The Journey Inwards
Paintings by Gohouen Toshi and Yasco Kanehira
At Ganesha Gallery, Four Seasons Resort, Jimbaran Bay
Tel: 701010
Both Japanese artists, Gohouen Toshi and Yasco Kanehira, were touched by Bali at an early age. For, although it is rarely spoken of, the first visit to Bali is for many young Japanese a rite of passage. In the exhibition ‘The Journey Inwards’, at the Ganesha Gallery, the artistic experiences of these two artists are explored.
Gohouen Toshi is a self described poet, novelist and mystic. He experienced an epiphany, which led him to dedicate his life to express only God in traditional Japanese calligraphy scroll paintings. “I have been searching for the Truth of the Universe”, Toshi says, “and traditional Japanese arts are bound by strict rules that I’m trying to transcend”. While the care with which he prepares rice paper and attaches it to cloth to make his scrolls is an ancient technique, his drive to expand the boundaries of his art with Zen-like calligraphy, experimental compositions, and bright colors, carries his art into the 21st century. A perfect example is ‘Passion’ with its vibrating palette of red and turquoise. Each work of art captures a mystical idea or experience that mirrors the Oneness of the Universe and Truth Toshi seeks.
Yasco Kanehira has a deep interest in traditional Japanese painting. “I am not interested in Art, but Life”, she claims. Her art is an exploration of emotions and feelings. Instead of Japanese ideograms, Kanehira often scribbles English words and expressions onto the surfaces of her canvases, like spontaneous graffiti. Kanehira also likes to present contradictions. Although the title of her lyrical painting of a colorful lotus pond is ‘A Tender Person’, she softens sentimentality by scratching the word “weakness” onto the surface, thus reminding us that compassion and gentleness can be seen in the eyes of many as a sign of fragility.
Presence Again
Group Exhibition
At Tangkas Gallery, Jl. Raya Ubud, Ubud. Tel: 975793
The Tangkas Gallery has mounted an extraordinary exhibition, entitled ‘Presence Again’, which follows the development of modern traditional Balinese painting. ‘Modern Traditional Art’ was a term devised by Rudolf Bonnet, to describe a style of painting which was to derive from ‘classical’ Balinese painting being influenced by the introduction of western concepts of techniques, objects, and functions in society. The style was to blossom into a significant Balinese cultural change, and was to be born in the 1930s with the creation of the Pita Maha group of artists.
When Rudolf Bonnet formed the Pita Maha group traditional artists up until then had mainly painted mythological themes, like the Ramayana and Mahabharata epics. Bonnet encouraged the artists to paint new themes, such as: Everyday village life, farmers going to their paddy fields, sellers at the markets, and the ceremonies in the temples. It was hoped that these artworks would be snapped up by the influx of tourists, which indeed they were, and, consequently, a new form of income was created for the local artists. With Bonnet’s death, the Pita Maha group continued to work in the now established style, with only a few painters working on creative new visual themes. However, the younger generation of the Pita Maha artists is now very cynical about the influences of western mentors, and seeks innovations that have the potential to be created by the Balinese themselves.
There are sixty artists on show in this exhibition, and it is a staggering display of the development of ‘Modern Traditional Balinese Art’. Starting with the eldest member of the Pita Maha, Dewa Tjita, born in 1927, his piece ‘Maya Denawa’ shows a reduction of ‘classical’ forms, while the exhibition continues on to one of the youngest members, Wayan Diana, born in 1977. His work, ‘Tergusur’, depicts the effects on traditional Balinese values by the present day encroachment of tourism and urbanization. The exhibition is extremely informative and interesting.
Changes in Life
Paintings by 3 Brothers + 1
At Adi’s Art Studio & Gallery, Jl. Bisma 102, Ubud
Tel: 977104
Nyoman Budiarta, Ketut Budiarsa, Wayan Piadnya and Kadek Budiana are a well known group of young artists from Kedewatan, Ubud, and they exhibit under the name of ‘3 Brothers + 1’. However, three of the brothers, namely Nyoman, Ketut and Wayan, are heavily handicapped. They suffer from a glass bone disease. Only the youngest brother, Kadek, is not handicapped. Their exhibition, ‘Changes in Life’, examines their remarkable progress as artists.
The ‘3 Brothers + 1’ art is about their life in general, and about their experiences which give their existences a special direction and determination. Their art is strong and unique, for their thoughts and expressions always move around the conditions which make them different and special, compared to other young men.
How the brothers deal with the problems of being handicapped, how they battle it, how they cope with it, and how they express these tensions and processes in their own ways as artists, creates canvases of great power and sensitivity. The paintings ‘Finding for Soul Mate’ by Nyoman, ‘Enthusiasm’ by Ketut, ‘See My Spirit’ by Wayan, and ‘Spirit’ by Kadek show that the ‘3 Brothers + 1’ don’t fool around. They present works that are free, ambitious, determined, and surprisingly original. The brothers have something to share with us about life and love, hopes and disappointments, fears and courage. These topics should be familiar to all of us.
