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. 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.