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The Sculpture of Indonesia

July 1 – November 4, 1990
East Building, Upper Level, North Bridge

Installation view of The Sculpture of Indonesia, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., Gallery Archives

This exhibition is no longer on view at the National Gallery.

Overview: 136 works included Buddhist and Hindu life-size stone sculpture, bronzes, and gold figures dating from the 8th to the 15th century. This was the first exhibition in the United States dedicated to ancient Indonesian art. It marked the opening of the 1990-1991 festival of Indonesia, an 18-month celebration of Indonesian culture in the United States.

Organization: Jan Fontein, Matsutaro Shariki curator for research in the department of Asiatic Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, was the exhibition curator. D. Dodge Thompson, chief of exhibition programs, coordinated the exhibition at the National Gallery. Gaillard Ravenel and Mark Leithauser designed the exhibition, and Gordon Anson designed the lighting.

Sponsor: Mobil Oil Corporation and an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities supported the exhibition. Garuda Indonesian Airways provided transportation.

Family guide: Sculpture of Indonesia, by Cecelia Levin. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art, 1990.

Attendance: 171,440

Catalog: The Sculpture of Indonesia, by Jan Fontein with essays by R. Soekmono and Edi Sedyawati. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art, 1990.

Brochure: The Sculpture of Indonesia. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art, 1990.

Other Venues: Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, December 9, 1990–March 17, 1991
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, April 27–August 18, 1991
Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, September 28, 1991–January 5, 1992