Daniel Kho in der Einzelausstellung "MY WORLD - WONDERLAND" in Bali, Indonesien

"Hey you", 70x200 cm, Acrylic, sand, glue on canvas, 2004

"MY WORLD - WONDERLAND" – The fantastic world of artist Daniel Kho

'Gesamtkunstwerk' and picture travel guide through the world of dreams

"Execuse me, how do I get to paradise?", does Daniel Kho title one of his pictures. This question is self-explanatory as his art is contemplated: paradise is a place that everybody can create inside himself while dreaming. And exactly that is what Daniel Kho is doing in "his world".

For several years now Daniel Kho is constantly tracking the continuous development of his own private cosmos, a visionary imagined parallel world, which he believes, has the same potential for truth and realness as our common reality. There the dreaming turns into experience, into living.

In his pictures the artist creates a colourful universe, which is inhabitated by plenty of exotic beings. In this magical world full of new and unknown creatures and fantastic species there cavort multipeded lucky dragons, flying pollywog-fishes, laughing salamanders and cheerful birds of paradise, which in their nativness and playfulness all beam with joy and with their great positive energy.

This dream world is a peaceful place because all beings have reached a state of perfect balance with each other and their surrounding. Everything is in its predetermined place. Far beyond cultural- or civil imprinting there aren't any common assessment criteria that could be threatening harmony. In this value-free paradise like system, every single thing is celebrating itself as an equal part of the whole, renders homage to live itself, to existence. In this place categories such as god and bad don’t count any more, just as time or beauty.

Since years an evolution is taking place in the magic universe of Daniel Kho. New creatures and species evolve perpetual while others develop themselves further and further in the rhythm of cyclic reappearing themes and motives. Titles of the pictures as: dream land, dream paths, connection or the other me show the artist's struggle with questions concerning the spiritual dimension of creation and its embedded human existence.

The youngest inhabitants of this "fantasia" can be classified as something similar to mythical creature or extraterrestrial life form. This little plane colored pokemon like heroes could have just as well escaped a comic strip. They are dreamed of as outstanding individualists of a new type that is mirrored by their striking looks and their character showing their special originalities. These features created such powerful personalities that the artist felt forced to give names to some of his creatures. It's their extreme intelligence that enables them to enjoy their optimal behaviour and adjustment. But even them will just pause a little moment at the peak of this evolutionary development.

The dream cosmos of Daniel Kho is no longer restricted only to his paintings. In fact the dream world creation program is running on high speed and its end or fulfilment is not foreseeable yet. Meanwhile the enchanting figures of this happy pantheon escaped the canvas and have started to extend their fantastic sphere into reality and so to blur boundaries. Out of complex paper-decoupés the artist composes modifiable space installations in which the observer finds himself surrounded and eye-to-eye with the dream world inhabitants.

MY WORLD - WONDERLAND by Daniel Kho

Opening: 13-08-2011, Saturday 7 pm
Date Held: 13-08 to 13-09-2011

Officiated by: Dr Melani W.Setiawan

Music and Performance:
Wiwanto Purnawan
Syafril Firdaus
I Wayan Donald
DekGeh

GAYA ART SPACE
Jl Raya Sayan, Ubud
Bali, Indonesia 80571
Phone +62(0)361 979232/979253
Fax +62(0)361 975895