The sleek style of Balinese sculpture has considerably evolved since the 60s. To the simple lines of the original slender and squat carvings have succeeded a baroque working of wood that lets little space untouched. An important artist nevertheless appeared, Ida Bagus Tilem, Nyana's son.

Unlike Nyana and the artists of Mas, and even unlike Cokot, Tilem dared to change the proportions of the characters represented. Not only did he adapted the shape of his characters to that of the piece the wood he was working on, he also used rotten logs that had been cleaned up to come up with gnarled shapes well suited to express twisted human bodies and faces. Tilem thus created for the first time a genuinely individualized system of representation. He marked the arrival of true modernity in the world of Balinese sculpture.

For the best collections of Balinese wood-carving, the visitor should go to the Manis Art Shop & Wood Carver in the village of Mas in Ubud. Owned by master wood- carver I Nyoman Tekek, who was born in the village, the shop is packed with carvings in the classical, traditional and contemporary styles. Among the wood used are ebony, sandal, hibiscus, mahogany and others. The sales staff is fluent in English, Japanese, Italian, German and other foreign languages.