Observing The Ways of Clay

by Beata Primana
22nd December 2016
Galeri Nasional Indonesia closes the year of 2016 with an ode to clay in "Ways of Clay: Perspective Towards the Future" that runs until January 22nd next year. Here are some of the highlights from the exhibition.

“Ways of Clay: Perspective Towards the Future” brings the spotlight to clay as a medium of art that has existed for years, and yet, never fail to charm artists and designers alike. A result of collaboration between Galeri Nasional Indonesia and Jakarta Contemporary Ceramics Biennale (JCCB), the exhibition is the fourth of its kind that was just opened to public early December and is now running until mid January next year.

Said to be the largest contemporary ceramics arts biennale in South East Asia, the exhibition aims to interpret history as a perspective that we can use to understand future ceramic art practices. With the fourth JCCB taking place, it is hoped that the art of ceramics can yield to new ways and possibilities for artists to continually express their creativity. It features more than 41 installations that involve artists from 20 countries, so one can expect to learn and observe a plethora of methods one can create from such a simple medium that is clay.

This year, the gallery features a residency program for both national and international artists who showcase their works in the 4th JCCB. In parallel to the exhibition that is taking place, the artists also get to experience an in-residence program in Java and Bali, where each will reside and adapt to the local life in the designated region while producing artworks. Not only the works produced would represent the region they are currently living in, the experience would also better enrich both the artists and local inhabitants socially and culturally.

Ways of Clay: Perspective Towards the Future is running from December 7th to January 22nd, 2017 at Galeri Nasional Indonesia. For more information about the exhibition as well as the residency program, visit galeri-nasional.or.id.