Jumaadi (born 1973) moved from East Java, Indonesia to Sydney in 1997 to study at the National Art School. He graduated in 2000 with a Bachelor of Fine Art, and in 2008 he received his Masters in Fine Art.
1994 to 1995, Jumaadi was an Art Educator at the PPLH Environmental Education Centre in Seloliman, East Java (Indonesia).
With 35 solo exhibitions since 1999 he has gained an admirable reputation as a multi disciplinary artist.
His survey exhibit Staging Love at Maitland Regional Art Gallery (MRAG) was on display from December 2018 to March 2019. Jumaadi’s second major solo exhibition MY LOVE IS AN ISLAND FAR AWAY opened in December 2019 and features a number of commissioned artworks of varying mediums.
Manly Regional Art Gallery & Museum hosted a solo show for Jumaadi, ‘At the End (My Love) Nature Wins’, in September 2023, his first solo show at the Northern Beaches Gallery. Jumaadi’s work was featured in ‘Voice Against Reason’, a major group exhibition of international artists at Museum Macan, Jakarta from 18 November, 2023 to 14 April, 2024.
Jumaadi’s work was displayed at Bundanon Art Museum’s opening season group exhibition ‘Tales of Land and Sea’ with his show ‘ayang ayang’ from March till June 2024. With an upcoming solo exhibition at Deakin University in Melbourne, ‘Jumaadi: the unaccounted sea’, scheduled for April 2024.
From small, poetic gouache on paper works to large scale drawings which can exceed 3 x 20 metres, his paintings are comprised of mixed media [water, acrylic and oil etc.] executed on plywood, timber, cloth, canvas and buffalo hide. Jumaadi is also recognised for his sculptural works in wood and metal, as well as installation and performance work.
His work is featured in numerous public collections both across Australia and internationally, namely the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Bathurst Regional Gallery, Bega Valley Regional Art Gallery, Halsey Institute South Carolina, USA, Macquarie Bank, National Art School, Sydney, National Gallery of Australia, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney.
Jumaadi’s ‘most typical subject matter’, is love (either romantic or familial) portrayed in varied forms. More often than not his work revolves around demons, spirits, and fanciful creatures; John McDonald notes ‘story-telling’ as intrinsic to Jumaadi’s ‘personal history and psyche’ (Catalogue Essay, An arm and a leg, 2018).
Jumaadi currently lives and works between Yogyakarta, Indonesia and Mosman, Sydney.
Jumaadi's four large paintings 'Antara Nanas & Duri', 'Siapa yang menjelma sungai & siapakah perampoknya', 'Boekan Katjoeng' and 'Aku [I]' (all 2019) were conceived as a single body of work and completed simultaneously. The paintings are meditations on a shared history that links Australia and Indonesia, inspired by the artist’s research into Javanese workers who were exiled for anti-colonial agitation against the Dutch East Indies government. From his studio in Sydney, Jumaadi delves into the stories behind his four paintings, on display as part of 'MCA Collection: Artists in Focus', and the history that inspires them.
Jumaadi, who's had work appeal in Australia and Indonesia, discusses the themes that went into creating his piece for Terra inFirma, including those of love, loneliness, isolation, migration and more.
Working between Sydney and Yogyakarta, Indonesian artist Jumaadi has created a new shadow puppet theatre especially for the exhibition. Entitled The Life and Death of a Shadow (2016) it tells the true story of a deaf musician who teaches his blind son the traditional art of wayang kulit or shadow puppetry.
2014 International Artist in Residence Jumaadi worked with locally-based artists and musicians to write, create, compose, and preform a new shadow puppet performance. Performance written by Jumaadi Puppets performed by Arlene Felipe and Jumaadi Geoffrey Cormier: Composition, percussion, voice, gamelan James Carrier: Recorder, gemshorn, percussion, voice Hazel Kethcum: Vocals
Animated, Produced, and Directed by: Dave Brown The Halsey Institute commissioned San Francisco-based filmmaker Dave Brown to create a video animation of the 23 foot drawing by Indonesian artist Jumaadi. Titled Diary of Dust, this animation gives new life to Jumaadi's two dimensional drawing, with original gamelan music composed and performed by Nathan Koci. Jumaadi, part of an international artist-in-residence program, was featured at the Halsey Institute in Fall 2014 in the solo exhibition forgive me not to miss you not.
2024
Jumaadi: the unaccounted sea, Deakin University Art Gallery, Burwood, VIC
2023
At the End [My Love] Nature Wins, Manly Art Gallery & Museum (MAG&M), Sydney, NSW
The sea is still a mystery, Shadow Play, MCA, Sydney
Rice and Salt, Museum Macan, Jakarta
Migration of Flora, Drawings and Paintings by Jumaadi, The Contemporary Art Galleries (CAG), University of Connecticut, CT, United States
2022
The Tree of Life, King Street Gallery on William, Sydney
2021
Works on paper King Street Gallery on William
Liquid Dreams Jan Manton Gallery, Brisbane
2020
The Buffalo King Street Gallery on William
2020-19
My love is in an island far away Mosman Art Gallery, Sydney
2019
Comes from the shadow Lismore Regional Art Gallery, NSW
Bring Me Back My Body and I Will Return Your Soul Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre, Sydney
2019-18
Staging Love Maitland Regional Art Gallery, NSW
2018
Restless Year & Your Whisper William Mora Galleries, Melbourne
An arm and a leg King Street Gallery on William
2017
½ Fish and ½ Eaten Watters Gallery, Sydney
2016
Landscape Oddity William Mora Galleries
2015
Landscape of Longing Kerry Packer Civic Gallery, University of South Australia, Adelaide
Diary of Dust Watters Gallery
Ordinary Jan Manton Art, Brisbane
2014
FORGIVE ME NOT TO MISS YOU NOT Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art, Charleston, South Carolina, USA
Weighted William Mora Galleries
I Have Travelled a Long Way to Find Your Beauty Watters Gallery
2013
The Woman who Married the Mountain (with Cameron Ferguson) performance, Watters Gallery
The Figural Poetry of Jumaadi Art:1 Museum Jakarta, Indonesia
Cry Baby Cry Jan Manton Art
2011
Pause Watters Gallery
Illumination Made Budiana Gallery, Lod Tunduh, Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
Landscape of Memory Expansionist Art Empire Art Galerie, Leiden, Netherlands
Traveling Light Taksu Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2010
Rain rain, come again Watters Gallery
2009
Unsent Letters Legge Gallery, Sydney
2008
Story from Cloud Rain and Sky Legge Gallery
Home Sweet Home Art Space, Adelaide Festival Centre, South Australia
Jumaadi The Next Generation Art Melbourne 08, Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne
Home is not Sweet Home Gallery 4A, Sydney
Museum of Memory Project Space, National Art School (NAS), Sydney
Letters and Stories SoMA Galleries, Adelaide
2007
Jumaadi: World Created French Cultural Centre, Surabaya, Indonesia
2006
Works on Paper Legge Gallery
2005
WS Rendra 70th Birthday Hotel Kartika Wijaya, Batu, East Java, Indonesia
Jumaadi at Mura Clay Mura Clay Gallery, Sydney
2004
Be-Longing Mura Clay Gallery
2003
Jumaadi at Mura Clay Mura Clay Gallery
Mapping Memory Bondi Beach Pavilion Gallery, Sydney
2002
Dreams and Memories Hill on Hargrave Gallery, Woollahra, Sydney
The Green Paintings French Cultural Centre, Surabaya, Indonesia
1999
One Thousand Frangipanis, Australian Volunteers International, Sydney
The Green Paintings French Cultural Centre, Surabaya
2024
Tales of Land and Sea ‘ayang ayang’, Bundanon Art Museum, Illaroo, NSW
The Sea is Still a Mystery, Australian National Maritime Museum, Sydney, NSW
2023
Entwined Within, Willoughby City Council, Art Space on the Concourse, Chatswood, NSW
The National 4: Australian Art Now, Campbelltown Art Centre, NSW
Textile Triennial, Tamworth Regional Art Gallery, Tamworth, NSW
Perforated Sovereignty, South East Centre for Contemporary Art (SECCA), Bega, NSW
2022
Sydney Modern Project, AGNSW, Sydney
The Melbourne Art Fair, William Mora Gallery, Melbourne
Superfluous Things, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore
At the end of the day, love will find a way, 39+Artspace, Singapore
Puppet show, Sydney Opera House, Sydney
Tell me a story, Town Hall Gallery, Melbourne
King School Art Prize, Sydney
2021
Perahu-Perahu OzAsia Festival, Adelaide Festive Centre, SA
The 10th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT10), The Queensland Art Gallery, Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA), Qld
The Big Picture Show King Street Gallery on William, Sydney
The Dobell Drawing Prize NAS
Biennale Jogja XVl Equator #6 2021, Indonesia
2020
Recent acquisitions National Gallery of Australia (NGA), Canberra
Connected Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney
Through the window Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), Sydney
Mosman Art Prize Mosman Art Gallery
The scale of things Blacktown Regional Art Gallery, NSW
2019
S.E.A. Focus Gillman Barracks, Singapore
Inside/Outside King Street Gallery on William
House of shadows, Artisan, Brisbane
I LOVE YOU MELISSA The Lock-up, Newcastle (Curated by Courtney Novak)
2018
Mosman Art Prize Mosman Art Gallery
2017
Mosman Art Prize Mosman Art Gallery
Preview 2017 Watters Gallery
Grounded NAS
Naturally Wrong Guirguis New Art Prize 2017, Art Gallery of Ballarat, Vic
National Self-Portrait Prize UQ Art Museum, Brisbane, Qld
2016
The Life and Death of a Shadow for the exhibition Telling Tales Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney
Halfway to the light, halfway through the night for The Dobell Australian Drawing Biennale AGNSW
Stage of Love for Diaspora-Making Machines Blacktown Arts Centre
2015
Monster Pop! Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory
Sydney Contemporary Carriageworks, Sydney
Mosman Art Prize Mosman Art Gallery
Cementa 15 Contemporary Arts Festival Kandos, NSW
Margaret Tuckson’s Private Collection Watters Gallery
2014
Jumaadi and Picasso: forgive me not to miss you not College of Charleston, South Carolina, USA
A Special Arrow Was Shot in the Neck … David Roberts Art Foundation (DRAF), London, UK
Re:Visited Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art, Latvia
Redlands Konica Minolta Art Prize NAS
Watters Gallery: 50th Anniversary Exhibition Watters Gallery
2013
Loneliness was part of it The 5th Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art, Moscow, Russia
Middle Head: 33° 50’S, 151°14’E Mosman Art Gallery
Mainly Sculpture Watters Gallery
Cultivating the Garden Light Square Gallery, Adelaide College of Art, SA
Platform 2013 Metro Art, Brisbane
Watters Gallery 27th Summer Exhibition Watters Gallery
2012
Snake Snake Sydney Town Hall, Sydney
Contemporary Work on Paper from Indonesia DNA Project Space, Sydney
Melbourne Art Fair 2012 Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne
2011
Who is afraid of the wood Jakarta Biennale 2011, National Gallery of Indonesia, Jakarta
Bali Artist Camp Made Budiana Gallery, Lod Tunduh, Ubud, Bali
Xuchun Innagular Contemporary Art Workshops, Shanxi Province, China
The Sin City National Gallery of Indonesia
My Australia Kuandu Museum of Fine Art, Taipei
Frank’s Flat Maitland Regional Art Gallery, NSW
Buka Jalan Performance Festival National Gallery of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur
2010
Summer Show Watters Gallery
Museum of Memory Flinders University Pendopo, South Australia
Istanbul 5: Student International Triennale Turkey
Art Month Sydney Watters Gallery
2010 NAS
2009
Works on Paper Legge Gallery
Packsaddle New England Regional Art Museum, Armidale
Perang Kata Dan Rupa Gallery Salihara, Jakarta
Theatre of Grass Blue Poles Gallery, Byabarra, NSW
Seasons of Life Chrissie Cotter Gallery, Sydney
Common Sense National Gallery of Indonesia
Without Boundaries: Artist Books AGNSW Research Library, Sydney
Summer Exhibition Watters Gallery
2008
Blake Art Prize 07 Delmar Gallery, NAS
Black and White Legge Gallery
Without Boundaries: Artist Books Mundubbera Regional Art Gallery, NSW
Art Gallery of New South Wales
Bathurst Regional Art Gallery
Bega Valley Regional Art Gallery
Charles Darwin University, Sydney
Halsey Institute, South Carolina, USA
Macquarie Bank, Australia
Maitland Regional Art Gallery, NSW
National Art School, Sydney, NSW
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, NSW
St. Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney
THE 13TH GWANGJU BIENNALE REVEALS FULL ARTIST LIST by EMIKA SUZUKI
Art Asia Pacific
18 November 2020
South Korea’s Gwangju Biennale Reveals Artist List for Star-Studded 2021 Edition by Tessa Solomon
ArtNews.com Online
18 November 2020
Intricate tales emerge from the shadows by Jacqui Taffel
Sydney Morning Herald - SYDNEY FESTIVAL
2 January 2020
Jumaadi on doing the work to translate poetry and displacement into art by Jane O'Sullivan
Art Guide Australia
3 December 2019
Indonesian artist Jumaadi paints in an ancient language by Elizabeth Pandolfi
Charleston City paper
15 October 2014
Indonesian artist Jumaadi paints in an ancient language by Elizabeth Pandolfi
Charleston City Paper Online
2014
