Art In Bali

It was early 2009 when I first met Jean Couteau at an editorial meeting. The Frenchman, who speaks Bahasa Indonesia fluently, arrived in white trousers and a long sleeved white shirt. He spoke extensively about Balinese traditions and cultures and how we should raise awareness of this rather than always the island’s sun, sea and […]

  The truth is, many people don’t know how to look at art. You will see most people in the art museum hustling through, pausing for only a minute at each painting or sculpture, looking either bored or perturbed, before traipsing on to the next piece. Is there anything that can be done to encourage […]

In 1923, Walter Spies, a Russian born German painter arrived in Java. After four years of living in Jogjakarta, in 1927, the handsome painter started a life in Ubud. At his house in Campuhan, Ubud and later at his mountain house in Iseh, Karangasem, Spies completed a collection of special and distinctive paintings. He would […]

Teja stands tall – almost as tall as his iconic paintings. His serious nature allows for no frivolity and he is a man of few words – his words and whimsy are reserved for his art. Even though he was born in Tuban, his familial roots are from Klungkung – the home of Kamasan. This […]

Coming from a traditional Balinese background Sani has also had to contend with the voices of her peers who have a mild disapproval of her leap to the less traditional world. Jealously is easy to manifest in a traditional world but Sani tries to rise above the pettiness. Daily offerings? No need to make them […]

Art is filled with love; perhaps it is because through art, love can be expressed without any barriers, becoming a representation of pure feeling and emotion. The Russian-French artist, Marc Chagall, was once quoted saying that “Art must be an expression of love, or it is nothing”. Love is ever present in Bali, and in […]