blanco studied at the National Academy of Art in New York under Sidney Dickinson. During those early formative years, Blanco concentrated on the human form, fascinated by the female body more than any other subject matter. To further his studies and ignite his traveling spirit, he traveled extensively throughout the world before he finally landed in Bali in 1952. Blanco and his Balinese wife, the celebrated dancer Ni Ronji, lived in their mountain retreat, barely leaving it for the world outside. Following a brief trip to the United States, where Blanco acquired many new collectors, the couple never left their fantasy home again. Living in serene surroundings with his four children, Tjempaka, Mario, Orchid and Maha Devi, Bali became Blanco's center. He was fascinated by the island and completely captivated by its charm. Blanco lived and worked in his magical hilltop home until his death in 1999.

Awiki (b. 1961)
Awiki was born 1961 in Surabaya (East Java), Indonesia studied painting from Bani Amora in Genteng, Banyuwangi at age of twelve at the Intermediate School of Art (SMSR) Yogyakarta. He also studied Art at Sanggar Pajeng Art Studio known for its strict adherence to realism. He has held solo and group exhibitions in Indonesia, Singapore and China. Awiki works fast and furious with a thick impasto style and uses an intense palette on subjects drawn from everyday encounters and impressions. Awiki, who is esteemed among his peers for his modesty as well as his talent presently resides in Bali.

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Budi Kustarto (b. 1972)
Budi Kustarto was born 1972 in Karanbawang, Central Java, Indonesia. From 1988 – 1992, he majored in Visual Communications at SMSR/High School of Fine Arts in Yogyakarta. From 1993 to 2003, he studied culptural Art at the Indonesian Institute of Fine Arts (ISI). In 2003, He worked briefly as a commercial artist in Switzerland. His first solo exhibition was held in Jakarta and curated by Rizki Zaelani in 2003. His last 2 solo shows were held in Beijing, China. He was also involved in numerous group exhibitions held in Singapore, Indonesia and China. Important events he had participated in includes the 2005 CP Biennale held in Jakarta, the Contemporary Indonesian Art exhibition held at the Sichuan At Museum, China in 2005 and lastly the 2006 Jakarta Biennale.

Budi Ubrux (b. 1968)
Budi Ubrox was born in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, in 1968. He graduated in painting from Sekolah Menengah Seni Rupa Yogyakarta (SMSR) / Yogyakarta Fine Arts High School. He received awards as the first winner of the Philip Morris Indonesia Art Awards. He was a finalist for the Philip Morris ASEAN Art Award in Singapore (2000) and Indofood Art Award, Jakarta (2002). He has had solo exhibitions in Semarang and Singapore, and has participated in group exhibitions in Indonesia and Russia.

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Cai Zhisong 蔡志松 (b. 1972)

Cai Zhisong was born in 1972 in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China. He graduated from the Central Academy of Arts (Sculpture Department) in 1997 and earned a post-graduate diploma from the Central Academy of Arts in 2001. Cai has had solo exhibitions in the United States, Beijing and Shanghai and has been included in group exhibitions in Beijing, Washington D.C., Miami, Paris, Germany, and San Francisco, among other cities.

Cang Xin 仓鑫 (b. 1967)

Cang Xin was born in Heilongjiang Province, China. He is an artist based in Beijing working in performance art and photography. He holds the belief that all things have spirit — both animate and inanimate objects — and approaches his work as a means to promote harmonious communication with nature. His works have included bathing with lizards, adorning the clothing of strangers, and prostrating himself on icy glaciers: each act represents a ritual of becoming the other. He has exhibited in shows including the 2006 Bologna International Art Expo in Italy, A Strange Heaven at the Helsinki Museum of Contemporary Art, Bad Girls, Good Girls at Red Foundation in London and Between Past and Future at the New York International Center of Photography. He participated in exhibitions in Spain with the Espace Ample Gallery.

Chen Liu 陈流 (b. 1973)

Chen Liu was born 1973 in Kunming, Yunnan province, China. With his father a famous painter and his mother an accomplished woodcutter, Chen began painting regularly in 1985. He graduated from Beijing’s renowned Tsinghua Fine Arts Institute in 1996. His works have since been exhibited extensively in cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Guiyang, Taiwan, New York, Milan and Vietnam. He currently works as a Professor specializing in oil painting at Yunnan Art Institute. Chen Liu’s influences include American comics and Japanese manga.

Chen Wenling 陈文令 (b. 1969)

Chen Wenling was born in 1969, in Fujian, China. He graduated from Xiamen Academy of Art and Design in 1991 and completed his study in the Sculpture Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing. He currently works and lives in Beijing as a professional artist. Chen Wenling has exhibited extensively both in China and worldwide in Asia, Europe and the USA. He is known for his sculptures which serve as searing criticisms of modern day consumerism and greed. Though his style is raw, his sculptures invariably carry a comical undertone.

Chen Yiming 陈逸鸣 (b. 1951)

Born in Shanghai, Chen Yi Ming attended the Shanghai School of Fine Arts and continued his training in the Oil Painting Department of the Shanghai Drama College until 1979. He was a teacher of fine art at Shanghai Light Industry College from 1979 to 1981, and he came to the United States in 1981. Chen Yiming has achieved notable success at an early age. In addition to numerous exhibitions in the Far East, he has exhibited at Lincoln Centre, and has had successful showings in New York and Chicago. His exhibitions have been well received and many of his works have been purchased for important private and public collections throughout US, Europe and the Far East.

Chiu Ya-tsai 邱亚才 (b. 1949)

Chiu Ya-tsai was born in 1949, Yilan on the east coast of Taiwan. He is a self taught artist who specializes in painting Taiwan’s modern-day literati luminaries such as poets, artists and professors. Influenced by European expressionism, his subjects often appeared elongated with an air of subdued melancholy which is accentuated by his use of somber moody shades of colors. Besides painting, Chiu Ya-tsai is also a poet as well as a published writer of numerous novels. The artist presently lives and works in Taipei. His paintings have been widely exhibited in Spring Gallery (Taipei), National Museum of History and Taiwan Museum of Art as well as overseas in Hongkong, Australia and USA.

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Dipo Andy (b. 1975)
Dipo Andy is born in 1975 in Sumbawa, Indonesia. He graduated from the Indonesia Institute of Art in 1999. Dipo Andy participated in more than 30 group exhibition and had his first solo exhibition in 1999 titled “Voice of Nation”. His most recent exhibition was “Mirror: Masters Revisited” in 2006. Dipo Andy won several awards, including the “Top 5 Winner of Indonesia Art Award“ in 1999.

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Erica Hestu Wahyuni (b. 1971)
Erica was born 1971 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. She is hailed as one of the finest artist in Naïve Art (Fresh, childlike style of painting, employing bright colours and strong, rhythmic designs) from Indonesia. She studied painting at the prestigious Indonesian Fine Art Institute in Yogyakarta, Indonesia and Surikov Institute of Art, Russia. Her paintings are usually unpretentious expressions of herself and they reflect her experiences and interests. Erica’s art may be childlike, but they are certainly not simplistic. Each work contains interesting narrative qualities, which reveal the worldview of the artist. She has held solo and group exhibitions in Singapore, Indonesia, Japan and Philippines.Erica Hestu Wahyuni.

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F.X. Harsono (b. 1948)
F.X. Harsono was born in 1948 in Java, Indonesia. He studied at the Jakarta Institute of the Arts where he had his first solo exhibition. He believes that a work of art should express social problems. He sees his role as being a social and political activist. He addresses what he sees as the urban and environmental issues important in Indonesia today. He creates both two dimensional paintings and three dimensional sculptures.

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Gao Lei 高磊 (b. 1980)

Gao Lei was born in 1980 in Changsa, China. He graduated from the Fine Arts School of the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 2001. In 2006 he graduated from the Department of Digital Media of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. His unique photographic technique has won him numerous awards including Experimental Artwork 1/3 Silver Award, Yokohama International New Media Art Festival 2006.

Gong Lilong 宫立龙 (b. 1953)

Gong Lilong was born 1953 in the city of Dalian in China. He graduated from the department of Oil painting at Luxun Fine Art Academy in 1982. His works tend to feature charming and handsome- featured as well as full-figured Chinese folks or couples engaged in dance, play or displays of affection. Currently, he is the Vice-president at the Fine Artist Institute of Shenyang province, and a member of the Fine Art Institute of China. The artist has taken part in numerous exhibitions in China and abroad.

Guo Jin 郭晋 (b. 1964)

Guo Jin was born in 1964, in Chengdu, China. A graduate of Szechuan Academy of Fine Arts in 1990, he has participated in countless successful solo and group exhibitions in China, South East Asia, USA and Europe. His paintings of cherubic children in costume and play are easily recognizable and have become a signature for his work. A prevalent theme for Guo Jin’s paintings is the “ reflection and contemplation of man’s naiveté” while the children “ represent the essence of idealism that we possessed but were probably lost after”. His most recent solo exhibition entitled “Guo Jin’s Return”, was held in 2008 at the Indonesia National Museum in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Guo Wei 郭伟 (b. 1960)

Guo Wei was born 1960 in Chengdu, China. He graduated in 1989 from the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute. Since 1992, Guo Wei has been involved in many art events both in China and abroad in Singapore, Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Mexico, Spain, Thailand, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, USA and UK. A successful artist, he has also held solo shows in Paris (France), Macau (Hongkong), San Francisco (USA), Santa Monica (USA), Los Angeles (USA) and Beijing (China) and Taiwan.

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Haris Purnomo (b. 1956)
Haris Purnomo was born 1956 in Delanggu, Klaten, Central Java, Indonesia. He graduated from Sekolah Seni Rupa Indonesia (School of Art) in 1975. He is also an alumni of the Indonesian Academy of Fine Arts (ASRI), now called the Indonesian Institute of Arts (ISI) Yogyakarta. His compelling paintings of tattooed babies are said to be satirical with socio-political concerns, the discordant visual image of painfully applied tattoos on tender baby skin is a powerful image. Haris has conducted solo exhibitions in countries such as China, Indonesia and Hong Kong. He has also exhibited in many group exhibitions in USA, Taiwan, Dubai, China and Indonesia. In 2007, he has been awarded “The 2007 Schoeni Public Vote Prize”, Sovereign Asian Art Prize and Pratitha Adhikarya 2007 (painting, illustration and ornament), Yogyakarta.

He Sen 何森 (b. 1968)

He Sen was born in 1968 in Kaiyuan, Yunnan Province, China. He Sen's ability to create works with such a palpable feeling of tragedy and emotion is a view into his interest in understanding the human psyche. His series Women's Portraits is both a rigorous investigation into the possibilities of painting and a commentary on the powerlessness of his own generation to which he attributes to the ever-evolving Chinese society. He Sen has exhibited his works since 1992, most notably at the Shanghai Art museum in 2000 and at the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Croatia in 2002.

Hendra Gunawan (1918 - 1983)
Hendra Gunawan was born in 1918, in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. A remarkable man, he was not only a gifted artist, but a poet, sculptor and a political activist. In his youth, he was a student of artists Wahdi Sumanta and Affandi. Later In 1935, together with 2 other artists, they formed the Kelombok Lima (Group of Five) in Bandung. He also helped to establish Sundanese Heritage (Bandung) and People’s Artist Studio (Yogyakarta) in 1940 and 1947 respectively. In 1978, he moved to Bali and 3 years later, held a solo exhibition in Denpasar. His works are vigorous portrayals of the lives of villagers and common people in bright colors. Many of Gunawan's works have been lost, fortunately museums and private collectors have located and catalogued over 120 of his paintings and sketches, along with eleven sculptures.

Huang Gang 黄钢 (b. 1961)
Huang gang was born 1961 in Beijing, China. A Master Degree graduate of the China Central Academy of Art & Design, he lived through the violent and turbulent Cultural Revolution. That experience left an indelible mark in his psyche that has influenced his mixed media works. Incorporating both western and eastern elements, Gang’s creations have been exhibited and well received in Singapore, China, Korea, Germany, France, Switzerland and exclusively in the United States at Galerie Zuger in Santa Fe, New Mexico. His fascination with Tibetan culture is evident in a majority if his works, whereby he incorporates indigenous Tibetan timber and hand written buddhist scriptures as well as religious motifs such as the Mandala.

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I Nyoman Masriadi (b. 1973)
Masriadi was born 1973 in Gianyar, Bali. He received his training in art at the Institute Seni Indonesia (ISI) Yogyakarta. Presently, Nyoman Masriadi is one of the most well received contemporary Indonesian artist in the Art world. He has received various awards for his work, including the Best Painting Award at the Des Natalis Awards in 1997, held by the Yogyakarta Art Institute (ISI). Since 1993, he has participated in group exhibitions in Australia and the Netherlands, and in Indonesia: In Bali, Jakarta, Mungkid (Mageland), Solo, Surabaya and Yogyakarta. In 2008, held his first solo exhibition “Black is my weapon” at the Singapore Art Museum.

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Jiang Shuo 蒋朔 (b. 1958)
Jiang Shuo was born in 1958 in Beijing, she studied sculpture at the Central Academy of Arts and Design, which is now under Tsinghua University. One of China’s most eminent female sculptors Jiang Shuo completed her master degree in 1985 and started her career in teaching sculpture at the Central Academy until 1989. With her husband Wu Shaoxiang, they migrated to Austria and worked at their joint studio there. Jiang Shuo’s signature works are her “red guards” series. These eye-catching bronzes adorn many institutions, private museums, public areas as well as private collections. Her distinctive sculptures have been well received round the world in both solo and group exhibitions in Asia, USA and Europe.

Jin Nu 金釹 (b. 1984)

Jin Nu was born in 1984 in Hebei Province, China. She studied at the Sculpture Department of China Central Academy of Fine Art. Most of her works carry a visual expression of sentimental beauty. The style is described as a characterisation of new generation self-awareness ruminated from the accumulation of childhood memories of fairy tales.

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KAWS (Brian Donnelly) (b. 1974)

KAWS was born in 1974 in Jersey City, USA. He graduated with a BFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York. He has had international solo exhibitions at several galleries including Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin, Miami, FL; Bape Gallery, Tokyo, Japan; Colette, Paris, France; Gering & López Gallery, New York, NY; and Honor Fraser Gallery, Los Angeles, CA. By augmenting imagery whose origins are innocuous, KAWS subverts popular culture and presents a vision of panic and anxiety. Incorporating his signature "X"ed out eyes, the figures become premonitions of their own deaths, merging childlike imagery with abstract concept. High art strategies and popular icons become interchangeable. KAWS’ paintings at once recognize the way that popular images inseminate our lives and suggest the collapse of visual culture.

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Lee Man Fong 李曼峰 (1913 - 1988)
Lee Man Fong was born in Canton, China. At three years old, his family emigrated to Singapore. In 1932, he uprooted once again, this time to Indonesia, to become a commercial artist. He became a full time artist in 1940, and in 1949, he was awarded a grant by the Dutch government for a three year art scholarship in The Netherlands. Upon his return, he was noticed by then President Sukarno, a powerful and influential arts patron, and was appointed as the curator to the presidential collection. Lee drew inspiration from Balinese subjects and he did a series of large paintings depicting various activities in Bali’s daily life which are remarkable. After the fall of Sukarno, Fong retreated into private life until his death in 1988.

Liu Ye 刘野 (b. 1964)

Liu Ye was born in 1964. He graduated from the Beijing Central Academy of Fine Arts from the Mural Painting Dept. and went on to earn a Masters of Fine Arts from Hochschule der Kunst in Berlin, Germany. He currently lives and works in Beijing.Today, one of China’s best selling contemporary artists, Liu Ye is a striking example of a Chinese artist exploring his own internal world through external and anonymous figures and western icons. Most of his work is completed in bright, vivid and warm colors while the more melancholic pieces are toned down to dark and cold blues.

Li Jikai 李继开 (b. 1975)

Li Jikai was born 1975 in Chengdu, China. In 2004, he graduated with a Masters of Fine Arts from the Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts located in Chongqing. Currently, he lectures at the animation department of Hubei Institute of Fine Arts. His works, both sculptures and paintings, usually describe the inner turmoil of China’s young generation. Important exhibitions include: 2004, in He Xiangning Art Museum, Shenzhen, “Mood of the Youth— Exhibition of Rewarded Paintings of Chinese Newly Emerging Artists”; 2005, “Next Stop, Cartoon?” in Gallery 3818; 2006, “Variable Images—Chinese Contemporary Oil Paintings Invitational Exhibition”, Shanghai Art Museum.

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M. Irfan (b. 1972)
M. Irfan was born 1972 in Bukit Tinggi, West Sumatra. He comes from a place where opportunities are very limited, and most young men from Bukit Tinggi travel out of the small town in search of a better future. Irfan depicts in his works the sadness of these men when leaving for a destination unknown to them. M. Irfan’s abilities to recreate images in detailed realism baffle the viewer. His use of contrasting colors and shadows enables him to reproduce realistically onto his canvases.

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Natee Utarit (b. 1970)
Natee Utarit was born 1970 in Bangkok, Thailand. Natee Utarit studied at College of Fine Art, Bangkok in 1987 and graduated from The Faculty of Painting, Sculpture and Graphic Arts, Silpakorn University, Bangkok (1992) with a Bachelor of Fine Arts specialization in Graphic Art. His great works earned him numerous awards since he began his career as painter. Natee Utarit’s paintings had been on numerous international exhibitions in countries such as Poland, Japan, Bangkok, etc. Apart from that, Natee Utarit has consistently held his own solo exhibitions since 1994.

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Popo Iskandar (1927 - 2000)
Born in 1927, Garut, West Java, Popo Iskandar began painting in 1944 as a poster painter for the Information Service of Indonesian Students Armed Force (TRIP). He graduated from the Bandung Institute of Technology, Department of Fine Arts in 1958. A lecturer at the State Teachers Trainings College in Bandung, Popo not just an artist, but a well-respected intellect, art critic and observer. In 1970, he was awarded life membership by the Jakarta Academy for his dedication and contributions to the arts. Since 1953, Popo has participated in many group exhibitions held in China, England, India, Japan, Holland and USA as well as solo shows in Indonesia and Holland.

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Qi Zhilong 祁志龙 (b. 1962)

Qi Zhilong was born 1962 in Huhehot, Inner Mongolia Autonomous region. In 1987, Qi graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing. Later in 1992, he moved to the Artist village located at Yuanming garden. He is a prominent painter who is known for his political pop images, mostly of Chinese women during the Cultural Revolution. His works are somewhat plain and realistic, but almost sweet representations of pig tailed women from the 1950s and 1960s and people in the 1970s and 1980s.

Qin Fengling 秦凤玲 (b. 1957)

Qin Fengling was born in 1957 in Beijing, China. Wife to the famous Wang Luyan, she is a self-taught artist who began painting in 1985. Over the last 5 years she has exhibited in an increasing number of exhibitions. Qin Fengling has developed her own individual style of painting and found her own artistic language. Ignoring traditionally accepted methods, she creates pieces that can only be described as “sculpture on canvas”. Qin Fengling forms figures by squeezing colors directly from tubes onto her canvas, thereby effectively painting and sculpting her three-dimensional characters simultaneously. The result is paintings which are similar to bas-relief sculptures in their ability to interact with light and shadow. Qin Fengling’s unusual technique gives her work an originality and uniqueness that very few artists can claim.

Qu Guangci 瞿广慈 (b. 1969)
Qu Guangci was born 1969 in Shanghai, China. He graduated in 1989 from the Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts. Later in 1994, he pursued a degree at the Sculpture Department of the Central Academy of Fine Art. Finally in 1997, he obtained a Masters from the Sculpture Department of the Central Academy of Fine Art. In 1998, he staged his first solo exhibition at the Hallway Gallery of the Center Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, and a year later, he received the Bronze Medal at “The 9the National Arts Exhibition”. He also participated in international art events held in Paris, France and Dusseldorf, Germany.

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Rearngsak Boonyavanishkul (b. 1961)
Rearngsak Boonyavanishkul was born in Singhburi, Thailand in 1961. Since a young age of 7, Rearngsak has been interested in art. He graduated from the Silpakorn University in Bangkok, Thailand with a B.F.A. in Painting, Sculpture and Graphic Arts in 1986. He won the first prize and was awarded a gold medal for a major art competition in 1985, and has since won several awards in Thailand and Singapore. In 1990, Rearngsak was one of the winners in the Osaka Triennale held in Japan. Rearngsak has gone through numerous international art events including solo and group exhibitions in Thailand, Singapore, Japan, Australia and UK. Rearngsak’s impressive works have been in auctions since 1993 and has been a favourite with ardent collectors around the world.

Richard Winkler (b. 1969)
Richard Winkler was born in 1969 in Sweden. As a boy he was inspired by his grandfather, a painter, who later gave him his first art lessons. After graduating from high school, where he studied science, he moved to Stockholm, Sweden. There he attended the Nyckelviken School of Arts where he studied visual arts and continued on to the Beckmans School of Design where he studied fine art and graphic design. Richard moved to Indonesia in the 90’s and is now well known for his vivid and light contemporary art. His paintings celebrate obese figures in bright color, popping up between mysterious landscapes and detailed flora inspired by his life in Bali.

Ronald Ventura (b. 1973)
Ronald Ventura was born in Manila, Philippines in 1973. He graduated in 1993 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree majoring in Painting from the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Philippines. After graduation, he worked as an instructor at the College of Fine Arts and Design. Besides Philippines, Ronald Ventura was also involved in exhibitions overseas in Japan, Korea and Taiwan the Asian International Art Exhibition at Fukuoka Art Museum in 2004 and the International Biennial Print and Drawing Exhibit, Taipei, held in 1999. His first solo exhibition entitled “All Souls Day” was held in 2001 to rave reviews, and attracted attention for his spectacular nudes “in a setting of urban decay”. Ronald Ventura is the recipient of numerous awards in Philippines since 1990. In 2005, he was honored as one of the 3 winners of the Ateneo Art Awards in Philippines.

Rudolf Bonnet (1895 – 1978)

Johan Rudolf Bonnet was a Dutch artist who lived much of his life in the town of Ubud on Bali, Indonesia.He was born into a Dutch Huguenot- descended family who had been bakers for many generations. He attended the Rijksacademie van Beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam. He was invited to live in Ubud in 1929 by Cokorde Gede Raka Sukawati. He was forced to leave Bali in 1957 after he refused to sell a painting to President Soekarno; he was able to return 15 years later.

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Shi Hu 石虎 (b. 1942)

Shi Hu was born 1942 in Yu Shui, Ho Bei Province, China. Shi Hu came from a very humble background, and did not received an art education like most of his peers. As a child, he taught himself art and was relentlessly committed to his love for art. His breakthrough came when he had the opportunity to represent his country to visit the African states. The following year, he published his African sketches which received critical acclaim from the Chinese fine arts society. Since then, he continued to exhibit his works in the States, Singapore and other cities in Asia. Its been said that Shi Hu’s art is the embodiment of conflict and that his love of Chinese art is unrivalled. Shi Hu is a rebelious artist whose works embody the duality of distancing himself from tradition while returning to the origins. In his paintings, Shi Hu combines Western oil with Chinese Ink painting to create his own style.

Siew Hock Meng (b. 1942)
Siew Hock Meng was born 1942 in Singapore. At age 16, he enrolled at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts but left after a year to become a rubber tapper in Malaya. In 1975, he returned to Singapore and founded an art gallery and later became a full time artist. Siew Hock Meng became one of the most important artists in South-East Asia particularly for his beautiful works in pastel. Held first retrospective exhibition in Art Retreat, a private museum in 2004. His work is represented in the Singapore Art Museum, corporate and private collections.

Srihadi Soedarsono (b. 1931)
Srihadi Soedarsono was born in Surakarta, Central Java, Indonesia on 1931. Srihadi one of Indonesian core artists in 1950s who was graduated Bandung Institute of Technology and later gained his Master of Arts recognition in Ohio State University. He was once member of students’ army as well as Young Indonesian Painters group during revolutions. His early works are mainly influenced by synthetic geometry which he later move himself into abstraction field. His latest works incorporate strong horizons line simplification with several poet figure inspired by Zen teaching. Despite being a painter, he was a lecturer as well in several universities in Indonesia.

Su Xinping 苏新平 (b. 1960)

Su Xinping was born 1960 in Jining, Inner Mongolia in China. He graduated from the Painting Department, Tianjin Institute of Fine Arts in 1983. Su obtained his Master Degree in Print-making from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1989. Currently he works as Deputy Professor and Deputy Head of Department of Printmaking at the Central Academy of Fine Arts. Major Exhibitions include: “Landscape- --Solo Exhibition of Su Xin Ping”, Today Gallery, Beijing, China (2007), “Solo Exhibition of Su Xin Ping’s Lithographs”, Tyler Print Institute, Singapore (2006), “Solo Exhibition of Su Xin Ping’s Lithographs”, Red Gate Gallery, Beijing, China (2006), “Today’s China Art Exhibition”, National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China (2006).

Sunaryo (b. 1943)
Sunaryo was born in Banyumas, Central Java, Indonesia on 15 May 1943. He was graduated from Department of Fine Art at Bandung Institute of Technology in 1969. He went abroad to continue his studies specialized in techniques of carving and sculpting marble in Italy at 1975. He received 2nd Prize winner for Graphic Competition held in Paris by IAA and UNESCO. Sunaryo was consecutively 3 years been included in ten best in the Philip Morris Indonesia Art Awards until 1996. He founded Selasar Sunaryo in Bandung on 1998. His works has already been exhibited nationally and internationally.

Suraji (b. 1971)
Suraji was born 1971 in Bantul, Yogyakarta. He graduated from the Faulty of Fine Arts at the Indonesia Institute of the Arts Yogyakarta in 2001. He has won numerous awards for his works at events held in Indonesia and abroad, such as the Osaka Triennal, the 2002 and 2003 Indo Art Awards and the Hyogo International Competition of Painting, Japan in 2005. Suraji is deeply concerned with socio- political issues in his country. Since the mid-1998 he has been taking political intrigues and their effects as significant subject-matters for his painting. With rich interesting visual forms, Suraji brings to life the realities of daily life, glodablization, industrialization and modernity with his strange menagerie of animals and humanoids.

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Theo Meier (1908 – 1982)
Theo Meier was born in 1908 in Basel, Switzerland. He studied at the Kunstgewerbeschule in Basel and later at the academies of art in Berlin and Dresden. Meier travelled first to Berlin, where he met Liebermann and Hofer at the Berlin Academy, and also Emil Nolde, one of the contemporary painters he most admired. Meier traveled to Indonesia in 1936 and settled in Sanur, Bali. In September 1939, he participated in the Bali exhibition organized by the Bataviasche Kunstkring in Jakarta. With some intervals, he lived and worked in Bali until 1957. Here he developed his typical style that is reminiscent of his great idol, Paul Gauguin.

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Walasse Ting 丁雄泉 (b. 1929)

Walasse Ting was born in Wuxi, China in 1929, but raised in Shanghai. He began his career painting on sidewalks. In 1952 he moved to Paris where he was exposed to Western art, in particularly the Expressionist movement and the works of Picasso. In 1960, Ting emigrated to New York, where he became involved with pop artists and was influence by Figuratism or Representational Art. Ting's works are a rich kaleidoscope of bright, luminous colors with 19th century sensuality. Freshness, vitality and brilliant color characterizes Wallase Ting's women, flowers, birds and animals. He has had more than 60 solo exhibitions in major art galleries and museums around the world, including: New York, Paris, Zurich, Brussels, Amsterdam, Munich, Copenhagen, Vienna, Milan, Taipei, Tokyo, Singapore, Shanghai, and Hong Kong.

Wang Yongqiang 王永强 (b. 1945)
Wang Yongqiang was born on 1945 in Shanghai, China. He graduated from Shanghai Art School in 1965. Wang Yongqiang concentrated in drawing comic strips and oil painting. In 1988, Wang Yongqiang went back to study in Fine Arts Department of the Ontario College of Art. He started his career as professor and supervisor of Oil Painting Department of Shanghai Oil Painting and Sculpture Research Institute. Wang Yongqiang’s works were exhibited before locally and internationally.

Wu Mingzhong 武明中 (b. 1963)

Wu Mingzhong was born 1963 in Hebei province China. He is currently an associate professor and Director of the Oil Painting department at College of Fine Arts, Capital Normal University. He was a visiting scholar of Liebin Academy of Fine Arts in Russia, and Buffalo State College in the USA. He has been involved in numerous exhibitions including: “Juxtapositions-Seven Paint- ers” in Beijing, 1999; “The Academic Exhibition of Beijing Oil Painting” in Beijing, 2000; “Chinese Art Today” in Beijing, 2003; “Born in China – Chinese Contemporary Art” in New York, 2005; “37 Basel International Contemporary Art Fair in Switzerland, 2006 and “The Thermocline – New Asian Waves” held in Germany, 2007.

Wu Shaoxiang 吴少湘 (b. 1957)

Wu Shaoxiang was born 1957, Jiangxi Province, China. Following the Cultural Revolution, he studied sculpture at the Jingdezhen Ceramics Institute and later completed a postgraduate degree at the Central Academy of Arts and Design in Beijing. A prominent figure in China’s New-Wave art movement, Wu also lectured at the Central Academy and was named one of China’s ten most influential avant- garde artists. In 1989, Wu and his family emigrated to Austria, where he established a studio with his wife, the sculptor Jiang Shuo. Having exhibited extensively in Asia, Europe and America, Wu’s works are widely collected by important museums and prestigious institutions worldwide.

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Xiang Jing 向京 (b. 1968)
Xiang Jing, Chinese artist who was born in 1968 has spent most of her life as a sculptor. She started to expose her life into art field as early when she was in middle school run by Central Academy of Fine Arts. She later obtained her degree under the same education provider. Xiang Jing who is famous as a sculptor with women holding cigarettes as her theme had exhibited her works over the world. Her art works are permanently collection of several galleries throughout the world due to her naturalism and realistic works result. Most of her works are concentrated on women nude figures with sour face and several of them are showing perfect shapes of women.

Xiao Hong 肖红 (b. 1966)
Xiao Hong was born 1966 in Inner Mongolia, China. He graduated in 1990 from the Oil Painting Department of Inter-Mongolia Normal University. In 1991, he studied at the “Claude Yeevier” Realistic Oil Painting class held in Lu Xun Art Institute and later enrolled at the Central Arts and Craft Institute in Beijing to study mural painting history. Xiao Hong’s signature style of piecing together various images onto the contours of a human face is memorable. His first solo exhibition was held in 1999 in Beijing and subsequent shows were held in Hong Kong, Singapore and Indonesia. He was also involved in group exhibitions held in France, Japan, China and Indonesia.

Xue Song 薛松 (b. 1965)
Xue Song was born 1965 in Anhui, China. He graduated from the Stage Art Department of the Shanghai Drama Institute in 1988. A turning point in Xue Song’s artistic career came when his art studio was burned down, and in the process all his works were destroyed. Xue Song then experienced an artistic epiphany while picking up the torn and burnt pieces of his former works. He began creating pictures by using pieces of burnt paper. Now a highly regarded Contemporary Artist, Xue Song has held more than 20 successful solo exhibitions in countries such as China, Singapore, UK, USA and Germany.

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Yang Jinsong 杨劲松 (b. 1971)

Yang Jinsong was born 1971 in Chongqing, China. He graduated from the Oil Painting Department of Sichuan Fine Arts Academy with an Masters of Fine Arts Degree. Jinsong’s paintings are windows into the artist’s soul, as they seemed to be very intimate and personal views of his world, like visual journals detailing the everyday objects that fill his life. He has held several solo exhibitions in China and countries such as Germany, Australia, Indonesia and Singapore. He also participated in group exhibitions showcased at art museums and galleries in China, Indonesia, Austria, Hungary, Korea, USA and Italy.

Yang Na 杨纳 (b. 1982)

Yang Na was born in 1982 in Chongqing, China. She graduated from the Oil Painting Department of Sichuan Fine Arts Institute. Her paintings caricature the women of sexual fantasy. She depicts them with oversized heads and proportionally tiny bodies. Their feminine features are exaggerated by cosmetic enhancements: false eyelashes and nails, plucked and penciled-in brows, deeply shadowed lids, and mouths colored with glossy red lipstick. Their unlined, perfectly smooth skin has a porcelain quality giving them a doll-like appearance. Their necks are wrapped, almost roped, with gaudy jewelry. Like Xiong Lijun’s women, their eyes are huge and glassy but they are not expressionless.

Yang Qian 杨千 (b. 1959)

Yang Qian was born in 1959 in Sichuan, China. He graduated from the Department of Oil Painting at the Sichuan Institute of Art as well as the University of Florida. Yang Qian became known for his gauzy and dreamlike “photorealist” paintings of women at their toilette. Although richly lit and sensuously positioned, these steamy shots of showers and bathrooms ultimately contain a certain Oriental reticence; the veils of steam that coil around the figures conceal as well as reveal their form, creating an erotic tension between subject and painter, viewer and voyeur. Yang Qian currently resides and works in Beijing.

Ye Yongqing 叶永青 (b. 1958)
Ye Yongqing was born 1958 in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China, is a pioneering artist who was part of the Sichuan School of artists. Much of his career was spent on painting birds, begun in 2000, which are executed in a signature quirky style featuring scratched black lines using the traditional medium of Chinese brush and ink on rice paper. He also has focused in recent years on creating colorful collages. But for years he has been better known as a curator, arts events organizer and artist community booster. Ye Yongqing is perhaps best known for his bird paintings, These He is a close friend and colleague to artists who worked in western China, particularly Sichuan and Yunnan. Ye Yongqing graduated from the Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts in 1982. He lives in Beijing and Kunming.

Yu Fan 于凡 (b. 1966)
Yu Fan was born in Qingdao city, China, in 1966. He graduated from the Fine Art Department of the Shandong Art Institute in 1988, and in 1992 he graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Art, Beijing. After graduation Yu Fan worked as a professor at the Academy, and became mentor to many established contemporary artists. Yu Fan is famous for his fiberglass and bronze sculptures of horses, an animal he is fascinated in. He achieved fame for his works both locally and internationally, and has participated in many important exhibitions across the world. In 2000 Yu Fan held his first solo exhibition in Beijing, and recently in 2008 he held another solo exhibition in Tokyo, Japan.

Yue Minjun 岳敏君 (b. 1962)

Yue Minjun was born 1962 in Daqing, Hei Long Jiang Province, China. In 1968, he became a Beijing resident and graduated from Hebei Normal University major in Oil Painting. One of the most successful contemporary Chinese artists of all times. Yue Minjun is internationally famous for his oil paintings which depicts laughing caricatures of himself in various settings. He has since reproduced this signature image in numerous sculptures, watercolor and prints with great success. Yue Minjun has participated in numerous large scale international art events and exhibitions such as the 5th Shanghai Biennale, Mahjon at Kunstmuseum Bern and Xianfeng! at Museum Beelden aan Zee in the Netherlands.

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Zhang Xiaotao 张小涛 (b.1970)

Zhang Xiaotao was born in 1970 in Hechuan, Sichuan, China. He graduated from the oil painting department of the prestigious Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts in 1996 and went on to become a lecturer at the Southwest Jiaotong University in Chengdu. Zhang makes paintings with sexual imagery often involving small animals such as frogs and snake and incorporating images of putrefaction and pollution. His Condom Series of paintings brought him widespread recognition and he is quickly becoming one of Chinese Contemporary Art’s big stars: his works are part of several significant collections in China and abroad.

Zhang Yuan 张苑 (b. 1969)

Zhang Yuan is a member of China Artists’ Association. He currently works in the Arts Department of the magazine Arts Market. Graduated from Nanjing Academy of Fine Arts in 1994. His work There was featured in the 9th National Arts Exhibition. Some of his works were collected by government officials and entrepreneurs in Singapore.

Zhong Biao 鍾飆 (b. 1968) 

Zhong Biao was born 1968 in Chongqing, Sichuan Province, China.  He studied Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts (China Academy) Hangzhou, China. Zhong Bao recognized as one of the most unusual and modern figures among contemporary China’s artist because his works involves a blend of Asian and Western cultures. His realistic often large paintings create narratives between opposing images, realities and clashing contrast between the old and new.  One of Zhong Biao’s first exhibitions was in 1990 held in Tokyo, Japan. Since then, he has participated in shows held in China, Hong Kong, USA, Germany, Belgium, Thailand, Korea and Singapore.

Zhou Chunya 周春芽 (b. 1955)

Zhou Chunya was born 1955 at Chongqing, Sichuan Province, China. In 1982, he graduated from Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts and in 1988, he studied at the Kassel Academy of Fine Art, Kassel, Germany in the Experiment Art Department. The artist is best known for his colorful “green dog” series of paintings as well as sculptures of dogs in metal and industrial paint. Considered as one of the country’s most talented painters of nature and rural scenes, Zhou Chunya’s works have been widely exhibited in solo and group shows in Singapore, China, France, Ireland, Italy, USA, Germany, Austria and London.

Zhou Tiehai 周铁海 (b. 1966)

Zhou Tiehai was born in 1966 in Shanghai, China. He attended the art school at the university in Shanghai, where he also lives and works today. His canvases are big, his motifs iconic, as is his entire work. He is most famous for his camel motif but he takes other motifs from the media such as celebrities which he uses intentionally as a satirical statement on the media and the West. He creates his oeuvres simply conceptually, and by hiring assistants who bring his ideas and motifs to the canvas through the airbrush technique, he makes an ironical statement on the artist and his works. With his humour and special technique he created a trademark attracting ever increasing attention.

Zhu Wei 朱伟 (b.1966)

Zhu Wei was born 1966 in Beijing, China. He pursued his art education at the People's Liberation Army Academy of Art, Beijing Film Academy, and the China Institute of Art. Zhu Wei is committed to contemporize Chinese ink and color on paper, and promote it as an important integral of world contemporary art. His ink and wash works have been collected by numerous museums in China and abroad. Zhu Wei made his first debut in the international art scene in 1993, and has put on more than 20 Solo exhibitions ever since.

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