Citra Sasmita: Who Stole The Sky

Citra Sasmita (b. 1990, Bali, Indonesia) is a self-taught artist. She studied literature and physics, and worked as a short story illustrator for the Bali Post before she began developing her artistic practice.

Sasmita focuses on unravelling the myths and misconceptions of Balinese art and culture, whilst shedding light on the Dutch colonial history which had shaped notions of authenticity in Bali. She is also deeply invested in questioning a woman’s place in social hierarchy and seeks to upend normative constructs of gender by reimagining mythical and classical narratives of war and romance to exalt female resistance instead.

Sasmita employs the Kamasan painting technique, which originates from a small village in Klungkung, East Bali since the 15th century and is traditionally exclusively practised by men to narrate Hindu epics. She engages with it as a reclamation of female agency, reimagining narratives drawn from ancient Balinese literature, rituals, mythologies and iconography. In recent years, she has expanded her practice to include sculpture and installation, incorporating various materials such as braided hairs, antique wooden pillars and ancient textiles to create her universe of empowered and divine cosmology.

Her work has been shown in several notable biennales and triennales such as ALOHA NŌ, Hawai’i Triennial (Hawai’i, 2025), to carry, Sharjah Biennial (United Arab Emirates, 2025); Precarious Joys, Toronto Biennial of Art (Canada, 2024); After Rain, Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale (Saudi Arabia, 2024); Ten Thousand Suns, 24th Biennale of Sydney (Australia, 2024); Choreographies of the Impossible, 35th São Paulo Biennale (Brazil, 2023); The Open World, 3rd Thailand Biennale, Mae Fah Luang Art and Cultural Park, Chiang Rai (Thailand, 2023); Garden of Ten Seasons, Savvy Contemporary, Berlin (Germany, 2022); Kathmandu Triennale (Nepal, 2021-2022); ARTJOG MMXXII, Time To Wonder, Jogja National Museum, Yogyakarta (Indonesia, 2021); and the Biennale Yogyakarta (Indonesia, 2019). Recent solo exhibitions include Into Eternal Land, Barbican The Curve, (London, 2025); Atlas of Curiosity, Yeo Workshop (Singapore, 2023); Ode To The Sun, Yeo Workshop (Singapore, 2020); and Tales of Nowhere, Museum MACAN, Jakarta (Indonesia, 2020).