Hansen Thiam Sun Exhibition: Ubud, Bali

A student in Yogyakarta once asked me which island in my opinion was the best in the field of arts. A hard question to answer but I did.

I told the student that the culture of each island in the archipelago has its own unique style of art whether it is painting, batik, sculpture or drama. Therefore, one could not truly say one was better than the other. The student pondered my answer and replied "But Yogyakarta is the cultural centre of Indonesia and so it is only natural that it is the centre of arts".

My reply was swift. I told him that in my opinion, although Yogyakarta was the cultural centre of Indonesia, I personally considered Ubud in Bali to be the centre for arts in the archipelago. He was not amused!.

Ubud has quite a number of galleries and Nick has visited just about every one of them and on this site you will find detailed analysis of each one. There are always exhibitions in progress at one of the galleries or hotels in the area and there is an excellent one at the Alila Ubud Resort.

Hansen Thiam Sun will exhibit twenty acrylic paintings on canvas from July 14 through September 30, 2006 at the Alila Ubud.

Inspired by two extreme cultures, east and west, Indonesian-born painter Thiam Sun finds a middle expression through his paintings of figurative, solitary woman.

The Artist's fascination with the two contrasting cultures emanates from the experience of living for ten years in Taiwan and the U.S.A. Thiam Sun sees the two cultures from two opposing perspectives: different, yet occasionally complimentary. All his paintings depict a single woman.

In rendering his subjects Thiam Sun employs a flat and cartoon-like impression in order to show comical expression in his female subjects. By using a cartoon approach these works also capture elements of modern western culture while Chinese calligraphy filling the background introduces the East.

Born in Toho, West Kalimantan in 1960, Hansen Thiam Sun showed an early interest in the visual arts. From 1980-1984 he studied mechanical design in Taipei before moving to the U.S.A. where he worked as a design and technical specialist in an American yacht manufacturing company.

It was during his stay in the USA that Thian Sum's talents were influenced by a close association with an architect and painter who helped him develop his individual style: distinctive, simple and spontaneous brush strokes. The results are both subtle and philosophical, a mixture of semi abstract and minimalist art.

Hansen Thiam Sun operates two galleries selling his work and has held exhibitions in Hong Kong, Singapore, Brazil, Singapore, Taipei, Tokyo and the U.S.A.

"East -West Through Women" a solo exhibition by Hansen Thiam Sun runs daily from July 14 through September 30, 2006 at the Alila Ubud Resort.