Soni Irawan was born on 15 January 1975 in Yogyakarta. He studied in the Visual Art Faculty (Fine Arts Department), majoring in Printmaking in the Indonesian Art Institute situated in Jogjakarta, Indonesia. A musician and one of the founders of a Jogjakarta experimental band Seek Six Sick, Soni's art is greatly influenced by the spirit and energy of rock music. His canvases are filled with spontaneous strokes, sketchy figures and cut out pieces, with the medium of oil bars chosen for their characteristic feel of roughness and boldness. His subject matter, however, tends to be largely personal topics that revolve around his family, environment and his underlying interest in capturing the spirit of human survival in everyday life.

Awards
2012 Jogja Agro Pop, Langgeng Gallery Serenella, C. 
2011 Indonesian Eye: Contemporary Indonesian Art, Skira Editore
2001 Phillip Morris ASEAN Art Award finalist Best Five Phillip Morris Indonesian Art Award Features Warsono, N. & R. Rasidi.  

Commissions

2008
Urban Art Fest Mural Project, Kompas
Newspaper Anniversary, Jakarta, Indonesia

2004
Mural Exhibition, Duke Distro & Clothing, Bali, Indonesia

Solo Exhibitions
2012
Mellow Yellow, Kendra Gallery, Bali, Indonesia

2011
You and Me and Everyone We Know, Vivi Yip Art Room, Jakarta, Indonesia

2010
Ode to Permata Unguku, Semarang Gallery, Grand Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia

Selected Group Exhibitions

2012
Jogja Agropop, Langgeng Gallery, Taman Budaya Yogyakarta, Jogjakarta, Indonesia

2011
Indonesia's Crouching Tigers and Hidden Dragon: Development of Modern and Contemporary Indonesian Art, Artspace Galleries, Mayfair, London, UK
Humanimal, Drawing Exhibition, Sangam House, Jogjakarta, Indonesia
Locality and Universality, MAPKL and Chandan Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
ArtJog XI, Taman Budaya Yogyakarta, Jogjakarta, Indonesia
Wallworks Inaguration, Wallworks Gallery, Paris, France
Closing The Gap, MIFA Gallery, Melbourne, Australia

2010
Spacing Contemporary, ARTJOG, Taman Budaya Yogya, Jogjakarta, Indonesia
Being Artpreneurship, Ciputra Art Center, Jakarta, Indonesia

2009
Jogja Jamming, Biennale Jogja, Taman Budaya Yogyakarta, Jogjakarta, Indonesia
Malaysia Art Expo, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Bazaar Art Fair, Ritz Carlton, Jakarta, Indonesia
Jogja Art Fair #2, Taman Budaya Yogyakarta, Jogjakarta, Indonesia

2008
Jogja Art Fair (JAF), Taman Budaya Yogyakarta, Jogjakarta, Indonesia

2006 - 1996
Various Fine Art and Graphic Art Exhibitions in different cities in Indonesia

Workshops

2000 Coloring Etching with Red Point and Eva Pietzkers
1998 Alugraf Printmaking with Red Point, ISI Etching Studio, Jogjakarta, Indonesia
1995 Multimedia workshop with Cemeti and Dutch artists, Jogjakarta, Indonesia