Lempad House, in the Home of an Artist

Architect, sculptor and painter, I Gusti Nyoman Lempad is considered one of the most famous artistic personalities of Bali. The majority of his extraordinary works are held at the Puri Lukisan Museum and the Agung Rai Museum of Art (ARMA), however, it is also possible to get a closer look at the authentic and quotidian world of this fascinating and enduring character in his personal residence which his grandchildren and great-grandchildren transformed into an open-air art gallery in the 1980s and who continue to take care of it with love and respect. Lempad House is a typical traditional Balinese house in the centre of Ubud with an internal garden hosting wonderful works of art by the Indonesian master to admire while strolling amidst the melodic songs of a wide variety of birds and the clamour of flapping hens. Sculptures in stone and wood and paintings, some for sale, next to photos of the artist and Bonsai trees inhabit this tiny museum, open for free to the public, a necessary stop for all those who are passionate about art. Making history for his creation of temples and buildings in Ubud and the surrounding area, as well as his remarkable experience as an engraver in sculpting decorations for stone temples, his talent for composition and expression is best manifested in his narrative drawings of rounded figures, making them unique as compared to the conventional iconography of his times. With great intensity and originality, he illustrated, in his paintings, the daily life and ritual from the great Balinese Hindu narratives, modifying the plots and characters in his own special way with a liberty of expression completely free of preconception.