Exhibition Labelled "The Allure of Togetherness"

ultural assets, owned by Bali and Ubud in particular, have been no more bizarre in the ears of world art aficionados. Countless works of art have been created, chiefly in the domain of painting. Even, numerous foreign artists developed their painting here such as Arie Smit and Antonio Blanco.

In the midst of August (15-31/8), junior up to senior painters coalesced together to exhibit their selected works in this art resort. The Exhibition, held at Camplung Sari Hotel, was labelled "The Allure of Togetherness". It is expected that the execution of this exhibition is a strategic stride in the effort to support the revival of tourism in Bali. Additionally, it comes in a media to encourage the creativity of painters. Not just exhibiting the works, in fact, these painters also have the noble aspiration to help the survivors of natural catastrophes that has engulfed Indonesia. On that account, 10% of the sales of paintings will be donated to those victims in Yogyakarta.
16 painters both from Bali and outside Bali took part in exhibiting their works of which belonged to some schools of art. Painter like Dewa Gede Ardhana who was a protégé of maestros of painting like Affandi, Abdul Aziz and Dullah, unveiled the work entitled ‘Sunset Road to Kuta,’ Ketut Sudarma’s entitled ‘Blessing in Tradition’, Slamet Soeroto (from outside Bali) with his ‘Legong Tambulilingan’, and a row of other names presenting works of art, covering almost entirely the theme of Balinese social life. (BTN/Rai)

Since the last two decades, groups of painters developed in Bali and the births of these groups are generally based on the awareness of some painters to create a forum for painters to organize exhibitions. A group is formed as a complement of an exhibition management. Therefore it is not surprising that most groups are weak and fragile: after the first exhibition they extinct. However, still some few groups exist, maintaining themselves in success and failures. "Galang Kangin" is a group that still exists until now because they are not only based on holding regular exhibitions, but also because they hold on to their art.

The Group of Galang Kangin was founded on the 9th of April 1996. According to Made Supena the chairman of the group, this Galang Kangin group was actually established from the collaboration of artists who were graduated at the Indonesian Collage of Arts (STSI) Denpasar and Fine Arts and Design Program Study (PSSRD) Udayana University. Their choice was to work in a formalistic way. Their abstract paintings about nature and man as their objects still put forward the formal problem of art: the creation of visual elements (line, plane, color, and texture). The paintings, whatever their theme or subject matters are, always concentrate on the visual composition. Object and theme are just used as a starting point for the journey of visual adventure; representation only plays a minor role in their creative process.
"Actually there are three work classifications of this group to show their appliance like: formalistic aesthetics, placing nature as a working area and a starting point, and the last is chosing man and humanity as an area of their art" it was said by Hardiman, one of the curators on the exhibition.
This exhibition pictures a ten years journey of this group, yet it is not a retrospective exhibition. With the theme "Triumph and Defeat" this group exhibits about 28 of their works from (8/9-28/10) at the Griya Santrian Galery. "The theme for the exhibition is reflecting the experience of this group." said Supena while he added that there are 13 artists showing their works on this exhibition. A retrospective exhibition should content the essence of the journey, representing phases and the choice of the masterpieces of the painters. The Galang Kangin is a group of painters with the future still open to them, far a head of the time they experienced. (BTN/Rai)