Tajik Suzani

Saw it hanging in the Central Department Store in Dushanbe.
81" width x 77" length - includes loops for hanging

Kuncit

I love mermaids and fell instantly in love with this piece. It's a black ink etching on canvas of a Hindu goddess-like mermaid surrounded by fish. She has a happy expression. 

I later met the artist Kuncit and his wife at his little studio on the outskirts of Ubud, Bali. We think she might have been the model :)

To remember our meeting, I bought one of the few little paintings he had left that weekend--four owls on a telephone line that he painted from the steps of his studio one sunset.

Patient

Patient by Arya Palguna I Made, 2010, oil on canvas

R. Crumb's "Quiet Study" exhibited

An R. Crumb piece from our exhibition is being exhibited at the Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts CODEX show at the Kent and Vicki Logan Galleries in San Francisco from January 23, 2014 to March 29, 2014. It's quite an honor since this is the first of our collection that we have allowed out on loan.

The piece is an etching entitled "Quiet Study". For more on the piece, click here.

Future of Bali

Irene Hoff 2012, Watercolor & acrylic on canvas

Pop art meets Bali. Purchased from kody & ko, Seminyak.

email from Irene: Just to let you know that my brother often writes a story behind my paintings….Just like to send you the text that belongs to the painting you bought….

"Each person has 2 me’s
There is the Me that runs ahead and there’s the Me that tries to follow as best as he can.
The first Me is moulded by education, conventions and society. That one thinks a lot on how to achieve things like a bigger house, another car, a better job, more important friends…. He is ambitious and pretty rational.
That Me has a more worrying character and is thinking of the future and how to realize things, while the other Me tries to catch up.
And I was thinking about the other Me. The Me Behind.
That Me has many happy thoughts and is always cheerful. That one is positive and always enjoying the moment. Is creative, empathetic, humorous and funny. He’s the child in Me. No worries and an open mind. Curious, energetic and bright. In short a nice human being.
Actually, when I think of it, I hardly know the face of the Me Ahead. I am always looking at his back, because the Me Behind is always trying to catch up with the Me Ahead. That is boring, not inspiring at all. I really have to catch up and walk faster.
Today I realized that it is a pretty stupid thing. Instead of trying to catch up, Il shouted at the Me Ahead to slow down. That way the Me Behind could catch up easily and together they can enjoy, living in the moment, instead of out of synch.
That thought gave me a very good feeling. Liberating, even.
I invite everybody to join this thought.
Many people try to catch up with the Me Ahead and trying to be the Me Ahead. Fighting the demons, but why? Is it necessary to live up to the expectations of your parents, your friends, colleagues or society? Stop and think. Look at the original you, the Me Behind and think about it. That one is perfect, reboot and start living. Good luck."

The artist has a website.

Ancestor Painting

Detail, watercolour, mid-19th century

A huge canvas with 63 women.

Knowing Again Today

Ellen Hathaway. 2007. Acrylic on canvas, 30 x 20 inches.

Displayed at the "Emerging + Established" exhibition, July 5 - August 25 2007 at Les Yeux du Monde gallery, Charlottesville, Virginia. Hathaway offers an updated twist on flowers, reminiscent of Georgia O'Keefe. She has a web site.

Man with baby crocodile

Mario Mizrahi. oil on canvas. 11 1/4" x 7 1/2".

Purchased at Inspiracion gallery in Cozumel. Love that naif-like look, the dream-like feeling and the blue and green coloring.

The artist's web site.

Me and My Mother

Joseph Mugisha. Oil. 31 x 26 3/4 inches

Displayed at Design Agenda Gallery exhibition, October 2006. This text appeared with the painting:

"With her burden of harvested peas and empty cup, she bravely stares out at an uncertain future...Inspiration for this painting arose from a true story of an orphaned pre-teenage girl who in many ways, is the picture of many children in Sub Saharan Africa today. Having lost her father, the bread winner to AIDS, she and her mother are left to face a difficult, lonely life, further compounded by the fact that both are infected with the disease. The resurgence of the AIDS scourge is an indicator that we have become complacent in our fight to conquer this threat to mankind."

Here is a post about the art scene in Uganda with a reference to Joseph Mugisha: The View from Kololo: Gallery Tour

"Yorba Belt"

Shells and beads on cloth.

Purchased from Serena Hotel gift shop, Kampala, Uganda

Feintje Likawati

Feintje is an agonizingly difficult artist to find information about. If you do a google search you basically only find my blog posts. On the other hand, if you blog her husband, Balinese artist Pande Ketut Taman, there are hundreds of hits. I did manage to find the photo below of Feintje and her husband.


According to the biography provided by Larasati, the Indonesian art auctioneers, Feintje was born in 1970 and studied art in Yogyakarta. Her paintings have been on display in various exhibitions since 1990 and she has won the Best Sketch and Best Painting awards from the Indonesian Art Institute.

We love her realist paintings, use of color, off-beat composition of everyday women and girls and own several. Here are some of her other paintings including two from postcards: "Ibu dan Anak" (also listed in Larasati's 22 October 2000 catalog) and "Pasrah Dalam Beban"and one that was at Komaneka Gallery and since sold. There is also a postcard of a painting by Pande: "Kembang Dan Sepatu".

Blue Girl

From Minges Art Collection

Bought the top painting from Taman Art Gallery, Jalan Raya, Ubud, Bali

Modern Art

Bagaimana Dengan

Feintje Likawati. 2001. oil on canvas.

All You Need is Love

Arifien. 2001. Acrylic on Canvas. 70 x 60 cm.

Here is a newspaper article about the exhibition the painting appeared in:

Cover "Kepala Gombal" by Sudjojono. Catalog includes several paintings by Arifien.

Untitled

Feintje Likawati. 1998. oil on canvas. 19 1/2" x 48 1/2".

Terhimput

Feintje Likawati. 1996. Oil on canvas. 23 1/2" x 27 1/4".
Signed and dated (lower left): "Feintje 1-11-96". Purchased from Komaneka Fine Art Gallery, Ubud, Bali

Larasati

Catalog of Indonesian paintings including by several artists in our collection: Arifien and Warsito. The cover is from the painting "Kartini" by Mochtar Apin, a Javanese Cubist painter.

Christie's

Cover painting "Luksong-Tinik" by Vincente Silva Manansala (Philippines). Catalog features several paintings by Arifien.

Larasati

Cover "Fruit Seller" by Hendra Gunawan. Catalog features paintings by Arifien and Feintje.

Christie

The auction house regularly conducts auctions of Southeast Asian art. This catalog features four paintings by Arifien. The cover is by the Belgian painter Le Mayeur who lived in Bali.

Sister

Feintje Likawati. oil on canvas. 1999. 100 x 80 cm.

Looking for Wife (Detail)

Kamto D.S. 1989. Pastel on board. 60 x 60 cm.

Purchased from Duta Fine Arts Gallery, Jakarta, Indonesia

"Sukamto, gifted in sketching since youth, attended the Academy of Modern Art Yogyakarta(ASRI), yet never lost his connection to his magical village roots. Even though Sukamto uses a pastel technique, his works are reminiscent of glass paintings which have been realized in Java for more than a century. This, together with his native style, makes itdifficult to define his work as surrealism or naïve expressionism.

His subject matter is a skillful mixture of intriguing dreams and past reality which remain alive on the island of Java today.
Humor also takes place and the inspiration is often local legends. The picture invites the eye to relish the wealth of colors, the quality of composition, the nicety of details, the stunning works evolve with the charm of Persian miniatures.
Throughout all Sukamto’s creations, with each form revealing a symbolic meaning, the artist, without ambition, offers us a beautiful journey that is rare in our age … returning to us a share of our own childhood visions following the weft of his own unique culture."--House of Sampoerna

"5 Women Carrying Offerings on Head"

Warsito. 43 x 38 cm. Oil on canvas. 1986.

Bought in Bali, Indonesia. Modern "photo-realist" style.

"Warsito was born in Probolinggo, Java in 1946. He was a member of the Sanggar Aksera(Art Association) of Surabaya, Java. Strong, simple designs and colour ranges are typical in his work. His paintings are striking to the eye and intricate in their attention to detail, especially in the fabric patterns worn by women. His Tenganan subjects are always in demand, but his work also includes everyday scenes of life in Indonesia, heightened by a poetic innocence."
Source: http://www.age.jp/~pranoto/artists/warsito/001.htm

The Dream

Dewa Nyoman Raka, Oil on canvas, 78 x 57 cm

Signed (lower right): "DW. NY. Raka, Sa Pot Tegallalang, Bali." Purchased December 1986 at I DW Kt Mantra. One of my favorite paintings. Traditional Balinese scenery meets psychedelia reminiscent of Rousseau's famous painting.

"Two White Birds"

Dewa Sila. 124 x 89 cm. Oil on canvas.

Bought at I Dewa Nyoman Laba, Pegoesekan, Bali

Gaugin like woman

M. Suweta. 1986. oil on canvas. 34x60 cm.

Not a typical style for a Balinese painting. Reminds me of French painter Paul Gaugin's Tahiti paintings.

Meeting Affandi

The Affandi Museum (167 Jalan Solo, Yogyakarta, Indonesia) is an entire complex that houses the artist, his wife, servants and a gallery. The gallery is a long, modern, kidney shaped building containing the painter's wild, expressionistic, finger-painted, naturalistic scenes. Equally impressive is the compound itself which includes an aviary, the wife's "room", a converted multi-colored wagon, Affandi's "room"--built on carved stilts, it's a large room with a porch that's reached by climbing some stairs. Underneath is a lovely garden and pools with goldfish and statues. We had the good fortune to be there when Mr. Affandi arrived. He's a charming old man with a few teeth, sarong, t-shirt, jean jacket and beautiful smile.

Haitian scene

Signed "JN Liukner", oil on canvas, 42x53 cm

Bali Scenes

Man with ducks

Signed "M. Bioriawan Bali". Oil on canvas. 31x37 cm

Flutist with ducks

Iwin Balik. Oil on canvas. 14 1/2" x 13 ".

Signed (lower left): "Iwin Balik Ubud Bali". So called "Young Artist" style--scenes of typical Balinese life with bright colors and slightly off-beat: A farmer playing the flute for his ducks (a modern day Pied Piper) and a green frog smoking.

Cranes

Signed "I. Kombong Ubud Bali" Oil on canvas. 60x45 cm.