Born in 1953 in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sri Astari briefly studied English Literature at the University of Indonesia (1973). She went on to study fashion in London in 1976 and subsequently became a fashion journalist and fashion designer. In 1987, Sri Astari honed her art education and technical skills at the University of Minnesota, USA and the Royal College of Art in London in 1988. For the past 30 years, Sri Astari had been creating work that deals with Javanese cultural issues within a modern cultural framework. She was one of the recipients of the Philip Morris Indonesia VI awards and was also one of the winners of the Millennium Painting Competition of the Winson and Newton Awards (1999). Sri Astari was awarded the Kartini Award in 2015.
Having started her career as a professional artist in the early 90s, Sri Astari had actively taken part in exhibitions in Indonesia and abroad. Sri Astari had exhibited multiple times in the National Gallery of Indonesia, as a feminist artist, she was also part of the “Kartini, The Power of Women in Art” exhibition in Yogyakarta in 2011. Prior to her shift towards the international art scene, Sri Astari also held solo exhibitions such as Recollections, Bali (1999-2000), Wings & Excursions, Bali (2000-2001) and His/Hers Exhibition in 798 District, Beijing (2008). In 2013, she participated in the Indonesia National Pavilion at the 55th Venice Biennale Arte, 56th Edition of Spoleto International Festival in Italy and “Indonesia National Pavilion 55th International Art Exhibition” also in Italy. In the following year, Sri Astari also exhibited in South Korea, Hong Kong and Art 14 London in UK. iPreciation is honoured to have held an inaugural group exhibition of monumental sculptures showcasing Sri Astari’s Armor for Change at ENVISION: Sculptures @ the Garden City in 2016. In the same year, iPreciation also held a successful solo exhibition for Sri Astari at Bazaar Art Jakarta.
Sri Astari had been an active player in the art world. As the former executive director of the 9th Jakarta Biennale, she agreed to curator Jim Supangkat’s suggestion to introduce installation works for the first time and was an important mover as an executive of the committee for the seminal exhibition of contemporary art of the Non-aligned countries in 1995. As a former member of the Indonesia Art Foundation (Yayasan Seni Rupa Indonesia), Sri Astari had dynamically contributed to the education of young artists and the development of art in Indonesia.
In early January 2016, Sri Astari was appointed the ambassador of Indonesia to Bulgaria, and after four and a half years, she left the role in 2020. She passed away two years later in 2022.
Images of artworks
