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5th International Ink Biennale of Shenzhen
11th December 2006 to 10th January 2006
Venues : Guan Shanyue Art Museum
Shenzhen Art Academy
He Xiangning Art Museum
Shenzhen Art Museum
The 5th International Ink Biennale of Shenzhen is made up of 5 sections in 4 venues. Singapore Modern Ink Painting, Guan Shanyue Art Museum – Selected from the Singapore Art Museum permanent collection, as well as Singapore artist and private collections, this exhibition features 61 masterpieces from 8 Singapore-based ink painters. The exhibition is co-curated by the Singapore Art Museum, including Museum Director Kwok Kian Chow, Ms. Chow Yian Ping and Guest Curator Ms. Joanna Lee.
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Encounters: Southeast Asian Art in Singapore Art Museum Collection
31 Aug 2006 – 10 Sep 2006
National Art Museum of China, Beijing
Curators: Kwok Kian Chow, Victoria Huang and Chow Yian Ping
Co-organised by Singapore Art Museum and National Art Museum of China, “Encounters: Southeast Asian Art in Singapore Art Museum Collection” will be presented in conjunction with the Asian Arts Festival and the First Asian Art Museum Conference.
“Encounters” showcases about 70 works from the Singapore Art Museum Collection, encompassing more than 50 artists from all ASEAN countries— Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore. It examines modern artistic developments in Southeast Asia from late 19th to 21st century.
Southeast Asia is a melting pot of diverse geography, ethnicities, traditions and religions. It is also at a crossroads where the ancient civilisations of India, China and West Asia and religions like Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity and indigenous beliefs meet, intersect and merge. Cultures and social systems passed down from European colonial rulers further contribute to this distinctive tapestry of Southeast Asian modern art.
At the turn of the 20th century, the region took great strides towards modernism and nationalism, witnessing retaliations against aesthetic conventions of the Western colonial period. From “13 Moderns” of the Philippines—an art group pioneered by Victorio Edades—to nationalistic painters based in Yogyakarta led by Indonesia’s S Sudjojono, artists all sought to express the reality of life and their emotional experiences. They abandoned traditional depictions that were popular at the height of colonial rule such as idyllic tropical landscapes of Southeast Asia or historical scenes of the West.
Yet Southeast Asia, as a region of multiple influences, is also open and receptive to different artistic ideals. A group of Chinese artists represented by Lim Hak Tai introduced the “Nanyang Style” in Singapore. With Southeast Asia as a holistic cultural entity, this style is a synthesis of western artistic techniques, traditional Chinese aesthetics and local influences. Such innovative visions of Nanyang artists helped to establish their reputation in Southeast Asian art history.
Through two perspectives: the individual and the collective, this exhibition will present a fascinating mix of Southeast Asian art to the region’s audience, highlighting themes like ethnicity and nationalism as well as the cultural significance of this region.
Yixi : Recent Paintings of Chua Ek Kay
19 August to 4 September 2005 at Shanghai Art Museum
Yixi is another collaboration between the Singapore Art Museum and Shanghai Art Museum presenting recent works of one of Singapore's foremost ink painters - Chua Ek Kay (Cai Yixi). This follows the joint presentation of the collection from the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam last year. Yixi features Chua's latest Water Village Series. In a sense, these pictorial expressions capture the very name of the artist, Yixi or "ceaseless running streams."
In the artist's words, "…my eyesight begun to blur in the midst of the rain. Ahead of me was no longer another scenery or landscape, but a large size landscape painting depicted with the roofs of the houses rendered with vibrant blue pigments and ink. The walls of the houses were rendered with the swift and broad brush strokes. The cables, depicted with tinted brownish pigments and ink, alluded to the stylistic effects of the cao shu calligraphy…..."
Presented with a publication featuring essays by eminent art critics from Singapore and China, Yixi also alludes to the waters that connect the cities of Shanghai and Singapore, two cities linked in art history since the 1930s when pioneer artists of Singapore studied in art academies in Shanghai.
Exhibition catalogue is on sale at The Museum Shop. |