Affandi (1907-1990)
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Affandi was a leading Indonesian expressionist painter whose style was influenced by artists such as Goya, Edvard Munch and Botticelli. Over the course of his career his style evolved from realism to expressionism, as exemplified in his well-known painting Wisdom of the East. He was born in Cirebon, West Java in 1907, and after leaving secondary school chose to pursue a career as a professional painter. As a young man he moved with his family to Bandung and Batavia, and during the Japanese occupation of Indonesia he held his first exhibition at Gedoeng Poetera in 1943. After Indonesia gained its independence in 1945 he went to Yogyakarta, and together with Hendra Gunawan, founded the Seniman Masyarakat (Peoples Artists Association); a school aimed at stimulating young, aspiring artists. Affandi then moved to Jakarta in 1948, where he established Gabungan Pelukis Indonesia (Union of Indonesian Painters), and in 1949, he received a scholarship from the government of India to join The Art School at Shantineketan Tagore University.
During the 1950s his paintings were exhibited in Shantineketan, Alahabat, New Delhi, Bombay, and Madras, as well as Europe, where his paintings were displayed in London, Paris, Belgium, and Italy. In 1957 Affandi was awarded a grant from the United States government to study art in America. While in the U.S. he held an exhibition at the World House Galleries in the New York Press Club, and in 1962, he was appointed as a visiting professor in the Art Department of Ohio State University. In 1974 Affandi received an honorary doctorate from the University of Singapore, and in 1977, he was given the International Peace Award from the Dag Hammarskjold Foundation and the title of Grand Maestro. From 1979 to 1983 Affandi held joint exhibitions with his daughter Kartika – also an artist - in Australia, Medan, Surabaya, Jakarta, and Bandung.
From 1984 until his death Affandi would go on to exhibit his paintings all over the world. Among his best known works include Kartika (1941), The Artist and His Daughter (1951), Mother’s Angry (1960), and Wisdom of the East (1967). After his passing in 1990 a posthumous exhibition was held in his honor at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC. In a tribute to his legacy Affandi’s former home at Yogyakarta was converted into a museum; which today holds nearly 250 of his paintings. He is buried in the grounds outside of the museum.
During the 1950s his paintings were exhibited in Shantineketan, Alahabat, New Delhi, Bombay, and Madras, as well as Europe, where his paintings were displayed in London, Paris, Belgium, and Italy. In 1957 Affandi was awarded a grant from the United States government to study art in America. While in the U.S. he held an exhibition at the World House Galleries in the New York Press Club, and in 1962, he was appointed as a visiting professor in the Art Department of Ohio State University. In 1974 Affandi received an honorary doctorate from the University of Singapore, and in 1977, he was given the International Peace Award from the Dag Hammarskjold Foundation and the title of Grand Maestro. From 1979 to 1983 Affandi held joint exhibitions with his daughter Kartika – also an artist - in Australia, Medan, Surabaya, Jakarta, and Bandung.
From 1984 until his death Affandi would go on to exhibit his paintings all over the world. Among his best known works include Kartika (1941), The Artist and His Daughter (1951), Mother’s Angry (1960), and Wisdom of the East (1967). After his passing in 1990 a posthumous exhibition was held in his honor at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC. In a tribute to his legacy Affandi’s former home at Yogyakarta was converted into a museum; which today holds nearly 250 of his paintings. He is buried in the grounds outside of the museum.