Nyoman's women show his explosive energy

Nyoman's women show his explosive energy

By Amir Sidharta

JAKARTA (JP): Don't expect anything like Hofker's or Basoeki
Abdullah's eroticism or Antonio Blanco's exoticism in Nyoman
Gunarsa's paintings, even in the exhibition entitled Women in
Nyoman's paintings, currently on show in Kemang, South Jakarta.
Viewers will find instead the most dynamic and expressive
portrayal of women in Balinese art or art about Bali mounted for
years.

Born in Klungkung, Bali in 1944, Nyoman Gunarsa did not have
the privilege of growing up within the emerging Ubud and Batuan
traditions of Balinese painting, which were fostered in the
preceding decades by the artistic dialog which took place between
the European painters who lived on the island and the Balinese
artists who formed the Pita Maha association. Instead, Gunarsa
grew up within an older painting tradition, the Kamasan
tradition, which flourished in the Klungkung court in the 17th
century.

He admired the visual and performing arts of his region, and
felt that he needed to study them even further. However, in
Klungkung itself he felt that he could no longer develop his
skills. To study painting in Ubud or Batuan was not his intention
either. So, after completing Junior High School, he left for
Yogyakarta.

There, he enrolled in the Indonesian Fine Arts Academy (ASRI),
where he studied under the tutelage of Abbas Alibasyah, Widayat,
and Fajar Sidik among others. In 1963, his work received the
highest possible commendation. In 1976 he received the Affandi
Prize. That same year, after studying for 17 years, Gunarsa
finally graduated from the academy and subsequently became one of
its instructors.

From there his career boomed. He received the Best Painting
Award at the National Biennial Exhibition in 1978 and 1980.
Thereafter, he participated in numerous international exhibitions
in Japan, Europe, and the United States. His paintings have been
collected by many museums around the world.

The prolific painter also established his own museums; The
Nyoman Gunarsa Indonesian Contemporary Painting Museum in
Yogyakarta and The Classical Balinese Painting Museum in
Klungkung, Bali. For his efforts in developing and preserving the
visual arts he received the Dharma Kusuma Award from the Balinese
Government in 1995.

It is apparent that among Balinese artists, Nyoman Gunarsa
stands out prominently. What distinguishes him from others is his
highly individual expressive and dynamic style of painting, which
he has steadily developed since 1970. Since his shift to his
current style, his treatment of human figures has altered from a
realistic approach to a highly stylized approach similar to the
Balinese wayang shadow puppets.

More recently, as we can see in Nyoman's paintings show, his
figures have become less stylized once again; they are no longer
two-dimensional shadow puppets. In his current paintings, there
is once again suggestions of volume and three-dimensionality in
his human figures. However, these new figures are stripped of
their individual character. They are certainly not portraits of
dancers or bearers of offerings. They are merely symbolic
representations of typical Balinese women.

Gunarsa's paintings are composed of various brushstrokes. It
seems that initially they are broad and flat to create shapes or
volumes. Then they become more rapid and energetic to accentuate
edges and indicate movement.

There is a strong musical quality in Nyoman Gunarsa's
paintings. Like Balinese music, the rhythm of the painting keeps
swaying from a slow calm pace to a fast and dynamic climax. While
the brushstrokes seem to portray rhythm in the painting, the
colors that Gunarsa uses appear to represent the different types
of musical instruments used in a Balinese gamelan orchestra. It
even appears as though the artist listens to Balinese music as he
paints.

Art critic Merwan Yusuf appropriately likens Gunarsa's
paintings to Balinese ceremonies. The critic writes: "Nyoman
Gunarsa creates his paintings like someone creates a ceremony.
His paintings are ceremonies which have been transferred on to
the canvas."

With such a treatment of subject matter, Gunarsa's paintings
can be considered abstract. They are not only literal renderings
of the women, the dances or the ceremonies which he presents as
his subject matter, but they also go beyond that and represent
his personal feelings about them.

Although Nyoman Gunarsa features figures of women prominently
in his paintings, he does not use them as objects of pleasure or
desire. Rather, the women in Nyoman's paintings become a vehicle
through which he expresses his own explosive artistic energy.

Women in the Nyoman's Paintings is at Galeri Santi, Jl. Benda
No. 4, Kemang, South Jakarta until June 10, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.