Adam de Boer
United States
Adam de Boer was born in 1984 in California, United States. He graduated with a BA in Painting from the College of Creative Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara (2006) and an MA in Fine Art from the Chelsea College of Art, London (2012).
In his most recent work that he has made in Yogyakarta, he revived previously dormant cultural histories and aesthetic traditions from his Indonesian heritage as a way to acknowledge that part of his identity. Adam is learning forebear’s traditional crafts of batik and woodcarving, employing Javanese and Eurasian-specific imagery into his practice as a conceptual link to his heritage, while further pushing the crafts outside traditional boundaries.
De Boer has exhibited at Gajah Gallery in Jakarta and Singapore, Ben Brown Fine Arts in Londin and Hong Kong, Taymour Grahne Projects in London, and ArtJog.
De Boer has received several awards in recognition of his artistic work, including support from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, the Cultural Development Corporation, and the Santa Barbara Arts Fund.
Jungle Flame
Solo Exhibition - 22 September – 21 October, 2017
REDBASE Foundation Indonesia
Jungle Flame presents Adam de Boer’s critical exploration of his hybrid Dutch-Indonesian-American heritage through seven new multimedia works created during his residency at Redbase Foundation. Steeped in Javanese craft traditions, de Boer thoughtfully synthesizes batik, carved wood, and leatherwork to investigate cultural appropriation and identity. His practice merges seemingly contradictory elements such as embedding figures of contemporary Javanese women into colonial tegel tile patterns to reflect the nuanced paradoxes of modern Indonesian society.
Confronting historical artistic movements, the exhibition re-engages with the controversial Mooi Indie ("Beautiful Indies") landscape aesthetic, questioning the impact of revisiting a style deeply tied to both sides of his familial lineage. Set against Yogyakarta’s thriving contemporary art scene, Jungle Flame asserts that traditional aesthetics and material processes remain vital to understanding evolving visual cultures, offering a compelling lens into personal and collective hybrid identity.
Jendela Malam Wax-resist acrylic ink, rebbit skin glue, oil paint on linen and woven bamboo 75,5 cm x 70,5 cm 3,5 cm, 2017
Jendela Pagi Wax-resist acrylic ink, rebbit skin glue, oil paint on linen and woven bamboo 75,5 cm x 70,5 cm 3,5 cm, 2017
Jungle Flame Acrylic paint and oil paint on linen 33 cm x 25 cm, 2017
Palmette Pertama Wax-resist acrylic ink, rebbit skin glue, oil paint on linen 100 cm x 160 cm, 2017
Perahu di Gerupuk Wax-resist acrylic ink, rebbit skin glue, oil paint on linen 100 cm x 240 cm, 2017
Tegel No. 1 Wax-resist ink on linen 100 cm x 80 cm, 2017
Room Screen for Margio bin Suyeb (Verso) Acrylic paint and oil paint on carved leather, polychrome carved wood and woven bamboo 195 cm x 250 cm x 35 cm, 2017
Room Screen for Margio bin Suyeb (Recto) Acrylic paint and oil paint on carved leather, polychrome carved wood and woven bamboo 195 cm x 250 cm x 35 cm, 2017