The Blanco Renaissance Museum

The late Don Antonio Blanco designed the Blanco Renaissance Museum, which can be found in Campuhan, Ubud. His aim when designing the museum was to combine architecture styles from Europe and Bali, although unfortunately he died in 1998 before building was completed.
The 3-tiered museum, built on 1,100-square-meter ground, reflects three parts of the world; mountain, land, and sea. A soft opening of the special museum took place in March 2001. This monumental building shows works by Blanco, in Indonesia in the 1950s with President Sukarno who was visiting U.S.A.
On the upper floor of the building, there are statues of Balinese dancers in golden colors reflecting Blanco’s inspiration in painting whilst he lived in Ubud. Out of his total collection of 300 works, about 70 of Blanco’s paintings both large and small can be seen in the museum. He expresses female beauty using an expressionist style. If you visit the museum you will find it interesting to see the remnants of the paint tubes and painting brushes used by Blanco scattered around the museum.
Apart from the glorious museum building, you can also visit the gallery and studio used by Blanco while he was painting. Tickets cost Rp 20,000 per person, it is definitely worth a visit, you can enjoy Antonio Blanco’s fine works and appreciate the lovely, cool atmosphere on the hills of Campuhan. (Gung Man)

Wayan Aex Sumerta
A Traditional Painter of Padang Tegal

Desa Padang Tegal, Ubud, famous for its painters such as the late A.A. Gede Sobrat, A.A Raka Puja and Gusti Nyoman Jati, are the representatives of Ubud’s style of painting. These artists, the creators of the traditional Padang Tegal paintings depicting Bali’s flora and fauna, are famous nationally and internationally as well as throughout Bali.

Wayan Aex Sumerta, one of the painters who uses this Padang Tegal style, has demonstrated a style adhered to by his elders who are fond of combining styles of Padang Tegal and Pengosekan to show fineness and cordiality. On the other hand, the Padang Tegal style shows a forceful contrast and perspective bringing about an image of art of extraordinary character. Sumerta’s paintings also show nuance of Balinese tradition and culture.
Simplicity is also a trait of Sumerta’s works filled with flora and fauna to symbolize life in the cosmos. A bird appearing on a tree with many leaves with the view of paddy fields will remain his mascot as long as he persists in painting.
Sumerta’s spirit to become a famous painter began when he was keenly studying at senior high school in Batubulan and at Udayana University in Denpasar (1998), where he showed a wide range of painting exhibitions, both at home and abroad.
He is a painter eager to apply traditional concepts, while adhering to modern techniques in painting. His works are immensely popular both nationally and internationally, due to single-handed promotions and group exhibitions. Customers fond of collecting his paintings have played a positive role for him in promoting his works abroad. These collectors have come from California, America, Hawaii and Britain. (Poll/Beryas)

Don Antonio Maria Blanco

Don Antonio Maria Blanco was born in Manila, The Philippines, 15 September 1911, spending his childhood there until graduating from Senior High School, he then studied at the US National Academy of Art in New York. He enjoyed travelling the world looking for inspiration for his paintings. Bali always remained one of his favourite places.
In Blanco’s opinion Bali’s peaceful atmosphere was like heaven on earth. He fell deeply in love with a young woman called Ni Ronji and married her in 1953. His love of Bali became complete following the births of their children, Cempaka, Mario, Orchid, and Maha Devi.
His wife often appeared in his paintings sometimes portrayed as an angel and in a variety of poses, he painted her with great zest and a peaceful mind. He received many awards during his life including from The U.S.A, Canada, Japan, Italy, Spain and Indonesia. (Gung Man)