Yeo Workshop Presents. Citra Sasmita for Frieze New York

Installation view, Citra Sasmita, Into Eternal Land, The Curve, Barbican, 30 January - 21 April 2025  © Citra Sasmita. Photo: Jo Underhill / Barbican.

Yeo Workshop is pleased to present a solo presentation of new works by Balinese artist Citra Sasmita for the gallery’s inaugural participation in Frieze New York. 

Titled ‘Vortex in the Land of Liberation’, Sasmita’s installation is centered around a long vertical painting that employs the Kamasan painting technique, depicting tales of divine female figures. Kamasan painting technique dates from the 15th century and is traditionally exclusively practised by men to narrate Hindu epics; Sasmita engages with it as a reclamation of female agency, reimagining narratives drawn from ancient Balinese literature, mythologies and iconography. Inspired by tongues of local folklore spirits to symbolise feminine power, fertility and the primordial, individual pieces of embroidered fabrics encircle a Kamasan painting suspended in the shape of an omega (Ω). Set against a backdrop of forest green walls, ‘Vortex in the Land of Liberation’ explores the deep essence of living, resisting finality around our understanding of nature, knowledge and the body. Sasmita reflects the complexity between the Anthropocene and post-human while simultaneously repositioning women within the historical canon. 

Installation view, Citra Sasmita, Into Eternal Land, The Curve, Barbican, 30 January - 21 April 2025  © Citra Sasmita. Photo: Jo Underhill / Barbican.

Underpinning her work is a dedication to alternative narratives, particularly the experiences  of women who have been fetishised, suppressed or erased. Reinventing inherited  mythologies – from indigenous Indonesian histories to Dutch colonial narratives, to our contemporary society now – her protagonists are powerful women who populate a post patriarchal world. ‘Vortex in the Land of Liberation’ builds on from and draws parallels to her most recent UK debut solo exhibition 'Into Eternal Land' commissioned by Barbican for The Curve, in London earlier this year (30 January-21 April 2025). 

This solo presentation at Frieze Focus marks the artist’s first solo presentation in New York and in the USA.

Citra Sasmita Artist Portrait. Image courtesy of Yeo Workshop

Citra Sasmita (b. 1990, Bali, Indonesia) is a self-taught artist. She studied literature and  physics, then worked as a short story illustrator for the Bali Post before she began  developing her expanded artistic practice. 

Her work has been shown in several notable biennales such as to carry, Sharjah  Biennial (United Arab Emirates, forthcoming 2025); Precarious Joys, Toronto Biennial of Art  (Canada, 2024); After Rain, Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale (Saudi Arabia, 2024); Ten  Thousand Suns, 24th Biennale of Sydney (Australia, 2024); Choreographies of the  Impossible, 35th São Paulo Biennale (Brazil, 2023); The Open World, 3rd Thailand Biennale,  Mae Fah Luang Art and Cultural Park, Chiang Rai (Thailand, 2023); Garden of Ten Seasons,  Savvy Contemporary, Berlin (Germany, 2022); Kathmandu Triennale (Nepal, 2021-2022);  ARTJOG MMXXII, Time To Wonder, Jogja National Museum, Yogyakarta (Indonesia, 2021);  and the Biennale Yogyakarta (Indonesia, 2019). 

Recent solo exhibitions include Into Eternal Land, Barbican The Curve, (London, 2025); Atlas of Curiosity, Yeo  Workshop (Singapore, 2023); Ode To The Sun, Yeo Workshop (Singapore, 2020); and Tales  of Nowhere, Museum MACAN, Jakarta (Indonesia, 2020).

Installation view, Citra Sasmita, Frieze NYC, May 7 - 11, 2025  © Citra Sasmita. Photo Courtesy of Yeo Workshop

ABOUT YEO WORKSHOP 

Yeo Workshop is a gallery committed to contemporary art in Singapore. Based in the Gillman Barracks district, it champions a diverse roster of artists whose practices reflect deep engagement with our contemporary socio-cultural landscape, to stimulate dialogue and critical discourse, including several Southeast Asian artists who are producing cutting-edge works. Covering a multi-disciplinary approach and collaborative spirit, the gallery defines itself by its progressive engagements that strive to shape the trajectory of contemporary art in Southeast Asia and beyond.

For more information about Yeo Workshop please visit their site here. The gallery can also be found on Instagram and Facebook. Yes Workshop can be found at The Shed, Booth F04, New York

ABOUT FRIEZE NEW YORK

Frieze New York is a leading international art fair that launched in 2012. Led by Christine Messineo, Director of Frieze New York and Frieze Los Angeles, Frieze New York brings together the world’s leading galleries to showcase ambitious solo, group and themed presentations by pioneering artists and offers the opportunity to not only discover up-and-coming talent but also engage with some of art history’s most important figures. The Focus section, curated by Lumi Tan, is dedicated to younger and emerging talent.

 For more information about Frieze New York please visit their website here and find them on Facebook, Instagram, and X.