Komunitas Salihara Opens 2026 with the Exhibition “Imba: Dari Abstraksi ke Abstrakisme”

Komunitas Salihara opens 2026 with an exhibition titled “Imba: Dari Abstraksi ke Abstrakisme”, presented in collaboration with ArtSociates and curated by Asikin Hasan. The exhibition brings together a wide range of Indonesian visual art works spanning multiple generations, featuring artists such as A.D. Pirous, G. Sidharta Soegijo, Mochtar Apin, Umi Dachlan, Gabriel Aries, Galih Adika Paripurna, Mujahidin Nurrahman, Fadjar Sidik, and many others. The exhibition opens on Friday, January 16, 2026, at Galeri Salihara and will run until February 22, 2026.

Asikin Hasan, Curator of Galeri Salihara and curator of the exhibition, explains that “Imba: Dari Abstraksi ke Abstrakisme” seeks to examine how these artists respond to reality and distill new essences from the objects or realities they perceive through their imagination, giving rise to unexpected new forms.

“Reality will never be exactly the same when depicted on a canvas or other mediums. Within that process, many elements are inevitably discarded, while, conversely, new and unexpected ones are born. This exhibition presents more than 80 works created from the 1950s to 2025, spanning several generational periods. Most of the works are two-dimensional, with a smaller number of three-dimensional pieces, collectively mapping tendencies of abstract forms. As these forms are studied and adopted by many, they eventually become a phenomenon known as abstractism.”

Abstractism first entered Indonesia in part through Simon Admiraal, brought via art education in Bandung. In its Indonesian development, abstraction became closely associated with cubistic and geometric patterns and was regarded as a form of novelty by several artists in the 1950s.

This style undeniably influenced and shaped the academic environment of fine art at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), as seen in the works of A.D. Pirous, G. Sidharta Soegijo, Mochtar Apin, Umi Dachlan, Kaboel Suadi, Amrizal Salayan, and later generations such as Gabriel Aries, Galih Adika Paripurna, and Mujahidin Nurrahman. Their works are shown alongside those of Simon Admiraal in this collective exhibition.

However, the exhibition does not only trace the development of abstractism at ITB; it also explores how the style evolved across various regions.

“Abstraction and abstractism did not develop exclusively at ITB. They continued to grow in many places, as seen in the distinctive works of Aming Prayitno, Lian Sahar, and Fadjar Sidik. The approach also emerges among younger generations, grounded in the exploration of ideas and in-depth material studies, as reflected in the works of Henryette Louise and Endang Lestari,” Asikin adds.

The exhibition “Imba: Dari Abstraksi ke Abstrakisme” is open to the public from Tuesday to Sunday, 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. WIB.