Fiona Tan (born 1966 in

Pekanbaru Pekanbaru is the capital city of the Indonesian province of Riau, and a major economic center on the eastern side of Sumatra, Sumatra Island with its name derived from the Malay language, Malay (Indonesian language, Indonesian) word for 'new mar ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

) is a

visual artist The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics (art), ceramics, photography, video, image, filmmaking, design, crafts, and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual a ...

primarily known for her photography, film and

video art Video art is an art form which relies on using video technology as a visual and audio medium. Video art emerged during the late 1960s as new consumer video technology such as video tape recorders became available outside corporate broadcasting. V ...

installations. With her own complex cultural background, Tan's work is known for its skillful craftsmanship and emotional intensity, which often explores the themes of identity, memory, and history. Tan currently lives and works in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Early life and education

Fiona Tan was born in 1966 in

, to an Indonesian Chinese father and Australian mother. Tan spent her early childhood in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. In 1984 she moved to Europe, where she has resided since. Between 1988 and 1992 Tan studied at

Gerrit Rietveld Academie The Gerrit Rietveld Academie, also known as Rietveld School of Art & Design and Rietveld Academy, is an art academy in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It was founded in 1924 and offers programs in fine arts and design. History The Instituut voor Kuns ...

. Between 1996-1997 she also studied at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunst.

Artistic practice

In 2019, Tan completed a photography/film project titled L'archive des ombres/Shadow Archive during her residency at the

Mundaneum The Mundaneum was an institution which aimed to gather together all the world's knowledge and classify it according to a system called the Universal Decimal Classification. It was developed at the turn of the 20th century by Belgian lawyers Paul ...

, a repository created by Belgian visionary

Paul Otlet Paul Marie Ghislain Otlet (; ; 23 August 1868 – 10 December 1944) was a Belgian author, lawyer and peace activist; who was a foundational figure in documentalism, a precursory discipline to information science. Otlet created the Universal D ...

with the goal of cataloging all human knowledge. An exhibition of the same name was staged at the Musée des Arts Contemporains

Grand-Hornu Grand-Hornu is an old industrial coal mining complex and company town (''cité ouvrière'') in Hornu (Boussu), near Mons, in Belgium. It was built by Henri De Gorge between 1810 and 1830. It is a unique example of functional town-planning. Toda ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

in 2019. In 2009, she represented The Netherlands at the

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...

with the solo presentation ''Disorient''. She has also participated in Documenta 11, the Yokohama Triennale, the

Berlin Biennale The Berlin Biennale (full name: Berlin Biennale für zeitgenössische Kunst, Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art) is a contemporary art exhibition, which has been held at various locations in Berlin, Germany, every two to three years since 1998. ...

São Paulo Biennial SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Serb Autonomous Regions (''Srpska autonomna oblast'', SAO), during the breakup of ...

and also at the

Istanbul Biennial The Istanbul Biennial is a contemporary art exhibition that has been held biennially in Istanbul, Turkey, since 1987. The Biennial has been organised by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV) since its inception. Istanbul Biennial p ...

, the Sydney Biennial and Asian Pacific Triennial. Her work is represented in many international public and private collections including the

Tate Modern Tate Modern is an art gallery in London, housing the United Kingdom's national collection of international Modern art, modern and contemporary art (created from or after 1900). It forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Live ...

, London,

Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (; Municipal Museum Amsterdam), colloquially known as the Stedelijk, is a museum for modern art, contemporary art, and design located in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

, Schaulager, Basel, the

New Museum, New York The New Museum of Contemporary Art is a museum at 235 Bowery, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1977 by Marcia Tucker. History The museum originally opened in a space in the Graduate Center of the then-name ...

, and the

Centre Georges Pompidou The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the (), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English and colloquially as Beaubourg, is a building complex in Paris, France. It was designed in the style of high-tech architecture by the architectural team of ...

, Paris. She has been guest lecturer at many art institutions including professor at the postgraduate program

De Ateliers De Ateliers (formerly Ateliers '63) is an independent art school in located in Amsterdam. It was founded in Haarlem in 1963, among others by Ger Lataster, Mari Andriessen, Nic Jonk, Theo Mulder and Wessel Couzijn. This "group of established ar ...

, Amsterdam (2006–2014) and

Kunsthochschule Kassel Kunsthochschule Kassel (German; "Kassel College of Art") is a college of fine arts in Kassel, Germany. Founded in 1777, it is a semi-autonomous department of the University of Kassel. History Kassel Art Academy After the Seven Years' War (17 ...

(2014–15). In 2003 Tan created a poster, ''Lift'', for

Transport for London Transport for London (TfL) is a local government body responsible for most of the transport network in London, United Kingdom. TfL is the successor organization of the London Passenger Transport Board, which was established in 1933, and His ...

. In 2016 she directed her debut film, '' History's Future''.Her second feature film ''Ascent'' premiered at the 2016

Locarno International Film Festival The Locarno International Film Festival is a major international film festival, held annually in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narr ...

. During this year she was also the artist in residence at the

Getty Research Institute The Getty Research Institute (GRI), located at the Getty Center in Los Angeles, California, is "dedicated to furthering knowledge and advancing understanding of the visual arts".

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Tan participated in established international residencies, including IASPIS grant and residency, Stockholm (2003) and DAAD scholarship and residency, Berlin (2001). On April 30, 2025, the

Rijksmuseum The Rijksmuseum () is the national museum of the Netherlands dedicated to Dutch arts and history and is located in Amsterdam. The museum is located at the Museum Square in the borough of Amsterdam South, close to the Van Gogh Museum, the S ...

announced that Tan would curate their summer exhibition, ''Fiona Tan: Monomania','' featuring works from the museum's collection; she is the first contemporary artist invited to curate at the Rijksmuseum. The exhibition will also include a new work by Tan, ''Janine’s Room'', which was commissioned by the museum.

Exhibitions

Tan has had solo exhibitions in museums and galleries worldwide including the

Vancouver Art Gallery The Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG) is an art museum in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The museum occupies a adjacent to Robson Square in downtown Vancouver, making it the largest art museum in Western Canada by building size. Designed by Fr ...

, Sackler Galleries, Washington DC,

Aargauer Kunsthaus The Aargauer Kunsthaus () is a Swiss art museum founded in 1959, and located in Aarau. The museum collection includes Swiss art from the 18th century to the present day; and ''Naturama'', a natural history collection. History The art museum st ...

, Switzerland, Akademie der Künsten, Berlin, Kunstverein Hamburg, Konsthal Lund, Landesgalerie Linz, Musée d'Art Contemporain, Montréal, Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, and the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles.

Solo exhibitions

*''Disorient'', Dutch Pavilion,

53rd Venice Biennale The 53rd Venice Biennale was an international contemporary art exhibition held in 2009. The Venice Biennale takes place biennially in Venice, Italy. Artistic director Daniel Birnbaum curated its central exhibition, "Making Worlds". Awards ...

(2009) *''Rise and Fall'',

, Vancouver, Canada (2010) *''Rise and Fall'', Wako Works of Art, Tokyo (2011) *''Vox Populi London'',

The Photographers' Gallery The Photographers' Gallery was founded in London by Sue Davies opening on 14 January 1971, as the first public gallery in the United Kingdom devoted solely to photography. It is also home to the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize, established ...

, London (2012) *''Inventory'',

Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA) is an List of art museums#North America, art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at ...

, Philadelphia (2013-2014) *''Terminology'', Metropolitan Museum for Photography, Tokyo (2014) *''Terminology'',

National Museum of Art, Osaka is a subterranean Japanese art museum located on the island of Nakanoshima, located between the Dōjima River and the Tosabori River, about 10 minutes west of Higobashi Station in central Osaka. The official Japanese title of the museum trans ...

, Japan (2014) *''Nellie,'' Wako Works of Art, Tokyo (2014) *''Options & Futures'', Rabo Kunstzone, Utrecht, Netherlands (2014) *''Depot'',

Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art (also known simply as (the) Baltic, stylised as BALTIC) is a centre for contemporary art located on the south bank of the River Tyne in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England. It hosts a frequently changing variety ...

, Gateshead, UK (2015) *''Ghost Dwellings'', Frith Street Gallery Soho Square, London (2015) *''Geography of Time'',

Norwegian Museum of Contemporary Art The Norwegian Museum of Contemporary Art () is a museum in Oslo, Norway. Since 2003, it is administratively a part of the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design. History The Norwegian Museum of Contemporary Art was established in 1988 ...

(2015-2016) *''Geography of Time'', MUDAM, Luxembourg (2016) *''Ascent'', Izu Photo Museum, Nagaizumi, Japan (2016) *''Geography of Time'',

Museum für Moderne Kunst The Museum für Moderne Kunst (''Museum of Modern Art''), or short MMK, in Frankfurt, was founded in 1981 and opened to the public 6 June 1991. The museum was designed by the Viennese architect Hans Hollein. It is part of Frankfurt's Museumsuf ...

, Frankfurt, Germany (2016-2017) *''Disorient'',

Guggenheim Museum Bilbao The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is a museum of modern and contemporary art in Bilbao, Biscay, Spain. It is one of several museums affiliated to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and features permanent and visiting exhibits of works by Spanish a ...

, Abando, Spain (2016-2017) *''Nellie'',

Institute of Modern Art The Institute of Modern Art (IMA) is a public art gallery located in the Judith Wright Arts Centre in the Brisbane inner-city suburb of Fortitude Valley, which features contemporary artworks and showcases emerging artists in a series of group and ...

, Brisbane, Australia (2017) *''Geography of Time'',

Tel Aviv Museum of Art The Tel Aviv Museum of Art ( ''Muzeon Tel Aviv Leomanut'') is an art museum in Tel Aviv, Israel. The museum is dedicated to the preservation and display of modern and contemporary art both from Israel and around the world. History The Tel Aviv ...

, Tel Aviv, Israel (2017) *''Ascent'', De Pont Museum, Tilburg, Netherlands (2017) *''Time and Memory'', Centro de Creación Contemporánea de Andalucía, Spain (2018) *''Elsewhere'', Frith Street Gallery, London (2018-2019) *''Archive / Ruins'', Peter Freeman, Inc., New York (2020) *''Fiona Tan: Footsteps'',

Museum of the Moving Image The Museum of the Moving Image is a media museum located in a former building of the historic Astoria Studios (now Kaufman Astoria Studios), in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens in New York City. The museum originally opened in 1988 as the Am ...

, New York (2024)

Group exhibitions

*''Go-Betweens'',

Mori Art Museum The is a contemporary art museum founded by the real estate developer Minoru Mori. It is located in the Roppongi Hills Mori Tower in the Roppongi Hills complex, a commercial, cultural, and residential mega-complex in Tokyo, Japan. The museum's ...

, Tokyo, Japan (2014) *''Paradise Lost'', CCA, Singapore (2014) *''FUTURE PRESENT'', Schaulager, Laurenz Foundation, Basel, Switzerland (2015) *''NO MAN'S LAND'', Rubell Family Collection, Miami, United States (2015) *''Ecce Homo'', The National Museum of Art, Osaka, Japan (2016)

Awards

* ICP Infinity Award for Art, New York (2004) *Getty Artist-in-Residence Fellowship, Los Angeles (2016)

Publications

* *

References

The Brooklyn Rail ''The Brooklyn Rail'' is an American publication and platform for the arts, culture, humanities, and politics, based in Brooklyn, New York. It features in-depth critical essays, fiction, poetry, as well as interviews with artists, critics, and ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Tan, Fiona 20th-century Indonesian sculptors 21st-century Indonesian sculptors Video artists Conceptual artists Women conceptual artists 1966 births Living people Dutch people of Chinese descent Indonesian emigrants to the Netherlands Indonesian Hokkien people Indonesian people of Chinese descent 21st-century Indonesian women sculptors Van Lanschot Kempen Kunstprijs winners Indonesian poster artists Indonesian lecturers Indonesian film directors Indonesian women film directors Indonesian curators Indonesian women curators