Flu Menyiksa (Agonising Flu), 2004, 25 × 25 cm, 30 × 30 × 5 cm (framed)
I Gusti Ayu Kadek Murniasih (Murni) born in 1966 in Bali, Indonesia. Departed 2006 in Bali, Indonesia.
I Gusti Ayu Kadek Murniasih (Murni) painted her pains and fantasies with humour and honesty: sharp objects piercing through erotic body parts, or animals and vegetation morphing into alien-like creatures. In her world, female subjects unabashedly embrace pleasure; amorphous, grotesque bodies transform from passive to active; and exaggerated erotic body parts appear alive and, at times, sacred. Together, her works paint a striking picture of an artist breaking free — from social convention, from the demands of the art world, from the pain of a difficult past and from the stereotypes of what a woman, a Balinese, and an artist could create.
Her early life was marked with hardship, movement and profound resilience. She honed her own childlike style of strong curved lines and bright, bold colours; and broke away from traditional themes to embrace a deeply personal, interior subject matter—her traumatic past and wild, vivid dreams.
Since Murni’s death in 2006, her works have been hailed across the globe for their strength, originality, and ability to transcend stereotypes of other survivors of injustice. Her work has been exhibited in or acquired by prestigious institutions such as the Carnegie Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Australia, the National Gallery of Singapore, the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Nusantara (MACAN), and the University of Chicago.
I Gusti Ayu Kadek Murniasih (Murni) painted her pains and fantasies with humour and honesty: sharp objects piercing through erotic body parts, or animals and vegetation morphing into alien-like creatures. In her world, female subjects unabashedly embrace pleasure; amorphous, grotesque bodies transform from passive to active; and exaggerated erotic body parts appear alive and, at times, sacred. Together, her works paint a striking picture of an artist breaking free — from social convention, from the demands of the art world, from the pain of a difficult past and from the stereotypes of what a woman, a Balinese, and an artist could create.
Her early life was marked with hardship, movement and profound resilience. She honed her own childlike style of strong curved lines and bright, bold colours; and broke away from traditional themes to embrace a deeply personal, interior subject matter—her traumatic past and wild, vivid dreams.
Since Murni’s death in 2006, her works have been hailed across the globe for their strength, originality, and ability to transcend stereotypes of other survivors of injustice. Her work has been exhibited in or acquired by prestigious institutions such as the Carnegie Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Australia, the National Gallery of Singapore, the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Nusantara (MACAN), and the University of Chicago.
See work