Art In Bali

Contemporary art has been defined as art made ‘today’, art that has been and continues to be created during our lifetime. Often confronting and unusual, it can differ significantly from its older, more conventional counterpart – modern art. Contemporary artists express their ideas through paintings, sculptures, site-specific installations, photography, video, new media and technology inspired […]

Balinese contemporary artist Gede Gunada first came to my attention in 2012. He was among a group of four other local artists who participated in the Artists Camp in the Top End of Northern Territory (NT) of Australia in the same year. The project’s mission was to expose the Balinese artists to the raw and […]

If you take a stroll along the shopping precincts of Kuta, Seminyak and Ubud, you can quickly become overwhelmed by the presence of commercial art. Art shops line the streets selling all manner of western and locally inspired artworks. Visitors may ponder: “Where can I see the best of the local traditional or contemporary art?” […]

One of the most satisfying phenomenon’s of Bali’s recent modern development has been the birth of an array of art and creative, multi-purpose spaces that serve as platforms for community co-working and engagement. Kulidan Kitchen Space, a new initiative in the rice fields of the Guwung village, Sukawati, fifteen minutes from Denpasar, is one such […]

“I approach every magical day here in Bali with gratitude and wonder. Gratitude for having the joyful privilege of living on the gorgeous rice fields north of Ubud,” says Canadian avant-garde filmmaker and photographer Joel Singer who first visited Bali in 1979 and has lived here for the past decade. “I usually awaken with the […]

Purpa Art Gallery Bali opened its first gallery in Ubud in 1970; it’s one of the oldest galleries in Bali. The owner, I Nyoman Purpa, was one of the most eminent curators and collectors in Indonesia. In 2014, her daughter Ari Purpa opened her own gallery in Seminyak, specialising in modern and contemporary Art by […]

Batuan paintings are remarkably dense with deeply saturated tones. Their images are often dark and sometimes macabre, but they are always carefully made and carefully balanced. The forms in the paintings swirl and intertwine, they repeat each other and expand outwards until they transform into new shapes and new patterns. They create labyrinths of pulsating […]

Volumes have been written about the foreign artists who have visited, lived and worked on the island of Bali during the first half of the 20th century. Walter Spies, Rudolf Bonnet and Theo Meier are celebrated icons, while Hofker, Covarrubias and Le Mayeur are all praised for their special talents. These artists, however, are all male.  […]

One of the most charming characters within the Bali art community is TjandraKirana. Quick with a smile, and always ready to share a light-hearted joke, or a tale, he is gifted with a generous, and effervescent personality.  Born in Denpasar in 1944, of Chinese Indonesian heritage, over the past six decades the well-known, self-taught photographer […]

In the purest sense, the traditional sports in Bali are reflections of the island’s culture, providing a window into the way of life of the Balinese people. These traditional games don’t only promote sportsmanship, but also provide recreational opportunities for the Balinese. From a bull race to mud wrestling and the island-wide kite competitions, these […]