Hendra Gunawan (painter)

Raden Hendra Gunawan Prawiradilaga, better known as Hendra Gunawan, was an Indonesian painter and sculptor. Born to a family of Sundanese gentry in Bandung, he ran away from home to become an artist. After time as a healer and freelance painter, he met Affandi and began to focus on painting. Learning from contemporaries, including Affandi, Wahdi Sumanta, and S. Sudjojono, Hendra honed his art under the Japanese occupation and gained prominence. During the Indonesian National Revolution, he worked with the Pelukis Front to capture the realities of the battlefield, which led President Sukarno to sponsor his first solo exhibition in 1946. After a brief membership in the Young Artists of Indonesia, Hendra co-established the Pelukis Rakjat artist collective.