Currently on display at Santrian Art Gallery, Sanur is ‘Kadaut’, the latest exhibition by seasoned Balinese artist, AA Ngurah Paramartha. Inaugurated on April 7, the exhibition features 13 paintings on canvas and the 3 installations, which will be on display until May 31, 2023.
“Kadaut” is the Balinese word for “captivated” – a condition of being attracted to or attached to something. It refers to the state artist Ngurah Paramartha found himself in while he was producing the works for this exhibition. Hence the name of this body of work. The artist explains that ‘kadaut’ represents his experience of observing him while he paints.
That initial brushstroke on the canvas and on the palette, that freedom at the beginning of a painting, triggers in him a sort of ‘kadaut’ that pushes him to present figures, tell a story, a narration, inspired by the wayang, tantri, history, archaeological finds, personal anecdotes. A compulsion to share a stream of consciousness. As he would say, this is the purest level of creative inspiration.
The exhibition portrays a broad visual experience, with each of Ngurah’s works seemingly individual, solitary in subject matter and message, the underlying theme being the artist’s process. He admits that he didn’t pay attention to the rules of ratios or logic when he started applying colors through the strokes of his palette. Without an underlying theme to work from, Ngurah instead allowed the creative process to perpetuate itself, giving it the freedom to “become”.
The visual iconography thus ranges from wayang to maya. For example, in “Facing the Goddess of Fortune”, which depicts the figures of Dewi Sita and Ravana, we see Ngurah’s interpretation of wayang, staying true to specific standard iconography (such as crown shape, facial expressions, etc. ), but abstract and tailored around these components.
The wayang stories contained in the two epic poems of the Vedic civilization, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, for example, are presented by Ngurah in many of his works. One of them is in the work “Facing The Goddess Of Fortune”, which depicts the figures of Dewi Sita and Ravana.
AA Ngurah Paramartha (b. 1974) was born in Denpasar, Bali. He completed his art education at STSI Denpasar campus. Ngurah has been actively involved in the art group Ten Fine Art which he has formed with nine artists of his generation since 2004. He has had solo exhibitions under the titles “Secret Desires” at Hideout Fine Art Ubud (2003) and “Life Exploration” at Ten Fine Sanur Art Gallery (2011).
The exhibition is presented by Gurat Institute & Art Project; exhibition notes originally written in Indonesian by I Made Susanta Dwitanaya.
Kadaut is available to viewers every day from From April 7 to May 31, 2023 — open from 10:00 to 18:00. Follow Gurat Institute on Instagram for more information: @guratinstitute
Santian Art Gallery
Jalan Danau Tamblingan, No. 47, Sanur
0361 288181
santrian. com
Edward Speir
Edward, or Eddy as he prefers to be called, is the managing editor of NOW! Bali and host of NOW! Podcast Bali. He enjoys photography, rural travel and he loves that his work introduces him to people from all walks of life.
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