Desy Gitary is a self-taught Indonesian artist whose formal entry into the art world began in 2014, following a period of anatomical study under the Dutch painter Noella Ross in Bali. Her transition to a sustained artistic practice was a considered decision, prompted by a search for a life beyond the density and pace of Jakarta, and made possible through the resources accumulated during her previous professional career.

Gitary works principally in charcoal and paper, materials she regards with deliberate intention. Charcoal, which she describes as "the oldest drawing tool", and the unadorned surface of paper, with its qualities of clarity, contrast, and fragility, function for the artist as both medium and mirror, registering an interior landscape that resists ornament. The economic precariousness of independent artistic life has shaped, rather than diminished, her commitment to a solitary mode of working.

For Gitary, the act of making is a means of inhabiting solitude while "arranging the puzzles of life", an ongoing reconciliation with a world she experiences as fundamentally imperfect. She frames her practice as an "endless search", and a vocation closer to lifelong partnership than profession.

Her solo exhibitions include "07:00" at Ruangdalam Art House, Yogyakarta (2016); "Beyond" at Syang Art Space, Magelang (2018); and "Zone: Out of Comfort" at Redbase Foundation, Yogyakarta (2021). She has also participated in group exhibitions across Indonesia and internationally, with presentations in Sydney, Copenhagen, Khajuraho, and Chiang Mai, among other locations.