Titian Art Space in Ubud is once again presenting paintings by Bruce Granquist in his newest Inhale-Exhale exhibition,(Bruce is also a monthly contributor to NOW! Bali in his column ‘Mapping Bali’). This exhibition might seem like the work of an artist who has two minds, or perhaps even a group of different artists, but this seemingly unrelated collection of images is actually easy to categorise if you look a little closer and a little deeper, like one must do with art.
The exhibition’s works can be divided into two groups; naturalistic illustrations intended for publishing projects, and abstract calligraphic paintings intended only for themselves. This division is symbolized by the process in which the artist, Bruce Granquist, experiences the process of creation – Inhales and exhales.
Inhale
The ‘inhale’ represents the first part, the illustrations, when the artist takes a particular discipline and becomes self disciplined to observe and absorb the complexities of the world at large to describe the object portrayed in his illustrations.
Bruce Granquist explains: “Take for example, an illustration of a bug for a book about natural history. It must be an accurate, closely observed bug. It cannot be an image about how I feel about bugs, or my particular mood that day. Illustration is not at all about the illustrator, it is exclusively about the object portrayed. This part of the process I call inhale, observing and faithfully absorbing the complexity of the world at large.”
The ‘exhale’ represents the second part when all vivid images from illustrations are absorbed and marked in his imagination, mixed together to form something new, complex, and abstract.
“In contrast to the illustrations, these paintings are very much about how I feel and how I think, and have limitless freedom. They only need to be faithful to the inspiration that motivated them.” Says Bruce.
“Painting a leaf and seeing an abstract form, making an abstract calligraphic line and seeing the moves of a dancer. It is the balance of these two process (or perhaps 2 parts of the same process), that enliven my studio, and motivate all this artwork.”
Visit the Inhale Exhale Exhibition by Bruce Granquist and see the beautiful results of this dualistic process of creation. This exhibition will be open for public until October 15th.
Titian Art Space
Jalan Bisma No. 88, Ubud
