MELATI SURYODARMO (b. 1969, Indonesia) is one of Asia’s most important contemporary artists, creating powerful, immersive performance work for nearly 25 years. She is an internationally known Indonesian dancer and performance artist. Her practice, incorporates incorporates dance-based performance and photography as an ongoing exploration of the body's movements in relation to the self and the world. Suryodarmo's art brings together dance, Butoh, history, life experiences, and daily meditation based on the Javanese 'sumarah' life philosophy. The result is expressed in live and filmed choreographed performances and photography.
Suryodarmo initially studied international relations at Universitas Padjadjaran, Bandung, Indonesia. In 1994, Melati Suryodarmo went to study fine arts at Hochschule für Bildende Künste Braunschweig in Germany, and she graduated with an MA in Performance Art in 2002.The artist has exhibited internationally. Recent exhibitions include: I am a Ghost in my own House, Bonnefanten, Maastrich, Netherlands (2022), First Spring- Chapter 3, ShanghART, Beijing (2021), Contemporary World, National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Australia (2019)
+63 / +62, Silverlens Gallery, Manila, the Philippines (2019), Dance in Asia, Osaka Creative Center, Osaka, Japan (2018).
PUBLIC & PRIVATE COLLECTIONS
- Singapore Art Museum, Singapore
- National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
- Akili Museum of Art, Jakarta
- Christies, London