Balinese artist shows his talent in Paris

Balinese artist shows his talent in Paris

By Kunang Helmi-Picard

PARIS (JP): The second edition of the contemporary art
exhibition "Art in the World" opened on Friday Sept. 8. On the
same occasion the city's new cultural premises, under the bridge
Pont Alexandre III on the right bank of the Seine in Paris, were
also inaugurated.

The bi-annual show was initiated by the prestigious French
Beaux Arts magazine in 1998. This year, editors of 36 art
magazines from all over the world were asked to select 100 young
contemporary artists of 50 different nationalities.

Reflecting an international panorama and the diversity of
artistic creativity at the beginning of the 21st century, the aim
of the exhibition is to discover new talents.

The show is sponsored by the mayor of Paris, the Association
Francaise d'Action Artistique (French Ministry of Foreign
Affairs) and ABN-AMRO France.

Since it is the art magazines' editors that undertake the
actual choice, a specialist approach is ensured. Nevertheless,
the show does not claim to be an exhaustive selection. Some
geographical zones such as the Middle East are under represented
because of the lack of art publications. The personal view point
of many curators who have an intimate knowledge of what is
happening on the art-scene of each country represented is crucial
for the show.

The editor of Asian Art News based in Hong Kong, Ian Findlay-
Brown comments, "Although shaken by the financial and economic
crisis of 1997, Asian art has reacted with dynamism and
optimism. It owes a part of its force to the development of the
art market between 1980 and 1990, a period where museums and
galleries opened at a fast pace, creating a solid base for
progress."

Findlay-Brown chose Balinese I Made Palguna among those young
Indonesian artists he knew from Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Bandung and
Bali, because of the vigor of Palguna's recent work evoking
current difficulties in Indonesia. However, the painting which
was chosen, entitled Relax Once in a While, is more humorous in
feeling. In recent interviews Palguna, who unfortunately could
not attend the opening, reminds us: "Paints, canvasses, even that
which appears inexpensive, is still much too expensive for young
artists in Indonesia."

Hopefully the fact that Palguna was chosen for this show of
young artists, besides spotlighting Indonesian art, will also
give a boost to his career, contributing to international
recognition of his talent.

The 36 editors made their choice of other young artists who
explore various mediums and techniques that include:
- painting: from the poetic abstractions of Iranian Bahar
Behbahami to the figurative painting of Anju Dodiya, who projects
Indian mythology on the universe of decorative arts.
-sculpture: from the wooden primitivist sculpture of Polish
artist Sylvester Ambroziak to the plastic, glass and moss objects
of Hungarian Maria Chilf, which represent a cosmonaut traveling
to the imaginary country of Alice in Wonderland.
-photography: from the futuristic photography of Finnish Anu
Tuominen to the feet-portraits of urban passersby taken by Cuban
Luis Edgardo Fomez.
-video film: from the autistic lunch presented by Canadian Manon
Labrecque on a screen to the complex video installation
incorporating induced current machines by Indian Tallur LN.
-installations: from the refrigerators with glass sculptures and
videos of Israelian Sigalit Landau to the tables and atomic
lighting by the Czech Lukas Rittstein.
-performances: including that of the concert Hooded Quartet by
the Albanian Sisley Xhafa.

Indeed this applies to the 99 young artists whose work will
remain on display until Nov. 8 in Paris.