To the untrained eye, modern or contemporary art is a far cry from the art movements such as the Impressionist movement that began in France with famous artists such as Edgar Degas, Claude Monet and Pierre Auguste Renoir taking the forefront. Given the prominence of some of the artwork created throughout history, the original creations are exhibited in well known art galleries and museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art known as the ‘Met’ by locals, in New York, Musee d’Orsay on the banks of the Seine in Paris, the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. and The Louvre, in Paris, France. While such traditional and classical artwork takes prominence in such Museums, for those residing in a Seminyak Bali resort, contemporary art in the Kendra Gallery in Bali will provide an insight into modern artistic trends of the Balinese.
The Kendra Gallery of Art was established and opened to the public in 2008 with a number of primary goals ranging from making a positive impact and influencing contemporary art in the country as well as fostering international relations by representing not only Balinese art but also artworks from across the world including European and American art. For those who wish to visit the Kendra Gallery, its location provides them with a myriad of choices with regard to accommodation and is only an eight minute drive from reputed chain hotels such as Anantara Seminyak Bali Resort & Spa.
Exhibitions in 2014 included ‘Bahagia Itu Sederhana’ (Being Happy is Simple) by Farid Stevy Asta who used mediums such as charcoal, acrylic, chalk, paper and canvas to create collage artworks. The Gallery also houses a number of permanent collections including art by Mari Tri Sulistyani, Agung Kurniawan, Agus Yulianto and Takashi Hinoda which utilises sickle, asphalt, acrylic and ceramic mediums, to name a few.
Intrigued by history, art and food, Shazzana Hamid is a writer who is passionate about the extraordinary. Disguised as Lavinia Woolf she writes of the exhilarating and enchanting.