VILLAZAN is pleased to present “POPULAR” an exhibition featuring new paintings and drawings by Roby Dwi Antono that have never before been shown in an exhibition. The presentation also marks the artist’s first exhibition with the gallery in Madrid.

Roby Dwi Antono is a visual artist based in the culturally rich city of Yogyakarta in Indonesia. The municipality located on the island of Java has long been described as the “cultural heart of Indonesia,” attracting tourists with its classical Javanese performances and international artists for its diverse art programs.

Antono’s studio is located in an outlying district in the city. When he’s not working on graphic design projects for clients in his creative space, Antono spends his time creating paintings and illustrations that recall the works of Pop Surrealist founder Mark Ryden and iconic Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara. But Antono fuses the aesthetics of Surrealism and Classical Renaissance imagery to create a contemporary juxtaposition that’s all his own. Antono’s paintings usually feature starry-eyed children, mythological creatures and, for kicks, pop culture icons he admires such as Jerry Lorenzo, Tyler, the Creator and Takashi Murakami.