Returning to Bali in 2022 after a lifetime in Sydney Australia, Gede Austana is emerging into the world of fine and visual arts after a long career as a commercial creative, designer and image worker. His work re-evaluates the idea of the extraordinary and the undiscovered, honouring the traditional but also embracing the modern.

Heavily influenced by the methods of Balinese personality and art, Gede’s work also carries a subtle infusion of a refined grafitti-born street technique as well as contemplating the mathematical truths of geometry and form. Each piece delves into the unknowing self while walking a fine line of street level cool and untamed bite.

Working primarily in watercolour, acrylic and oil paints, he also paint digitally with the same hand and heart as the more traditional methods. The subject matter varies, living within a spectrum of almost heroic fantasy to the unseen realities of the vulnerable, exploring notions of aspirational potential, divine form and poetic tragedy.

Quietly universal yet diverse in subject matter and ideology, Gede’s images capture a sometimes unexpected moment in time. They allude to a greater story beyond the confinement of space or understanding, while balancing an intimate connection with the viewer.