Pranoto

Pranoto was born in a small village outside Solo, Central Java. Driven by his ambitions to become an artist, he moved in 1974 to Ubud, Bali – a village renowned for its artistic tradition and creative community. Commencing his artistic life creating batik textiles, he then devoted himself solely to the art of painting. His talent and determination led to his work being shown in solo and group exhibitions throughout Indonesia.

As a Javanese artist resident in Bali, Pranoto has provided guidance to many Javanese artists settling on the island. Over the years he formed a collection of his artistic associates’ work, which led to the establishment of Pranoto's Art Gallery in 1996. Pranoto manages the gallery with his Australian wife Kerry, who is also an artist.

The gallery is a wonderful project, not only for the presentation of the collection, but for the solo and group exhibitions, and the model sessions that take place twice a week. The model sessions provide a unique space to experiment and, for Pranoto, have marked the most productive times of his artistic life.

Pranoto has always enjoyed experimenting with different techniques and media, constantly adding new skills to his repertoire. He has experimented with tinted plaster on ceramic, pastel on sandpaper and pastel paper, as well as oil paint on sandpaper, which provides a rich texture to work on. He is currently working with charcoal on paper, with the resulting artwork being exhibited in both Bali and Australia.

The works in this exhibition are drawings - fine art paintings painted with slender unbroken strokes, equal to those found in Chinese paintings which emulate nature in harmony.