Silence – by Wayan Karja: Jimbaran Bay, Bali

Inspired by the Balinese holiday of Nyepi there will be an exhibition of paintings by Wayan Karja at the Ganesha Gallery at the Four Seasons Hotel in Jimbaran Bay, Bali.

In his latest solo exhibition featuring a series of abstract paintings entitled "Silence" in honour of the Balinese New Year Nyepi or day of silence, Wayan Karja, displays both his roots and branches as reported by the Bali Discovery.

"I visualize myself as a tree. My branches bear the fruit of intellectual learning and Western approaches to art, but my own Balinese roots naturally grow as strongly as the branches."
WAYAN KARJA , 2006

Karja's story also transects the history of modern art in Bali. As a boy in the 1970s he was identified as a new emerging talent in Penestanan's Young Artists school, a brash style of painting that had developed under the guidance of artist Arie Smit dating from the 1950s. Not satisfied with the limitations of the style he became one of a new generation of Balinese artists to attend the Indonesian Institute of Art in Denpasar where he was introduced to western concepts. In particular he found himself attracted to the purity of abstract art.

In his exhibition Karja presents "silence" as consisting of a series of brilliant canvases dominated by light and colour. Meditative yet brimming with movement and force they are a just homage to Nyepi - a day of ritual introspection that contrasts with the vibrant exterior pulse of daily Balinese life. Karja understands well the challenge of the Balinese to simultaneously walk multiple tightropes between tradition and modernity, materialism and spirituality. This new series display the remarkable Balinese talent of maintaining Cosmic and personal balance in a world of contradictions.
Silence - A Solo Exhibition by Wayan Karja

Ganesha Gallery at the Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay, 6:00 until a.m. 10 from Daily 4th July - August 12