Ari Bayuaji, born in Indonesia in 1975, permanently relocated to Canada in 2005, where he pursued Fine Arts at Concordia University from 2005 to 2010. Balancing his time between Montreal and Bali, Bayuaji is renowned for his art installations, skillfully incorporating found and ready-made objects from various parts of the world. This practice exposes him to diverse cultural mechanisms. An adept conveyor of daily life’s aspects, Bayuaji’s works often reveal the overlooked artistic value in everyday objects and places, exploring their societal roles. In nearly all his artworks, he consistently utilises found or old objects from across the globe as material and subject matter. While these objects may carry age, the resulting “content” as a work of art is entirely new, infused with emotion influenced by contemporary issues he aims to address.
Several of his pieces have been acquired by notable institutions, including the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal (Canada), Musée National des Beaux-Arts du Québec (Canada), La Fondation Agnès B. in Paris (France), Coral Triangle Center of Bali (Indonesia), Precious Plastic of Bangkok (Thailand), and Danfoss (Denmark). Bayuaji’s work has also been showcased in various international solo exhibitions, such as Warin Lab Contemporary in Bangkok, Thailand (2022), The Esplanade Theatre on The Bay in Singapore (2014 and 2019), Nunu Fine Art in Taipei, Taiwan (2018, 2021), Parkhaus in Malkasten Düsseldorf (2018), Conseil des Arts de Montréal (2018), a collaboration with Agnes B. Foundation Paris in Ste-Alvère, France (2017), Kunsthal Rotterdam in The Netherlands (2017), and Redbase Foundation in Yogyakarta, Indonesia (2016).
We pay our respects to the Gundungurra people who are the traditional custodians of the land. We acknowledge Elders past, present and emerging for their immense spiritual connection to place which was never ceded.