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.