Indonesian Artist Wins Max Mara Art Prize for Women 2026
Yogyakarta-based artist Dian Suci was the May 2026 winner of the 10th edition of the Max Mara Art Prize for Women. This residency will see Suci travel through four different Italian cities, where she will explore the commercialisation of faith and the history of craftsmanship, seen as a living archive that testifies to the traditions and memory of a nation. Visiting Assisi, Rome, Lecce and Florence, Suci will follow a research path that encompasses the the commodification of the creed, the symbolism of the Roman Catholic Mass liturgy, the history of papier-mâché, the use of egg tempera and ancient handweaving techniques through the centuries and their place in religious art-making.
The resulting show will open at Macan in summer 2027, and the show at the Collezione Maramotti will open in October that year.
Dian Suci (b.1985) is a multi-media artist based in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Her practice lies at the intersection of domestic narratives and the political power of the state. Drawing from her everyday experiences as a single mother, her works frequently address issues related to the political domestication of women, authoritarianism and fascism, patriarchy, and capitalism—systems that structurally underlie various challenges faced by women in Indonesia. Dian often presents her work with an acute awareness of space, depicting bodily experiences and using the composition of objects as metaphors for the messages she seeks to convey.
