Lempad of Bali

Until the publication of Lempad, a Timeless Balinese Master, edited by renowned international art experts Ana & Antonio Casanovas together with Pictures Publishers, no book and no meaningful catalogue had ever been published about the great Balinese artist I Gusti Nyoman Lempad (1862?–1978). Yet Lempad is an acknowledged icon of Balinese art, his reputation unmatched. Lempad owes this reputation to his numerous innovations, made at different historical periods, and in different types of art. He can actually be considered one of the first Balinese modern artists or one that became a bridge between traditional and modern art. Prior to the late 1920s and the arrival of Walter Spies and Western artists in Ubud, he was mainly known as an architect or “undagi”, after that date he became a black and white drawing master. Lempad is at last, 36 years after his death, obtaining full recognition for what he really is: a timeless master with Balinese soul but universal mind who could sit side by side with internationally renown artists such as Miquel Angelo or Gaudi and whose work, we consider, deserves to be known as part of the world artistic heritage.