Obituary – Prof. Dr. Setiawan Sabana, MFA.
Innalillahi wainna ilaihi rajiun.
With great sadness and loss, the Faculty of Art and Design ITB marks the passing of a well-respected artist, professor, and senior we are proud of – Prof. Dr. Setiawan Sabana, MFA. He passed away on Thursday, April 27, 2023, having dedicated his career to developing art with paper material and spirituality. He is also a prominent figure in the development of graphic arts in Indonesia.
Prof. Dr. Setiawan Sabana, MFA. graduated from the Fine Arts Department, Faculty of Arts and Design, Bandung Institute of Technology in 1977. After graduating. he then got a Fullbright scholarship and pursued his master’s degree at the Art Department, Northern Illinois University, the United States of America, where he received a Master of Fine Art in 1982. His studies in America provided him with several possibilities to observe the international growth of art as well as to develop ideas and imagery in his work. He held his first solo exhibition in Gallery 200 Visual Art Building, Nothern Illinois University in 1982. Prof. Dr. Setiawan Sabana, MFA. obtained his Doctoral degree in 2002 from Institut Teknologi Bandung for his dissertation on Contemporary Art in Southeast Asia.
Prof. Dr. Setiawan Sabana, MFA. received many awards at the national and international levels. He got a silver medal at the Seoul International Art Exhibition organized by the Pan Asia Association, South Korea in 1984. In the following year, he again got the position as a gold medalist in the same event. His work in the art world brought Prof. Setiawan to receive Satyalancana Karya Satya Award from the President of the Republic of Indonesia in 2006. Prof. Setiawan also won the Special Contribution Award of Asian Art Exhibition for outstanding contributions and Asian International Art Exhibition in 2007.
During his career, Prof. Setiawan successfully exhibited his work internationally through solo and group exhibitions such as a solo exhibition at Natsuhiko Gallery, Tokyo in 1990 and at Oda Gallery, Hiroshima in 1991, “International Print Exhibition” in Bangladesh in 1994, “Modernities and Memories” at the Venice Biennale, Italy in 1997, and
“The Thirteen Asian International Art Exhibition” at The National Gallery, Malaysia in 1998. His recent solo exhibition entitled Nusantara, Tenis Meja, dan Kemanusiaan was held at Maranatha University on March 2023.
Apart from his work of art, he also held many important positions in the faculty. After serving as vice dean for academic affairs, he served as the Dean of the Faculty of Art and Design ITB for the period 2000-2006. He also became the head of the Visual Art Research Group which productively produce various works and research. Apart from taking part in the academic field, he is also the head of the Research Center for Cultural and Environmental Products.
His memory will live on in the hearts and minds of his many friends and colleagues, and in the thousands of students he taught and inspired.