Artist I Gusti Ayu Kadek Murniasih (Murni) (1966–2006) has long been celebrated as a pioneer in Southeast Asia. Her paintings, which candidly and unapologetically depict the female body, sexuality, and the depths of her subconscious, boldly defied the conventions and taboos of a male-dominated Indonesian art scene. Nearly two decades after her passing, Murni’s work is gaining recognition on a global scale. In 2023, Tate acquired her pieces, and her paintings were selected for prestigious exhibitions such as the 58th Carnegie International, the 3rd Taipei Biennial, and the 24th Sydney Biennale. Reviews of Carnegie International highlighted Murni’s contributions, with publications like The New York Times and Artsy commending her work as “a necessary perspective in the context of the International.”
For The Armory Show, Gajah Gallery presents Murni’s debut solo exhibition in the United States, showcasing paintings that challenge Western representations of women’s bodies, sensuality, and desire. In these works, rendered in a style that both embraces and transcends Balinese painting traditions, an enlarged vulva becomes an eye, and a dragon tenderly kisses a woman’s breasts. Blending humour with eroticism, Murni reimagines self-pleasure as a site of subversion. Her bold, surreal interpretations of the female form disrupt the pervasive male gaze and the endless portrayals of women—particularly Asian women—as passive objects. It is these powerful depictions of a body reclaiming its agency that establish Murni as a pioneering figure not only in Indonesia but beyond.
