Ay Tjoe Christine

Ay Tjoe Christine (b. 1973, Bandung, Indonesia) is a contemporary artist based in Bandung, whose practice explores the relationships between body and mind, the individual and society, and the connections between humans, religion, and nature through painting, printmaking, and installation. As a leading figure of Indonesia’s “Post-Reformasi generation,” she is known for work that fluidly crosses boundaries of form and subject.

Ay Tjoe’s artistic foundation lies in drawing and printmaking, particularly drypoint on copper plates, which she began during her studies at Bandung Institute of Technology. The incised lines on metal evoke organic forms such as plant roots and rhizomes, and it was during this period that she developed a distinctive, expressive line language. From the late 1990s onward, her work increasingly focused on the human figure, depicting twisted bodies and imagery that symbolize anguish and oppression. In the 2000s, she expanded into acrylic painting, soft sculpture, and installation, exploring religious motifs and biblical narratives to address themes of violence and redemption with subtlety.

Since 2009, Ay Tjoe has gained widespread recognition for her oil paintings. On smooth beige and gray grounds, she applies layered lines using oil bars—sticks of solidified oil paint—building forms with vigorous strokes and sometimes blending with her palms to create transparent planes and subtle gradations. Through these physical gestures, she generates rich variations of color and depth, layering bold brushwork with delicate lines. The resulting surfaces reveal forms emerging from emptiness, suggesting traces of presence while establishing her unique abstract visual language.

Following the pandemic, her work has taken a more biomorphic direction, emphasizing life’s potential and regenerative power. In works such as the installation Personal Denominator and the painting series A Piece of Liquid, she references cryptobiosis—a state of suspended metabolism exemplified by tardigrades—exploring survival and regeneration under extreme conditions through imagery of water awakening life.

Throughout her practice, Ay Tjoe remains rooted in the act of drawing, consistently revealing layers of emotion, faith, and memory. Transcending binaries such as good and evil or light and dark, she reflects on the profound connections and vulnerabilities of body and spirit, persistently and powerfully posing questions about new “forms of existence.”

Biography
1973　Born in Bandung, Indonesia
1997　Studied Graphic Design and Printmaking at Bandung Institute of Technology
Based in Bandung, Indonesia

Selected Solo Exhibitions
2025　Covered and Cover, White Cube, New York
2023　The Uncompromising #01, Ota Fine Arts, Shanghai
2022　Christine Ay Tjoe, Hall Art Foundation / Kunstmuseum Schloss Derneburg, Germany
2018　Christine Ay Tjoe: Spirituality and Allegory, 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan
2016　Inside the White Cube, White Cube, London
2015　Christine Ay Tjoe: Perfect Imperfection, Song Eun Art Space, Seoul, Korea
2013　Myriad of ‘paste’, Ota Fine Arts, Tokyo, Japan

Selected Group Exhibitions
2020　Asia Society Triennial, Asia Society, New York, USA
2017　Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy, London, UK
2012　Future Pass, National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Taichung, Taiwan
2011　Indonesian Eye: Fantasies and Realities, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK
2003　1st Beijing International Biennale, National Art Museum of China, Beijing

Collections
21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Japan
Asia Society Museum, New York, USA
Museum MACAN, Indonesia
Akili Museum, Jakarta, Indonesia
M+, Hong Kong
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA
K11 Art Foundation, Hong Kong