[Kabar-indonesia] Exhibition showcases 100 years of Bali fine art

[Joyo at aol.com]

The Jakarta Post 
Saturday, June 24, 2006

Exhibition showcases 100 years of Bali fine art

Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Seasoned art enthusiasts and novices alike will find Tradition and 
Reputation: Exhibition of 100 years of Balinese traditional paintings an enriching and 
unforgettable experience.

Selected by curator Agus Dermawan, the exhibition at the Center for Strategic 
and International Studies (CSIS) building features about 70 paintings 
encompassing a century of the country's most rich and formative works of art.

Agus has grouped the paintings into 11 categories according to time, place 
and style. The group reflecting the earliest development is the Kamasan style, 
which developed in Kamasan Village in Klungkung. Kamasan paintings were done on 
nusa cloth, mostly depicting wayang stories in detailed and dramatic 
expression.

Other categories are Guru Waktu (paintings of foreigners living in Bali), 
Batuan style, Ubud style of the Pita Maha period (1936-1956), Ubud style 
(1956-1970), Ubud Style (1970-2000), Sanur style, Young Artists' style (Arie Smit's 
students in Penestanan, Ubud), Pengosekan style, Keliki style and Kapal style.

The exhibition showcases paintings by such names as Ni Made Suciarmi, Ida 
Bagus Made Togog, I Gusti Nyoman Lempad and I Nyoman Lesug, I Nyoman Meja, Ida 
Bagus Nyoman Rai, I Ketut Soki and I Dewa Putu Sena, I Wayan Surana, I Gusti 
Agung Wiranata and foreign artists like Arie Smit.

The paintings mostly belong to private collectors in the country and are not 
for sale. However, some will be auctioned next month during the same 
exhibition in Bali.

Every painting on display is superb and tells its own story. However, the 
highlight of the exhibition is two paintings from the State Palace collection, 
one by Miguel Covarrubias, Gadis Bali dengan Sajen (Balinese Girls and 
Offerings) and another by Walter Spies, Upacara Kerajaan (Royal Ceremony), both are 
paintings by foreigners who took inspiration from the island of the gods and at 
the same time made a considerable contribution to the Balinese arts world.

"We actually wanted to exhibit Walter Spies's Pagi di Iseh (Morning in Iseh) 
as shown in the catalog. But the painting hangs in SBY (the President)'s room, 
so it is difficult for us to borrow it," Agus said on the opening day 
Wednesday.

"This painting was not painted in his Balinese period. It was made when he 
was in Yogyakarta while he was invited to play music at Yogyakarta Palace before 
he finally moved to Bali," Agus said.

The painting depicts a dance ceremony before a royal couple. The people in 
the painting wear Majapahit traditional attire, as conceived by Spies, who 
according to Agus, was an avid reader of Javanese history.

Besides Spies' and Covarrubias' works, the exhibition also shows paintings of 
Arie Smit, Theo Meier, Rudolf Bonnet and Antonio Blanco.

One of the most interesting styles is the mini paintings of Keliki Village. 
The pioneer of this style is I Ketut Sana, born 1952, who worked for painting 
maestro I Gusti Nyoman Lempad and his son I Gusti Nyoman Sudara Lempad.

He never painted before but he was interested. So he learned how to paint 
from Sudara. Sometimes, he took scraps of paper, Sudara's leftovers, back home. 
The result are detailed watercolors on paper.

He later asked his fellow villagers, who hitherto did not realize they could 
paint, to start becoming artists. It turned out that many of them could paint, 
thus generating a new genre in Balinese arts.

"Now, tourists can buy affordable mini paintings as souvenirs from Bali. But 
those displayed here are painted by the masters. Prices can reach as high as 
Rp 10 million (US$1,060)," Agus said.

Agus, whose interest in Balinese paintings began in the 1970s, said that in 
the history of painting in the country, Bali was a whole different story.

He has finished compiling a collection of stories and paintings in a 
full-color, 320-page book titled Bali Bravo: Lexicon of 200 years of Balinese 
traditional painters due to be launched next month in Bali.

The exhibition is a good education for the layman of what constitutes great 
art works. Bring your teenagers to the exhibition for them to view works rarely 
on public display.

Tradition and Reputation: Exhibition of 100 years of Balinese traditional 
paintings

June 21-26 CSIS Building Jl. Tanah Abang III No. 23-27 Central Jakarta

July 14-23 Arma Museum (Agung Rai Museum of Art) Pengosekan Ubud, Bali

Secretariat Jl. Alaydrus No. 49 Central Jakarta Phone: 021 6338724 

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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