HENDRA GUNAWAN
(Bandung, Indonesia 1918 – Bali 1983)

Woman and mask
Oil on canvas: 50 x 53 cm

Signed and dated “Hendra 1967” on the higher left corner.

Provenance: Acquired on 18 November 1975 from Humala Pontas, Jakarta.


Hendra Gunawan was born on June 11, 1918 in Bandung, Dutch East Indies. During his youth he was a student of artists such as Wahdi Sumwnta and Affandi. In 1935 he was one of the founders of the Kelompok Lima in Bandung. In 1940 he was active to establish the Sundanese Heritage in Bandung and in 1947 the People Artist Studio in Yogyakarta.
During all his life he fought as a guerrilla fighters first against the Dutch colonial rule and later against the ruling government, for which he was incarcerated between 1965 and 1978. During the years in jail he continued to paint using the rough canvas available to him. In 1978 he moved to Bali where he lived until he died in 1978.
The subject of his paintings are deeply influenced by the facts of his life and by the daily life of the villagers. His style combines successfully Western techniques and traditional Indonesian aesthetics.