Citra Sasmita
Indonesia
Citra Sasmita was born in 1990 in Tabanan, Bali, Indonesia. Now lives and works in Singaraja. Citra Sasmita is a contemporary artist from Bali whose work focuses on unravelling the myths and misconceptions of Balinese art and culture.
She is deeply invested in questioning a woman’s place in the social hierarchy and seeks to upend the normative construct of gender. Her whimsical compositions representing geographies of female figures and various natural elements are executed in the Kamasan Balinese painterly language that Sasmita has been developing in her practice. While rooted in mythological thinking with Hindu and Balinese-specific references, the scenes are equally part of the contemporary process of imagining a secular and empowered mythology for a post-patriarchal future.
Sasmita's recent works have been featured in “Under the skin” solo exhibition at Redbase Foundation Indonesia, Yogyakarta (2018), “Forms of Diversity” group exhibition at Redbase Foundation Indonesia, Yogyakarta (2018), “Passion of Three Kingdoms” group exhibition at Redbase Foundation Indonesia, Yogyakarta (2022).
Awards that Sasmita has received include Gold Winner UOB Painting of The Year 2017; Finalist for the Kompetisi Karya Trimatra at Salihara Jakarta (2016), and Semifinalist for the Bandung Contemporary Art Award #4 (BaCAA#4) in 2015.
Under The Skin
Solo Exhibition - 31 May – 28 April, 2018
REDBASE Foundation Indonesia
Under The Skin critiques patriarchal hegemony and the social constructs that subordinate women, juxtaposing them with the resilience, agency, and innate strength of females in society. Grounded in Citra Sasmita’s empirical observations during her residency in Yogyakarta, specifically the vibrant dynamics of traditional markets, which, despite being stereotyped as merely domestic spaces, actually serve as hubs of economic empowerment and mutual solidarity among women. The exhibition uncovers narratives of identity, stigma, and sexuality through the landscape of the female body.
Spanning paintings on canvas and leather, installations, and video work, Citra employs evocative symbolism: hair, flesh, and skin, to depict sacrifice, self-preservation, and female interconnectedness. Drawing parallels to resilient figures like Draupadi while directly confronting the internalized silence culture in works like Genealogy of Silence, Under The Skin transforms passive endurance into a bold visual manifesto advocating for female autonomy, dignity, and resistance.
Genealogy of Silence Acrylic on canvas 140 cm x 120 cm, 2018
The last Embrace Acrylic on canvas 140 cm x 120 cm, 2018
Exile Acrylic on canvas 120 cm x 100 cm, 2018
Figur Malam (Figure of Night) Acrylic on leather 116 cm x 80 cm, 2018
Figur Senja (Figure of Dusk) Acrylic on leather 133 cm x 82 cm, 2018
Figur Pagi (Figure of Dawn) Acrylic on leather 186 cm x 60 cm, 2018
The Fountain Bamboo, leather and bells Diameter 50 cm, 2018
Equilibrium Pinapple leaf’s fiber, wax and mirror Variable dimensions, 2018
Fragmen Terakhir Drupadi (Last Fragment of Drupadi) Pinapple leaf’s fiber 360 cm, 2018
Observation of Silence Video Installation 5’ 21”, 2018