FX HARSONO

Arndt GAZING ON IDENTITY Contemporary artists are among today’s thought leaders. Their ingenuity alerts us to pertinent societal issues. FX Harsono, with his progressive conceptualism, is one such artist and a prominent figure in Indonesian contemporary art. Harsono is a versatile artist who was classically trained in painting and drawing, but has adopted a more experimental practice. His sophisticated, complex installations fluidly communicate politically charged ideas, and his belief that artists carry the responsibility to challenge sensitive and contentious affairs. Since the 1970s, he has been doing precisely that, producing artworks that confront sociopolitical injustices and controversies in Indonesia. In recent years, however, he has shifted from overt critiques of the Indonesian government to art-making that focuses on matters of identity—particularly that of his Chinese ancestry and the place of…