Originally from Palembang in Southern Sumatra, Dedy Sufriadi is the second of six siblings and began painting seriously at the age of 15 while still in Senior High School for the Arts (SMSR). From there, he went on to study at the prestigious Indonesian Institute of the Arts (Institut Seni Indonesia) in Yogyakarta, better known by its Indonesian acronym ISI, where he majored in painting. In 2013, he obtained his Masters degree from the same institution.
Dedy is an avid reader, seriously consuming books ever since he began his tertiary education in 1995. One specific area he is particularly well read in is existential philosophy, a subject that has strongly informed his artistic endeavor. Among the books he has read over the years include philosophical heavyweights such as Friedrich Nietzsche, Jean Paul Sartre, Søren Kierkegaard, Martin Heidegger, and Albert Camus, among others.
Because of his love for reading, it should come as no surprise that text has become a very important element in his art. Dedy also notes the ubiquitous nature of text, as a means to convey information, citing the often-overlooked fact that we are subjected to text, in its various forms and mediums of presentation, at almost every waking moment.
Apart from his text-based artworks, pure abstracts (notably the Tabula Rasa series), semi-figurative abstracts, and exploring the limits of texture in painting have all been part of Dedy Sufriadi’s diverse repertoire of art. His Tabula Rasa series of works presents paintings where the canvas is initially approached without any preconceived idea or plan as to what will eventually be depicted; in other words, a completely clean-slate approach allowing his intuition to be in the driver’s seat.