Widayat

1919 – 2002

Widayat was born in Kutoarjo, Central Java, in 1919. He studied at the Indonesian Fine Art Academy (ASRI) in Yogyakarta, graduating in 1954, and later pursued ceramics and landscape studies in Nagoya, Japan. Upon completing his studies at ASRI, he joined the academy as a lecturer.

Over the decades, Widayat gained national and international recognition, receiving the BKPM Award (1953), a cultural award from the Indonesian government (1972), Best Painting at the Yogyakarta Biennial (1986), and the ASEAN Award in Brunei Darussalam (1993). His works were exhibited widely in Indonesia and abroad, with solo shows in Yogyakarta (1983) and Jakarta (1985, 1990, 1991, 1992, 2000), and group exhibitions in Japan, the Netherlands, and the United States.

A pioneer of a uniquely Indonesian decorative style, his paintings are often described as enchanting and magical, featuring rhythmically repeated motifs drawn from mythology and religious literature, rendered in a manner that reflects both primitive and traditional art.