Citra Sasmita is a contemporary artist from Bali, whose work focuses on unraveling the myths and misconceptions of Balinese art and culture. She is also deeply invested in questioning a woman’s place in the social hierarchy and seeks to upend the normative construct of gender.

A self-taught artist, Sasmita joined the campus theater group and became a short story illustrator in Bali Post. In one of her long-term projects, Timur Merah Project; Harbor of Restless Spirits, was presented in Garden of Six Seasons, Para Site, a painting on cow’s hide reflects the Kamasan Balinese painterly language that Citra has been developing in her practice. It represents a geography of female figures, fires, and various natural elements, composed whimsically in an unfolding of pansexual energy. 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.

Gold Award Winner UOB Painting of The Year 2017, Sasmita’s solo shows include Ode To The Sun, 2020, at Yeo Workshop, Gillman Barrack, Singapore; and Garden Of Six Seasons, 2020, Para Site, Hong Kong; group shows include Kathmandu Triennale, Nepal; and 35th Sao Paulo Biennale, Brazil.  

Sasmita studied literature at Udayana University (2008) and majored in physics education (2009), Faculty of Mathematics and Sciences, Ganesha University of Education.