Made Wianta

Made Wianta
(b. 1949, Tabanan, Bali – d. 2020)

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Made Wianta was born in Tabanan, Bali, in 1949. He received his art education at the School of Fine Arts in Denpasar and continued his studies at the Indonesian Academy of Fine Arts (ASRI) in Yogyakarta. Known for his multifaceted and experimental approach, Wianta worked across a variety of media, combining painting and installation with poetry, performance, and theater.

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Throughout his expansive artistic journey, Wianta underwent radical transformations in both form and concept, reflected in the multiple distinct phases of his career. In his early years, he explored traditional Balinese painting techniques, particularly rerajahan (sacred drawings), which culminated in what he referred to as his "Karangasem Period." This early focus gradually gave way to a deeper existential inquiry that led him to continually challenge the boundaries of his creativity.

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In his later phases, the figurative obsessions of his earlier rerajahan-inspired works were replaced by a formal exploration of geometric compositions. Eventually, this evolved into a long-running series in which he abstracted forms into wild, expressive calligraphic lines. French art critic and anthropologist Jean Couteau once described Wianta as a “machine of self-deconstruction that happens to meet beauty,” pointing to the artist’s relentless reinvention of himself and his work.

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Wianta’s shifting artistic styles can be seen as a response to rigid and shallow interpretations of identity. Paradoxically, the more he distanced himself from symbolic clichés of “Balinese-ness,” the clearer and more profound his cultural identity became. Rather than reducing identity to superficial markers, Wianta expanded what it could mean to be a Balinese artist in the contemporary world.

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Beyond his artistic practice, Wianta was deeply committed to environmental and social issues. He founded the Wianta Foundation, which, in collaboration with the Ford Foundation since 1992, has worked to preserve endangered traditional arts and culture in Bali. He was also a co-founder of Sanggar Dewata Indonesia, an influential collective of Balinese artists based in Yogyakarta, which played a key role in reshaping the course of modern Balinese art.

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Made Wianta is widely regarded as a maestro of Balinese contemporary art. His works have been shown in major exhibitions in Indonesia and internationally, including the prestigious Venice Biennale in 2003, a testament to his global stature and enduring impact.