I Gusti Ayu Kadek Murniasih

I Gusti Ayu Kadek Murniasih’s vision is often labelled as disturbing and deeply biographical, yet there is also humour and pathos that we can see throughout her paintings. Murni’s prolific artistic career was cut short due to her illness and subsequent death in 2006.

A mostly self-taught artist, Murni was not particularly constraint by academic conventions in her painting. She learnt her technique through her mentor I Dewa Putu Mokoh, and then developed her own style that marked her as one of the most important women artists in Indonesia.

Both her artistic style and her willingness to tackle difficult subject matters such as pleasure and sexuality, has inspired other young female Balinese artists to pursue a career in visual arts.