Museum MACAN has unveiled the first chapter of its 2026 exhibition programme, presenting four exhibitions. Bringing together Indonesian and international artists, the programme explores how people experience time, landscape, memory and cultural identity through different artistic approaches.
The exhibitions feature Indonesian artist and filmmaker Riar Rizaldi, Singaporean multidisciplinary artist Dawn Ng, Malaysian textile artist Marcos Kueh, and a major group exhibition titled Menelan Cakrawala (Swallow the Horizon).
Meanwhile, the museum’s Children’s Art Space will showcase a new interactive project by Jakarta-based artist Ruth Marbun.
According to Museum MACAN, the exhibitions examine “how the forces that shaped the past continue to animate and complicate the present”, connecting geological, historical and technological perspectives through contemporary art.
One of the highlights is Period Piece, Rizaldi’s first museum exhibition in Indonesia following growing international recognition. The artist is known for investigating the relationship between technology, colonial histories and industrial landscapes throughout Southeast Asia.
The exhibition includes a newly commissioned work created specifically for Museum MACAN and concludes with a site-responsive installation inspired by the spatial and cultural memory of Indonesian cinemas from the 1990s.
Rizaldi’s work has previously been presented at major institutions and events including MoMA in New York, Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Venice Architecture Biennale and international film festivals such as Berlinale and Locarno.
From Horizons and Melting Ice to Bornean Textiles
The group’s exhibition, Menelan Cakrawala, begins with an intriguing proposition: “the horizon, for all its appearance of neutrality, has never been innocent.”
Rather than treating landscapes as passive scenery, the exhibition explores how they have been used throughout history to shape knowledge, territory and power.
The exhibition brings together modern and contemporary works by artists including Raden Saleh, Franz Wilhelm Junghuhn, Heinz Mack, Robert Rauschenberg, Dede Eri Supria, I Nyoman Masriadi, Ipeh Nur and Thảo Nguyên Phan.
Through themes ranging from colonial image-making to environmental concerns and resource extraction, the exhibition argues that landscapes are active spaces where representation, materiality and power remain deeply interconnected.
As the exhibition suggests, to “swallow the horizon” is to recognise the many layers hidden behind what often appears to be a simple view.
Singaporean artist Dawn Ng presents Atlantis II, an ongoing project that began in 2024. At the centre of the work is ice, a material chosen precisely because of its fleeting nature in Singapore’s tropical climate. Through the gradual transformation of ice, Ng reflects on time, memory and impermanence.
Meanwhile, the museum’s Sculpture Garden will host Kenyalang Circus by Malaysian artist Marcos Kueh. Combining traditional Bornean visual symbols with industrial digital weaving techniques, Kueh creates colourful tapestries that examine how cultural heritage is presented, commercialised and consumed in contemporary society.
For younger visitors, Museum MACAN’s Children’s Art Space introduces Beradu Padu by Ruth Marbun. The interactive exhibition encourages children and families to explore creativity through paper, everyday materials and collaborative storytelling.
Inspired by ideas of connection in an information-saturated world, the installation invites visitors to contribute their own stories while observing how the space evolves over time.
