There is no doubt that the Indonesian art market is one of the strongest in Southeast Asia. At art fairs across Asia and Europe, we are seeing more and more big-name artists and collectors from art capitals like Jakarta, Yogyakarta and Bandung. Private museums, galleries and studios are popping up across the vast archipelago.
Some attribute the growing success of Indonesia’s arts ecosystem to Gotong Rayongthe national trademark spirit of mutual assistance. “Just like in the art world, where the more successful artists help the less fortunate, this communal approach also extends to collectors,” Wiyu Wahono, one of Indonesia’s most cutting-edge art collectors, told The Observer.
Wahono’s collecting approach was influenced by the German period, and he has become a trendsetter in the Indonesian collecting community. “For me, art must reflect the spirit of the times, and each acquisition must enhance my overall collection. Profits in the art world are irrelevant,” he said. His unconventional collection includes performance art, sound sculptures and works exploring science and technology.
“We Indonesian collectors are very welcoming to each other,” he added. “We share names of interesting artists, items we’ve recently purchased, and even recommend friends to collect works by the same artists we collect. We don’t see each other as competitors.
When Aan Andonowati, another famous Indonesian collector, invited Wahono to serve as a judge for the Bandung Contemporary Art Awards (BaCAA), a competition that has been dedicated to discovering emerging talents since 2009, he quickly agreed and made several return.
Art awards are an important part of discovering talent in the Indonesian art scene because there are relatively few art critics, so the market sets the standard for good art.
Ando Novati told the Observer: “I feel that young artists participating in awards and then being responsible for promoting the winners is the most effective way to cultivate new talents.” The Bandung Contemporary Art Prize embodies this approach, connecting the winners with Connect with international networks. A side effect has been an increase in awareness of the Indonesian art scene on the global stage.
The expansion and evolution of the Indonesian art market
Ando Novati was a man of many talents: a mathematician dedicated to promoting Indonesian art. In her art collection, she focuses on acquiring works by specific artists or that deal with issues such as politics and immigration. “The artists I collect are often the same artists I promote through my art and artist management business, ArtSociates.”
A keen market observer, she has attended many fairs and has witnessed the growth of the Indonesian art market in recent decades, driven by overall economic growth and cultural shifts among art collectors and artists.
The early 2000s marked a pivotal moment in Indonesian art, with a shift away from the traditional preference for masters such as Affandi and Hendra Gunawan towards contemporary talent. This shift was spurred in 2007 when Sotheby’s led several record-breaking auctions of works by artists such as I Nyoman Masriadi and Putu Sutawijaya. Indonesian art continued to receive global attention in the 2010s, with exhibitions at prestigious venues such as the MACRO Museum in Rome, Louis Vuitton Espace Culturel in Paris and the Saatchi in London.
But at home, due to limited funding and a general neglect of the arts, state-funded institutions have struggled to keep up, leaving private institutions such as the Jakarta Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art to fill the void. Recently, the number of foreign visitors at Jakarta Art Fair (the country’s main art fair), Art Moments, ArtJog and other events has been increasing, indicating growing international interest, while institutional acquisitions such as Tate Modern and I Gusti at Melati Ayu Kadek Murniasih’s Suryodarmo at the Center Pompidou further validates this trend.
The next generation of Indonesian art collectors
kodong rayong In addition, Indonesia is expected to become the world’s seventh largest economy in 2030, with an expected GDP growth rate of 5.2% in 2025. Many domestic market requirements.
Varhono spoke of the importance of this group of people: “There is a large so-called mass affluent population in Southeast Asia. They are potential consumers of art, luxury goods, and experiences such as gourmet food and exotic holidays.
“Indonesia now has more and more young collectors,” Jakarta Art founder Tom Tandio told the Observer. “Young people in Indonesia today are much more educated. They are buying less material goods and big brands and paying more attention to art and culture.
While in other countries, such as Taiwan, art collectors are xenophobic and tend to collect international artists, Indonesia sees collecting as a way to solidify status through national identity. “This goes back to our first president, Sukarno, who was an art collector himself,” Wajono explains.
However, while Indonesia’s first president favored Indonesian masters such as Affandi and Hendra Gunawan, younger collectors favored artists of the same generation.
Generation Y and X artists are often drawn to visual styles influenced by pop art, comics, and animation. “These young artists are not concerned with identity politics or globalization; they are concerned with globalization. They accept diversity as part of life,” Vajonow said. Jakarta Art Fair, an art fair held last October that featured 39 Indonesian galleries and 34 international galleries (mainly from the Asia-Pacific region), stood out for its inclusivity and emphasis on community.
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Although sales in 2024 were reportedly slower than in previous years—a trend across the art world—the fair attracted large crowds and younger visitors, marking a new wave of appreciation for contemporary art among the general public. This enthusiasm spurred the establishment of new galleries and art centers. Remember, however, that even as the art world responds to the surge of energy brought by young enthusiasts, there is still an older generation of Indonesian art collectors who set the agenda and shape the market. The established collector base, while static, remains influential.
There are significant differences in buyer preferences. Andonovati pointed out that experienced art collectors mainly focus on local auction houses, while contemporary art collectors focus on more affordable works priced under 100 million rupees. “The number of collectors is definitely growing, but overall sales are not.”
Indonesian artists and collectors on the international stage
Tandio said Indonesia’s market strength is reflected in its attractiveness to regional galleries. “Southeast Asian galleries from Singapore, Malaysia or Thailand have been looking to enter the Indonesian market,” Tandio said.
Although there is occasional talk of Jakarta replacing Singapore as Southeast Asia’s arts hub, Singapore’s advantages make this unlikely. However, while Singaporean museums display important works, Indonesia dominates the market with its large collector base, accounting for the largest share of the Southeast Asian art market. “If a global audience wants to buy Southeast Asian art, Jakarta Art Fair is the destination,” Andonovati said.
She foresees young collectors maturing in the coming years and has launched several initiatives to support this growth, including Hybridium, a platform focused on affordable art, and the aforementioned Bandung Contemporary Art Prize.
Varhono is also optimistic about Indonesia’s rise. “The prices of all raw materials and resources are rising, and Indonesia has a lot of these resources,” he concluded. “A greater economy will naturally lead to continued growth in Indonesian contemporary art in the coming years.”
