Born: 1970 • Purbalingga, Central Java
Studio: Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Discipline: Painting, Sculpture, Installation
Artist Profile • Curriculum Vitae
Ugo Untoro
“Art is not an ornament of vanity; it is a mirror of chaos and honesty. When I paint or assemble objects, I do not seek polished perfection. I search for the raw pulse of living creatures—their fragility, their stubborn resilience, and their silent rebellion against the constraints of society.”
Ugo Untoro (b. 1970, Purbalingga, Central Java, Indonesia) is widely recognized as one of the most compelling and influential voices in contemporary Southeast Asian art. After completing his formal studies at the Indonesian Institute of the Arts (ISI) Yogyakarta in 1996, Untoro emerged as a pivotal figure known for his raw, unpretentious brushwork, expressive draughtsmanship, and multidisciplinary exploration encompassing painting, drawing, sculpture, and large-scale found-object installations.
His landmark retrospective *Poem of Blood* (Singapore Art Museum, 2011) cemented his reputation internationally, exploring equine motifs stripped to bare metal skeletons and bone assemblages as metaphors for vulnerability, mortality, and existential turbulence. Untoro lives and works in Yogyakarta, maintaining an active studio practice focused on existential honesty and societal observation.