It Happened - Ines Katamso Solo Show

ISA Art & Design proudly presents It Happened, a solo show by Ines Katamso combining the "pragmatism of the sciences" with the "emotion and idealism of art". Taking her art in new ingenious directions, she was inspired by Abiogenesis theory that explains the origin of life and the propagation of the organisms that eventually result in the evolution of more complex living beings.

A French-Indonesian artist, Ines was born in Yogyakarta into a deeply creative household. She studied art and design in France, before launching her surface design studio, Atelier Seni. Ines combines painting and creative sense with thorough research into biology, microbiology, and astrophysics. She curates a collection of artworks that encourage its viewers to contemplate their existence and impact on nature. In her practice, she investigates the apparition of “LUCA” (Last Universal Common Ancestor), the shared ancestors of all living beings on Earth. It serves as a reminder that the human species is not as distinct from the rest of nature, expressing how the existence of life on Earth is as incomprehensible as it is intimate. This notion of duality inspired the show's title "It Happened", as life somehow appeared easily despite its complexities.

"As we know," she says, "life did not appear in one instance; it is the result of complex sequential chemical reactions that involved molecular self-replication, self-interaction, combination." It was these mechanical processes that inspired her to reconsider her work. These three actions guide her to create repetitive patterns, intertwined composition, and coalesced forms in her artworks.

The origin of life is the transition from non-living to living entities and this evolutionary process led her to grow microorganisms in her studio and observe their behaviours using a microscope. She is intrigued by the abstract and organic shapes of amino acids, lipids, carbohydrates, and RNA/DNA strands as those are the essential components for living organisms to exist.

Due to the rapid development in life, humans have now become more disconnected and reckless toward nature. Katamso’s works serve a purpose to remind her audience of the beauty of nature and how intricately and excellently made it is. Her use of sustainable materials and techniques for her works is to evoke an appreciation for nature as well as raising awareness of how we, as human beings, play a huge role in deciding the fate of the natural world.

In this exhibition, she collaborates with BYO Living, a developer that specializes in sustainable innovation of weaving techniques for architecture, design & art. Awarded as ASEAN Senior Mastercraft Designer, BYO Living creates award winning weaving patterns and develops new material technology from waste recycling. In this installation art, Ines and BYO Living present the bubble structure that is considered an essential protection to any life form that is created using new 3-dimensional weaving techniques created with waterproof & tearproof paper and furniture making in new material from recycled post-consumer plastic waste & industrial waste collected from BMJ Paper Pack (paper manufacturing company). The collaboration is also a part of Wonders Of Weaving: Solidarity Resilience Initiative which empowers like minded artists, creative & architects to collaborate through weaving for a more positive social impact during the pandemic.

Ines had participated in multiple group exhibitions in the past, which were Sensing Sensation (2021) at Semarang Gallery, 30 Under 30: Inter(Subject)ivity (2020), Buah Tangan (2020), Reinventing Eve (2019), H.E.R (2019), and Tetap Terang (2018) at ISA Art & Design, I Therefore I Am (2019) at Can’s Gallery in Jakarta, and Self Explanatory (2018) at Dia.Lo.Gue in Jakarta. She also did a mini solo show, All the Growing, early this year at Ruci Art Space. It Happened will be the artist's first solo exhibition, highlighting her artistic identity and practice.

ISA Art will be presenting her newest solo show, from September 18th to October 17th 2021, installed in a spacious gallery illuminated by natural light. Steeped in introspection and drawing from both experimentation and meticulous research, her art prompts her audience to look within themselves.



About ISA Art and Design

ISA Art and Design is an art gallery and consultancy firm based in Jakarta, Indonesia, with over two decades of experience in Southeast Asian art and a passion for Indonesian contemporary arts.

ISA has two dedicated gallery spaces in Jakarta. One is a curatorial gallery while the other is a secondary market gallery located in WISMA 46 BNI and Wijaya Timur Raya, respectively. ISA also manages an incubator space for emerging artists in Yogyakarta with Omah Budoyo.

The main focus of ISA Art and Design is the artworks of established and young contemporary artists, with special attention to the artwork of female artists.


Written by Miranti Dian
Proof by Ines Katamso
Editor Kekoa