Improvisationalism: Myth & Nature

Improvisationalism in Gallery One
Paintings of Gde Arsa Artha
April 15 – June 10, 2023
Opening Reception: Saturday, April 15, 2pm – 5pm
Free to the Public 
Please join Rockland Center for the Arts for the opening of two exhibits: Improvisationalism: Paintings by Gde Arsa Artha in Gallery One.
Improvisationalism is the work of Rockland artist, Gde Arsa Artha, inspired by his homeland of Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.  His paintings play off of nature, mythology and traditional Balinese folk tales.  Art plays an important part in Balinese traditional ceremonies, establishing a need for spatial orientation, both physically and visually, balancing and arranging the energy of the universe.  For example, his painting “Moon Eclipse” displays the moon as the goddess of immortality fighting off the evil demon from hell as he flies through the sky during the full moon trying to swallow the moon goddess, Ratih.  Ratih brings balance to the universe by not allowing the demon to capture immortality. The painting was inspired by the 1997 Hailey’s Comet and Bali mythology of the moon eclipse.  His latest paintings often incorporate ink and computer technology.  As tradition has informed his art, evolution helped develop it; technically with the use of Western color and perspective while connecting with the past, reflecting both his Balinese origin and his individuality.
Tjokorda Gde Arsa Artha studied all the traditional arts of his Bali homeland from an early age.  Arriving in New York in the early eighties, he attended the Arts Students League in New York City on scholarship.  Through the Asia Society of New York and other organizations, he has frequently participated in programs representing the visual and performing arts of Bali, including music and dance performances, workshops, and demonstrations of Balinese techniques in painting, carving, crafts, and dance.  He has exhibited in Bali’s Puri Lukisan Museum in Ubud, throughout NYC and the Hudson Valley region.  He has been commissioned by UNICEF to paint “The Little Cowboy” for the Flags of the United Nations.  Artha has been a grant recipient of the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, a professor at Bard College, a member of the Giri Mekar, a community gamelan orchestra in the Hudson Valley, and is the current Director of The Pomona Cultural Center in Rockland.  He resides in Pomona, NY with his family.
Please also join Rockland Center for the Arts for the artist reception on Saturday, April 15th, 2:00pm – 5:00pm.  The exhibit will be on view through June 10th, open Mondays – Saturdays 11am – 4pm, (closed Sundays).  Free to the Public.  For more information call (845) 358-0877 or visit www.rocklandartcenter.org.
RoCA gratefully acknowledges support for its programs from The Rea Charitable Trust, ArtsWestchester, Sarah and Stephen Thomas, The Richard Pousette-Dart Foundation, M&T Bank, The M&T Charitable Foundation, The Dorothy Gillespie Foundation, Walter Cain & Paulo Ribeiro, Kantrowitz, Goldhamer & Graifman P.C., QuietEvents, the Estate of Joan Konner, Lighting Services Inc.,, the Mark and Jessie Milano Foundation, Zaklin Family Charitable Fund, The County of Rockland, Art Services Group, RoCA members, donors and business members.
RoCA’s programs are made possible, in part, with funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature. Funding is also made possible by the County of Rockland.