Jim Supangkat

Jim Supangkat is an Indonesian sculptor, art critic and curator.

Supangkat was born on May 2, 1948 in Makassar. He studied at the faculty of fine arts and Design of the Institute of Technology in Bandung. One of his teachers in this time was Dick Hartoko who taught him on Aesthetics. Directly after he graduated in 1975, he started to work as a sculptor. The same year, he was one of the founders of Gerakan Seni Rupa Baru (New Art Movement).

In the eighties he grew to be an art critic and independent curator of exhibitions of work of other Indonesian artists. Since the nineties this has become his full-time profession. Besides, he has been an active promoter of Indonesian contemporary fine arts and initiated art-theoretical debate on Southeast Asian forums.

He wrote several books and essays that put Indonesian art internationally on the map. For his contributions to Indonesian art he was honored with a Prince Claus Award from the Netherlands in 1997.