Neka Art Museum


The Neka Art Museum is a museum located in Ubud on Bali, Indonesia, Established by Suteja Neka, a Balinese teacher who collected Balinese art with the advice and help of and advice from the painters Rudolf Bonnet and Arie Smit among others, it opened in 1982

History

Pande Wayan Suteja Neka, the son of I Wayan Neka, a famous wood carver who was a member of the Pitamaha. He trained as a teacher but decided to give up teaching in order to help his father present his artwork and to document and preserve Balinese paintings. Starting with a small shop in 1966 he sold high quality painting to foreign tourists, who of course took them out of the country. Realizing the need to document and preserve Balinese art he began collecting works. In 1975, Suteja Neka went abroad with the Dutch artist Rudolf Bonnet. Visiting museums he saw fine examples of Balinese art which could not be seen in Indonesia. Returning home he resolved to establish Neka Art Museum.

Design Concept

The museum is designed to reflect the traditional architecture of a Balinese compound, with separate buildings, each having a different function. The visitor is encouraged to walk through a series of galleries, starting with classical paintings and progressing to contemporary Indonesian art, followed by art created in and influenced by Bali by foreign artists.

Collections

Classical Puppet Style Paintingoriginating from the 17th century or earlier, usually anonymous but includes work by Mangku Mura, I Nyoman Arcana.
Ubud Style Painting. Appearing after the 1920s, these works show the influence of European painters.