Mia Diwasasri

Mia Diwasasri was born on May 5, 1975, in Bandung, West Java. She graduated in 1999 from the Department of Ceramic Arts, Faculty of Art and Design, Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB), one of Indonesia’s foremost institutions for fine arts. Initially based in Bandung for her early professional career, Diwasasri has, in recent years, relocated to Bali, where she now lives and maintains an active studio practice.

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Her artistic exploration focuses on ceramics, particularly as a site of intersection between craft and fine art. Diwasasri is known for her unconventional approach to ceramic art, wherein she paints directly onto hand-crafted ceramic plates. These ceramic surfaces are then arranged modularly, forming expansive pictorial compositions that function visually like paintings, yet are materially grounded in the tactile and dimensional qualities of clay. Each plate is treated not merely as an object but as a segment of a larger visual narrative, inviting viewers to engage with the work through both visual and material dimensions.

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Her practice reflects a continuous negotiation between painting and ceramics, proposing an expanded understanding of ceramics beyond its traditional utilitarian function. Diwasasri positions ceramics as a valid and fluid medium within contemporary visual art discourse—capable of storytelling, conceptual inquiry, and spatial engagement.

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Her move to Bali has further deepened this exploration. Bali’s layered cultural landscape, with its longstanding reverence for handmade objects and ritualistic art forms, offers fertile ground for Diwasasri’s craft-based practice. While not a Balinese native, her immersion in the island’s art community has allowed her to engage critically with local artistic traditions—particularly in how Balinese material culture and performativity inform her spatial and symbolic approach to ceramics. Her presence in Bali also aligns her with a growing movement of artists revisiting traditional mediums in contemporary terms, expanding both the form and function of craft within the island’s evolving art ecosystem.

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Since the mid-1990s, Diwasasri has participated in numerous group exhibitions across Indonesia. Notable recent exhibitions include Neo Pitamaha: Tradition in Translation at Titik Dua, Bali (2022); Post Identity: Bali Contemporary Art Now at Art Moments, Jakarta (2022); Unfolding Current Ripple at Puri Art Gallery and Titik Dua, Bali (2021); Oktober Jingga at CushCush Gallery, Bali (2018); and Mythologies at Institut Français-Indonesia Gallery, Bandung (2017).