Entang Wiharso: Meta Landscape

Entang Wiharso looks at events through the prism of his own experience and is both narrator and participant, blurring the line between observed truth and imagination. The Jamestown Arts Center is pleased to announce Meta Landscape, a solo exhibition by Wiharso opening May 14, 2022.

Indonesian-born, US-based artist Entang Wiharso, confronts the universal issues of power, loss, and love through investigations of ideology, philosophy, and identity. Particularly known for his large-scale paintings, wall sculptures and installations, his work heightens our ability to perceive, feel, and understand human experiences centered on love, hate, fanaticism, religion, and ideology. Wiharso’s work is layered with social, political, and sexual critique, revealing a complex picture of the human condition by integrating narrative tools and placing unconventional materials together. 

A 2019 Guggenheim Fellowship recipient, Wiharso’s research activities were cut short by the COVID-19 crisis and he returned to isolate and work in his Rhode Island studio. He developed a distinctive use of glitter to create lush, detailed surfaces that draw viewers in while offering biting, humorous and poignant commentary. Including both sculpture and painting, Meta Landscape features Wiharso’s new series of works on canvas, along with select works from the past decade. 

Wiharso states, “Meta Landscape looks at the emerging conditions in America and Indonesia—the extreme behavior, the move toward fanaticism and polarization, and an increasingly common refusal to acknowledge other’s experiences and perceptions. I’ve been questioning why this situation is occurring when we are more mobile and global. Is this an attempt to protect identity or inheritance?” 

Wiharso notes, “The work focuses on themes related to migration, the settlement of land, the power of ownership and the idea of belonging, through the lens of family and history. We can see the connection that always exists between past and current conditions through this lens.” 

Jamestown Arts Center Exhibition Director Karen Conway says, “We are incredibly honored to present Entang’s powerful, emotive, and monumental work on canvas and sculpture in this exhibition. At this critical time, his work brings into focus issues of national identity, mass migration, race, and power conflicts.”

Wiharso’s multi-disciplinary practice speaks with urgency through his vivid works. His dramatic visual language is instantly recognizable with its unique depictions of contemporary life, and its relation to the mythologies of a centuries-old Javanese and animist past and the high-speed, hyper-connected lifestyle of the 21st century. Having exhibited in many prestigious international forums including the Venice, Beijing and Prague biennales, Wiharso’s recent work focuses on the duality of cultures and experiences in his two homelands–Indonesia and America. 

Entang Wiharso: Meta Landscape opens on May 14, 2022 with a public opening reception from 5–7pm. The exhibition will be on view May 14 through June 18, 2022. Gallery hours are Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, 11am–3pm and Thursday 11am–7pm or by appointment. Exhibitions at the Jamestown Arts Center are free and open to all. May 23 masterclass registration required, 90 USD.

About the artist:
Entang Wiharso, b. 1967 in Tegal, Central Java, Indonesia, graduate of the Indonesian Institute of the Arts (Yogyakarta), maintains studios in both Java and the US. His life and family are bicultural, biracial, and inheritors of diverse religious and spiritual legacies. Wiharso has had more than 45 solo gallery and museum exhibitions. His work is held in over thirty international museums and private collections. He was in Prospect.3 (2014) and has represented Indonesia in the 2nd International Thailand Biennale (2021), Kunming Art Biennale (2019); 55th Venice Biennale (2013); Prague Biennale 6 (2013); 6th Nanjing Biennale (2010); Second Asian Art Biennale (2009); 51st Venice Biennale (2005); and the Second Beijing Biennale (2005).

About the Jamestown Arts Center:
The Jamestown Arts Center (JAC) is a multi-disciplinary visual and performing arts space that hosts art exhibits, theater, dance and musical performances, film screenings, and educational programming including artist talks and art classes for all ages.