Ketut Budiana

He was born in Padangtegal village Ubud, in 1950. As well as teaching art at the Indonesian School of Arts in Denpasar and Ubud, he often acts as a sangging or an artist who donates his work for religious and ceremonial use. He maintains contacts with many older painters and has studied under Bonnet. He has frequently joined group exhibitions both in and out of Bali, and in 1976 he put on a one-man exhibition at the museum Puri lukisan, Ubud. In 1985 his works were included in the Biennial Junior painter VI, in Jakarta, and in the exhibition of Balinese paintings at the Fokuoka Art Museum, Japan. His works are also included in the collections of the Puri Lukisan Museum, Amsterdam.
Suteja Neka
Direktur of Dharma Seni Art Foundation which manages the Neka Art Museum, Ubud-Bali

Sidik Jari Art Museum

One of the existing museums in Denpasar is a rare museum showing fascinating paintings and sculpting works of art. It can be found on Jalan Hayam Wuruk Street 175, you can also find the sister museum, Le Mayeur Art of Painting Museum, located in Sanur.

Denpasar’s museum houses the works of specific paintings created by Mr. I Gusti Ngurah Gede Pemecutan, created by dipping the tip of his finger in the paint instead of using a brush. Mr. Pemecutan pioneered the museum formerly as a room of exhibition and maintenance of only his works, holding up to about 200 pieces.
However, his museum has developed and grown and now holds other painters’ works with the same goal of exhibiting them. He also holds many seminars and other activities relating to the art of painting and sculpting.
Built on an area of 1792 square meters, it includes rooms for permanent exhibitions, seasonal exhibitions, studios, and an open space pavilion, a resting pavilion, and an open stage. In three of the permanent exhibition rooms, there are paintings by Ngurah Gede Pemecutan.
The first of the three exhibition rooms show Mr. Pemecutan’s paintings during his earlier years while he was studying at ‘SLTP’ Junior High School. At this time he painted with a pen and black pencil, and painted for example flowers, produced by applying a technique of water paint on paper. There are also Ngurah Gede’s earlier paintings settled in a variety of modes, techniques, and themes.
In the second room, there are the finger paintings. The first painting of this collection depicts a warrior ‘baris’ dance. This painting contains a specific story for Ngurah Gede. This holds a special meaning to him as it was his first picture painted in this way.
Room III contains Ngurah Gede’s paintings wholly produced by this pointillism technique (application of finger instead of painting brush). This museum also has many different carvings such as wooden statues and masks, all of which are collections originating from Pemecutan Palace’s grand family of Denpasar.
Ngurah Gede Pemecutan has documented all of his works neatly and carefully. Some of his design works during his engagement to Bali’s Office of Ministry of Industry are shown in an artistic handicraft creation which can also be seen in the museum.
(Gung Man)