Indonesia, first visiting Bali in 1986. He spent extended periods in Sumatra and began living in Bali in 2004. He has worked in the Bali and Indonesian art worlds since 2008 as an writer, journalist, a co-creator with artists and an art tour presenter to national and international guests from 2014. He has participated intercultural exchange events in Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia, while regularly attending events in Singapore, Jakarta and Yogyakarta.
Richard consults professionally and non-professionally to Indonesian and foreign artists, collectives, galleries and art spaces. Richard is passionate about reporting on developments in the Bali art infrastructure and innovations in the Bali art world. He previously made and exhibited sculptures and installations and is currently painting in his spare time.
During 2022 Richard experienced growth in his writing genres penning his second social cultural observation piece on Bali, entitled Duality and the Exploitation of the Spirit published in NOW!Bali Magazine in the January/February 2023. He began writing book reviews published in the Jakarta Post and NOW!Bali with his fourth review Masks of Bali: Between Heaven & Hell published in the Post in February.
An article for the Australian quarterly hardcopy magazine ArtLink, a special edition on Indonesian art was published in April 2023 and a review of the Bali art scene, post-pandemic with international tourism open for Singapore magazine Plural Art Mag. He is currently writing articles for NOWBali Magazine. Unfortunately since July 2023 the Jakarta Post is no longer publishing its Features section, meaning no more specialized reporting on Indonesian art and culture which is a massive blow for the country and the global audience.
In November 2022 Richard began initial steps for his next book, WINDS OF CHANGE: Women in Balinese Art, the first study into the pioneering women in Balinese art, due to be published later in 2023. This is the follow-up to his first book published late 2019 Ubud Diary: Celebrating the Ubud School of Painting - the Diversity of the Visual Language launched at the opening of Ubud Diary a new gallery in Lodtunduh, Ubud where he worked as a consultant from June 2019 until March 2020 when the pandemic impacted on the Bali and global economy.
In the past Richard has been a contributor to the Jakarta Globe newspaper, Ubud Now & Then online magazine, the Yak Magazine, Art Republik, NOW! Singapore, NOW!Jakarta, Art&Market, Singapore, the art columnist for UbudLife Magazine, Arti, Art Malaysia, Art One Nation, Indo Expat & Ubud Community News magazines. He have been a regular contributor to the Jakarta Post for over ten years and am the art columnist for NOW!Bali Magazine. As an art activist Richard has a strong social platform and is passionate sharing ideas and brainstorming with artists, gallerists, art spaces and collectives about professional structuring, communications, vision, branding, building community and the ongoing development of the Bali art infrastructure. Richard is currently working on a series of geometric paintings for his upcoming Universal Eye Mandala Art website.
Richard’s articles are published:
www.lifeasartasia.art www.lifeasartasia.weebly.com Facebook Page: Bali Art Reviews Instagram: @lifeasartasia
Previous art roles: Member of the Board of Directors of the Bali Art Society 2013-2014 Art Presenter Artpreciation (2016-2018) Advisor Cata Odata Art House 2014 – 2018 Penestanan, Ubud Bali Ubud Diary Jul 2019 – MARCH 2020, Ubud, BaliLodtunduh, Ubud, Bali
o Ubud Diary is a new art gallery in Ubud with the mission to raise the profile of the historical Ubud School of Painting. It is planning its grand opening late in November 2019 with a group exhibition of works by senior artists of the Ubud School, including the launch of the book 'Ubud Diary: Celebrating the Ubud School of Painting - the diversity of the visual language" written by me and translated into Bahasa Indonesian by Richard Nixon Tambalo. Ubud Diary's annual exhibition program will include three solo exhibitions by senior artists, along with one annual event in Jakarta. The renown Ubud School of Painting which was 'founded' in the late 1920s - early 1930s in Ubud is destined to die out, through its program of exhibitions, book and catalogues, and other annual events Ubud Diary's vision is to reignite the genre and encourage regeneration that can lead to its future
sustainability.
bio provided by Richard Hortsman
Enable comment auto-refresher