More than a century after Swedish artist Tyra Kleen travelled through Java and Bali, her vision of Indonesia has returned to the country that inspired some of her most enduring work. Tyra Kleen–A Swedish Artist Celebrating Indonesian Culture: A Journey Through Java and Bali 1919–1921 brings selected reproductions of her drawings, lithographs and photographs to Jakarta.
Presented by the Embassy of Sweden in Jakarta in collaboration with the Museum of Ethnography in Stockholm, the exhibition runs from 9 to 30 September 2026 on the 85th floor of Autograph Tower at UP at Thamrin Nine.
Discovering the Court Dances of Solo
Kleen arrived in Java on 7 November 1919, drawn to the relationship between culture, religion, spirituality and human knowledge. In Solo, she worked with Dutch journalist Beata van Helsdingen-Schoevers on a study of ritual court dances.
Through van Helsdingen-Schoevers’ connections, they gained access to the court of Susuhunan Paku Buwana X. While the journalist prepared the accompanying texts, Kleen created the illustrations. The project was later published in a modified form as Het Serimpi Boek in 1925. Its illustrations captured the dancers’ precise movements, elaborate costumes and batik fabrics.
From Java to Bali
Kleen continued to Bali, where her attention turned towards Hindu ritual and Balinese dance. Her documentation of ritual hand movements resulted in Mudrãs, published in 1924.
She soon became fascinated by Balinese dancers, using photography alongside painting as a way to document her subjects. These photographs also served as references for her illustrations, while her paintings were later published in The Temple Dances in Bali in 1936.
Seeing Bali Beyond the Exotic
Photography offered Kleen another means of documenting everyday life. Rather than relying on the highly staged imagery of Bali commonly produced for Western audiences at the time, her photographs sought a more immediate perspective.
The exhibition features images of dancers, priests and ordinary scenes from Bali in the 1920s, revealing another side of Kleen’s practice and her interest in observing rather than simply depicting her surroundings.
The Woman Behind the Work
Born in Stockholm in 1874, Kleen became an artist, writer, dancer, women’s rights activist and ethnographical researcher. She travelled extensively, often alone or with female friends, at a time when independent travel was unusual for women.
Her journeys took her across Europe, India, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Java and Bali. Her work eventually faded from prominence as modernist movements transformed the art world, but her legacy is now being rediscovered through exhibitions in Sweden and beyond.
A Cultural Connection Across Generations
The exhibition coincides with the 76th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Sweden and Indonesia. By bringing Kleen’s Indonesian works back to Jakarta, the exhibition creates a cultural dialogue between the two countries while inviting contemporary audiences to rediscover her fascination with Indonesian art, traditions and spirituality.
Tyra Kleen–A Swedish Artist Celebrating Indonesian Culture: A Journey Through Java and Bali 1919–1921 runs until 30 September 2026 at UP at Thamrin Nine, 85th Floor, Autograph Tower, Jakarta. Guided tours are held on selected Saturdays and Sundays throughout September.
