Deden Sambas

Born 1963 in Indonesia, Deden Sambas is a self-taught contemporary artist known for his unique artworks like sculptures, installations, toys and kinetic sculptures. He has trained at Bandung Institute of Technology. As a renowned artist in the Asian art scene, Sambas has exhibited at international and national venues like China, Indonesia, France and more. His installations have been recognised with plaudits like SCMP Art Futures Prize in Hong Kong, 2009 and many more from the Indonesian Arts League. He has also been part of several performance arts activities and workshops in Bandung, Indonesia.

Beginning his career as a model for artists, Sambas eventually started to learn painting himself and his art practice earned him a scholarship from the Dutch government for an art residency in the Netherlands. Sambas’s works are deeply rooted in the understanding of the behaviour of diverse materials. He shows great sensitivity in crafting installations with a wide array of objects and materials like wickers, hoe, stove, steel, plastic, fabrics, to name a few. His sculptures are created with the ingenious adaptation of traditional bond constructions such as pegs, welding, nailing or screwing. The repurposed objects generate new associations by disrupting thoughts and triggering the unconscious.

With three-dimensional works created from oddments and found objects, Sambas evokes an interactive relationship between the spectator and the object, where the artwork unfolds over time with a strong performative element. The sculptures engage the viewers from multiple perspectives confronting the traditional concept of art. The mechanized representation of human forms is a recurring theme in his works, which stem from his belief that science and technology are tools an artist can use to support their creativity. He remains active in Sanggar Olah Seni, art and cultural space in Bandung.

Deden Sambas resides and works in Indonesia.