Nyoman Erawan was born on May 27, 1958, in Banjar Dlodtangluk, Sukawati, Gianyar, Bali. He grew up in an environment surrounded by artists—painters, sculptors, dancers, and musicians. Choosing to pursue art during his teenage years, he enrolled at the Secondary School of Fine Arts in Denpasar. Shortly after, he moved to Yogyakarta to pursue a Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts at Institut Seni Indonesia. Both institutions shaped his perspective on art and broadened his understanding of the relationship between traditional Balinese visual art and the techniques and approaches of Western art. The dialogue between these two worlds is evident in Erawan's artworks to this day.
He began working and living as an artist in 1983. Over approximately 25 years, he explored various artistic fields due to his equal talents in both visual and performance arts. His works are primarily inspired by the philosophy of life in the Balinese-Hindu perspective known as Trimurti, where the cosmic functions of creation, preservation, and destruction are personified by Brahma as the creator, Wisnu as the preserver or guardian, and Siva as the destroyer or transformer. Themes of destruction and incarnation, life and death, chaos and order, traditional and modern are prevalent in his art. Erawan creates paintings, installations, video art, and performance art that have been exhibited in numerous shows in Indonesia and abroad.