It is not uncommon for me to be stumped whenever I am asked for a reading list on contemporary art in Southeast Asia. So much of what I know is acquired through fieldwork, contacts, long hours spent talking to artists, curators, historians, critics. So little of this knowledge (gossips, legends, histories, theories) has yet to be documented and written down, analysed and most importantly shared.
Yet, what little that are already published out there are really worth looking at. Adeline Ooi of RogueArt has recently compiled an introductory reading list for anyone interested in looking at contemporary art in the region. The list is by no means exhaustive, but these books are largely accessible entry points. For those residing in Kuala Lumpur, these books are available in the resource room of Valentine Willie Fine Art, which is open to the public for browsing. Otherwise, Select Bookstore in Singapore probably stocks a number of titles. If not, please contact RogueArt (contact AT rogueart DOT asia) and they are happy to point you in the right direction.
The list in chronological order:
Indonesian Contemporary Art Now
By Marc Bollansee and Enin Supriyanto
SNP Editions, 2007
ISBN-13: 9789812481429
Indonesian Women Artists: The Curtain Opens
by Carla Bianpoen, Farah Wardani Et Al
Yayasan Seni Rupa Indonesia, 2007
ISBN-13: 9789791656207
Between Generations: 50 Years Across Modern Art in Malaysia
Beverly Yong and Hasnul J Saidon (editors)
Universiti Malaya Press, Universiti Sains Malaya Press & Valentine Willie Fine Art, 2007
ISBN: 983861348
Contemporary Art in Singapore
With Essays by Russell Storer, Gunalan Nadarajan and Eugene Tan
Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) Singapore, 2007
ISBN-13: 9789810564612
(Note: ICA Singapore is a part of LaSalle-SIA College of the Arts)
Telah Terbit (Out Now): Southeast Asian Contemporary Art Practices during the 1970s
Ahmad Mashadi
Singapore Art Museum, 2006
(Note: This is an exhibition guide and does not qualify as a book but the introduction essay for this show is insightful and really worth the read)
Art and Social Change: Contemporary Art in Asia and the Pacific
Caroline Turner (editor)
Pandanus Press, 2005
ISBN-10: 1740760468
Protest: Revolutionary Art in the Philippines, 1970-1990
By Alice Guillermo
University of Philippines Press, 2005
ISBN-10: 9715421679
Exploring Modern Indonesian Art: The Collection of Dr. Oei Hong Djien
By Helena Spanjaard & Oei Hong Djien
SNP Editions, 2004
ISBN-13: 9789812480101
Flavours: Thai Contemporary Art
By Steven Pettifor
Thavibu Gallery, 2003
ISBN-10: 9749173767
Image to Meaning: essays on Philippine Art
By Alice Guillermo
Ateneo de Manila University Press, 2001
ISBN: 9715503764
Contemporary Art in Asia: Traditions, Tensions
Essays by by Apinan Poshyananda, Thomas McEveilley, Geeta Kapur, Jim Supangkat, Marian Pastor Roces, Jae-Ryung Roe
Asia Society, 1997
ISBN-10: 0878480838
Modern Asian Art
By John Clark
University of Hawaii Press, 1998
ISBN-10: 9057040417
Southeast Asian Art Today
Joyce Fenema (editor)
Roeder Publications, 1996
ISBN-10: 9810060025
Modern Art in Thailand: Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries
By Apinan Poshyananda
Oxford University Press, 1992
ISBN-13: 9780195885620
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Thanks to Yu Ye for pointing this out to us: An exhaustive bibliography of reviews in journals, magazines, periodicals as well as books for further research can be found here.
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