Alison

Last look at Ubud – Art and Sculptures at Agung Rai Museum of Art (ARMA)

It was our last day in Bali and after a wonderfully relaxing facial for me we walked to the nearby Agung Rai Museum of Art. It takes approximately ten minutes to walk from our hotel along the busy main street to the hidden museum. There is also a hotel located at the back of the museum which was a surprise to us.

Intricately carved sculptures set amongst the tree roots of a large banyan tree.

ARMA is more than just a museum, it is a centre for performing and visual arts and it holds many theatre, dance and music performances. There are art classes for all ages, workshops and demonstrations.

As we entered the museum itself, this is the first thing we saw. I just took a quick glance before going to look at the paintings behind. It was only when I turned around that I realised the person was also a sculpture! So glad we were the only ones in there as I jumped back in surprise.

“Painting is just another way of keeping a diary.” – Pablo Picasso

This particular painting was amazing, as it was made up of tiny grains of painted golden rice.

Painted by Stephen Bennett, an American Portrait artist. Over the last twenty years he has travelled to over thirty countries seeking out indigenous people.

Javanese Nobleman and his Wife

I did have to stop myself from going to give him a pat, beautiful wooden sculpture.

The Story of Agung Rai

Agung Rai was born into a poor family which led to a difficult upbringing. Even so he loved art and found a job selling paintings to foreign tourists on the beach. It took a while but he eventually managed to accumulate enough money to convert three rooms of his home into a homestay. This allowed him to offer rooms to tourists in Ubud. In 1978 he was able to open the Agung Rai Fine Art Gallery. ARMA was opened in 1996 and has many paintings not just by Balinese painters but also famous foreign artists.

A literal work of art that has been two years in the making. It will soon be ready to hang and view. The artist showed me minute details in the painting of weddings, funerals and other kinds of ceremonies.

“An artist is not paid for his labor but for his vision.” – James McNeill Whistler

I enjoyed our visit to this museum, it’s a wonderful place to escape the noisy streets of Ubud.

Posted also for Natalie’s PPAC and Weekend Coffee Share

26 comments

  1. What a wonderful museum to explore, Ali. I love that golden rice terrace painting and Bennett’s painting of Indigenous people. The story of Agung Rai and his paintings are incredible. Thank you for your PPAC contribution.

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  6. Looks an excellent gallery, Ali. Love the golden rice piece…well, lots look great actually. We don’t have Bali on our travel plan sheet yet but we’re kind of thinking that we’ll do it on a jaunt from Australia when we eventually get there. I like the fact that the “false customer” lady fooled you…she probably would’ve fooled me too.

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  8. What an interesting and beautiful art museum. I would have jumped back in surprise too- that sculpture looks so real! Love the painting made with rice! I can’t imagine the time and skill that must have went into that 🙂

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  9. Wow, Even looking at your close-up picture, the person in the I Love You piece still looked like a person. Maybe it was the clothes. How cool. Each piece had its own spell. The last piece reminded me of a Hmong Pandau. I had some friends who stitched these amazing pieces of story art. The one the artist in your picture was working on was much larger and more intricate than mine, but the idea is the same. I love your quote about an artist being paid for his vision not his labor. You have done a beautiful job of taking us on an art tour, Ali. I enjoyed every minute of it.

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