Dirot Kadirah

B. 1972

Raised in a fisherman’s family along the northern coast of Java, Dirot Kadirah began his painting career after traveling to Bali in 1992, where he learned under maestros Affandi and Sudarso. His early success selling works to collectors and galleries encouraged him to dedicate himself fully to painting, and by the mid-1990s he had developed his own distinctive style through years of experimentation. Dirot’s works portray the daily life of Indonesian people as seen through his personal perception, marked by a technique that sets him apart from his contemporaries.

Since 1994, his paintings have been shown in exhibitions in Bali, Jakarta, Singapore, and the United States, with a notable solo exhibition at Galeri Nasional Indonesia in 2008. In 2009, he was the only painter invited to present his work at the United Nations World Ocean Conference in Manado.