Artist Detail | Ilham Gallery
Redza Piyadasa
1939 - 2007, Malaysia
Redza Piyadasa
1939 - 2007, Malaysia

Redza Piyadasa (1939-2007) was born in Kuantan. A renowned artist, art critic and art educator, his rich practice and diverse range of works often grappled with the question of national identity in Malaysia. Under a government scholarship, he was sent to England for further studies, first at the Malayan Teachers College Brinsford Lodge (1959) and then the Hornsey College of Art in London, England (1963).  taught at Sekolah Menengah Sultan Sulaiman in Kuala Terengganu (1968-69), and subsequently became art lecturer at Institut Teknologi MARA, (1969-74), before going for his MFA at the University of Hawaii at Manoa (1975-77). He then joined Universiti Sains Malaysia as lecturer in art (1977-84). His awards include the Major Prize, Malaysian Landscape 1974; Minor Award (jointly with Lee Kian Seng), Salon Malaysia 1979; and the Prince Claus Award in 1998. He was a recipient of the Australian Cultural Award (1987) and the Japan Foundation (1992).  In 2001, the National Art Gallery in Kuala Lumpur accorded him a retrospective.