DEWA
NYOMAN BATUAN, founder of PENGOSEKAN COMMUNITY OF ARTISTS , superstar
spiritualist, entrepreneur, mentor. During the 1970s and 1980s Dewa
Nyoman Batuan was the cover boy for mystical Hinduism in Bali. His
paintings were magnificent mandalas of
Balinese spiritual and ceremonial life. His art was featured on the
cover of Victor Mason's "The Haughty Toad" (BAP press, 1975) and in
Han's Hoefer's/Apa Press' first guidebook "Guide to Bali". . He was
ebullient and articulate : his interviews in many films and
documentaries light up the screen --films such as the Blaire brothers'
RING OF FIRE ( he was their landlord and mentor for many years), "Bali
--Island of the Gods" (Philip Noyce Director) and David Attenborough's
film on Bali for the BBC. As an entrepreneur he combined the talents of
his very artistic community with the needs of the tourist industry ,
most famously in a five year collaboration with designer Linda Garland.
From this dynamic duo came many iconic items of the Balinese handicraft
world -- the carved banana tree, the banana leaf plate and the very
depressed naked woman coffee table base. Dewa Nyoman Batuan's painted
umbrellas and decorative ceilings were the 'must have' items for the
fashionistas of the 1990s. He collaborated with all the great ex-pat.
designers of his generation. He helped launch the career of his cousin
Dewa Mokoh and a battalion of other balinese beauty warriors and
international artists. He was a great contributor to his community and
to the image of Bali as a magical, spiritual island and was rewarded for
this with a magnificent cremation attended by many greats of the
Balinese art world. He is survived by six siblings , his wife , his
three children and many grandchildren.
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Some of Dewa Nyoman Batuan's Work
