The Pocket Arts Guide (June/July 2012)

TPAG ISSUE 32 JUNE/JULY 2012
CONTENTS
06 EDITORS
LETTER
08 ART WIRE
20 IN THE FRAME
Ghosting the Machine
24 ART LANDS
Revealing Identities
28 DIALOGUES
A New Panga
32 SPACE
Remaking and Entering: First Impressions
38 FRONTIERS
Spellbound Erotika
42 STATES
OF THE ART
Sex and the City
46 FEATURE
Candy, artificially sweetened
50 PERSPECTIVES
NN Gallery: Raising a Platform
54 NOW
Sujak Rahman at 7Adam
56 BRANCH
Don Melchor: Spirit of the Vine
60 ON THE TRAIL
The Art of Giving
64 PORTFOLIO
Modern Masters Boost Collector Confidence
66 PORTFOLIO
The Rise and Rebirth of ART HK
70 MAP
Art galleries in Singapore
74 DIRECTORY
LISTING
80 ART
CLASSIFIEDS
04 05
EDITORS LETTER
ISSN 2010-4375 / MICA (P) 130/03/2011
Dear Readers, This issue of The Pocket Arts Guide (TPAG) is a special one for June/ July with TPAGs characteristically diverse range of subjects, something that has defined the pocket in its title a wealth of different perspectives concisely compressed. But it is a time to reflect on the growth of a publication that has become one of the most artistically insightful in Asia. We continue to write articles of substance, with coverage that has depth, criticism and analysis. Most of all, we know that unique perspectives offer the best way to stand out from the crowd. In Hong Kong, ART HK 12 has left its imprint on the local and regional art scene, from the glitterati that have started to converge on events to art lovers who look beyond dazzle at the conceptual wonder and sophistication of new art. As the curtain falls on ART HK and ART Basel comes to Hong Kong, another wave of major change in the art world looms large. In the year or two that follows, well find out how the dreams of international gallerists become realized in Asia. And the theme of this issue is change. Not only the change that is happening at major events like ART HK, but also the way art can change our way of seeing the world. In The Frame looks at digital. The focus is not on artists who have employed digital but the way its aesthetic and subject matter are being used as an example of the everyday, and how fine artists are recreating its aesthetics with traditional techniques. States of the Art looks at changing attitudes towards sexuality presented through artists in Singapore. Writing about change while it is happening isnt easy but as we wish you an exciting read this issue, we also wish some amazing insights because thats what art is all about.
Editor-in-Chief Remo Notarianni remo@thepocketartsguide.com Art Director Herman Ho herman@thepocketartsguide.com Contributors Gladys Teo, Roy Voragen, Natascha Nanji, Daniela Beltrani, Bharti Lalwani Advertising & Media Partnership 3-Three Consulting Pte Ltd 23 Genting Road #03-01 Chevalier House Singapore 349481 O: +65 67484339 F: +65 68583880 Advertising: Duane Thia +65 9699 9220 Chua Wee Ming +65 9617 1030 sales@thepocketartsguide.com Distribution & Circulation: Callie Gay +65 9477 5928 mktg@thepocketartsguide.com Press Releases: pr@thepocketartsguide.com Hong Kong Contact: Sally Lee +852 9095 6316 sallylee@thepocketartsguide.com
On The Cover:
Audrey Hepburn with Treble Meanings No.3 Chan Yu
Remo Notarianni
Editor-in-Chief
ART WIRE
Incarnate: First solo exhibition by Jana Benitez 11.05.12 30.06.12 Galerie Steph www.galeriesteph.com Singapore Incarnate is the first Singapore exhibition of Filipino artist Jana Benitez who resides in New York. Benitez is deeply engaged with expressing emotions and abstract concepts and his paintings are an enduring testament of how abstract art can provoke and inspire beauty. Benitez states that "there are so many different ways to portray a certain emotion, mood, look and feeling. The discovery of beauty in abstract art is a revelation that extends boundaries and helps us look at established categories in different ways.
Say Hi to Forever 29.05.12 19.06.12 Chan Hampe Galleries @tanjong pagar www.chanhampegalleries.com Singapore In Say Hi to Forever, Chan Hampe presents illuminating works by Singaporean artist Sookoon Ang (b.1977) Angs wide oeuvre includes video, installations, drawing and printmaking. The series takes its name from the last weblog post of Daul Kim, a 20-year-old Korean model and aspiring painter who commited suicide in her Paris apartment in November 2009. The exhibition speaks of the emptiness in her life in a collection of drawings, inkjet prints, web-based images and one sculpture using organic material.
Riding The Horses / Eternal Mother Scrolled Serigraphs
Still Building: Contemporary Art from Singapore 27.05.12 15.06.12 Valentine Willie Fine Art www.vwfa.net/sg Singapore Still Building takes its title from a much-acclaimed play by the Singaporean playwright Haresh Sharma of the same name. Sharma describes Singapore as 'a dangerously peaceful country', a country that touts the ways its highly engineered development takes place through ordered urbanization and rapid capital accumulation. Through the works of 20 artists, Still Building suggests that for all its slick sophistication, the city remains in many ways a place and a culture that is under construction because its people exist outside this engineered development.
Tokyo Erotika 07.06.12 28.07.12 Vue Prive www.vueprivee.com Singapore Over the millennia, sexuality in Japanese culture has gone through a great deal of evolution and understanding. Ancient art forms depicting this aspect of life have been addressed by more contemporary forms such as anime. Tokyo Erotika features the diverse works of three different artists, each from dissimilar cultures and offering varying perspectives on sexuality in a nation that looks at many aspects of life and creates a creative space within its artistic traditions for subjects that may not be expressed or discussed in society.
Sun Liang Solo Exhibition 15.05.12 15.07.12 Linda Gallery MOCA@Loewen 27A Loewen Road Singapore Sun Liang has always been serious and dedicated to his own creations; his experimental works are gaining attention in China. Since the beginning of 1980, his journey towards creativity has matured through mysticism and symbolism, manifestations, fantasy and abstract styles. Through this exhibition, Sun Liang managed to allure audiences who were awestruck by his 30 years of tremendous explorations and the constant development of sensational works.
29.05.12 29.06.12 Indigo Blue Art www.indigo-blue-art.com Singapore Indigo Blue Art will be the first gallery in Singapore to present a complete collection of 29 scrolled serigraphs featuring a series of masterpieces by iconic Indian artist Maqbool Fida Husain. Each serigraph is signed in Chinese by Husain and presented in a scroll format. The collection was planned initially as a travelling exhibition to Singapore, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Husain however passed away before it could take off.
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ART WIRE
The Easiest Routine to the Difficulty 26.05.12 09.06.12 Richard Koh Fine Art www.rkfineart.com Singapore Richard Koh Fine Art (RKFA) Singapore presents works by Philippine curator and conceptual art practitioner Nilo Ilarde (b. 1960). The exhibition is a collection of 25 small collage works. Llarde utilizes this as a platform to pursue the critique of Modernist art and to pose questions on the originality, authorship and the production of meaning in contemporary art. Ilarde produces collages by reassembling materials that are often used in artistic production.
Group Exhibition of 12 Contemporary Works 24.05.12 06.06.12 Mulan Gallery www.mulangallery.com.sg Singapore This exhibition offers 12 contemporary works from nine artists in a varied selection of paintings and sculptures that also offer a glimpse into the minds of artists working in both Asia and beyond. The vibrantly rhythmic brushstrokes in the works of Kamol Tamseewan meld abstraction with traditional portraiture and chaos, veering on abstraction with its pure scale. Fellow Thai artist Jirapat Tatsanasomboons paintings spark a dialogue between traditional iconography and modernity.
Let a Thousand Flowers Bloom 16.05.12 25.08.12 White Cube www.whitecube.com Hong Kong White Cube Hong Kong presents Anselm Kiefers first work in China. The exhibition's title, Let a Thousand Flowers Bloom, is ironic in the way it looks at history. It refers both to the epic, blooming landscapes of the pictures but visually refers to a common misquotation in the West of a well-known phrase pronounced by Chinas Chairman Mao in 1957. Kiefers work about China seems to draw from his own ideas collective memory of world history, applied to Asia.
Cupping 11.05.12 11.06.12 Wellington Gallery www.wellingtongallery.com.hk Hong Kong Chinese sculptor Huang Cheng makes comments visually on societys problems with silicone sculptures, and this is probably best exemplified by a giant, four-meter long silicone rat, which is called Collossal Rat Legitimacy being showcased at Hong Kongs Wellington Gallery. In the sculpture, cups line the rats back, alluding to an alternative medical technique that gives the impression of cleansing the rat of its disease.
From a Female Eye 11.06.12 24.06.12 State of the Arts www.sotagallery.com.hk Hong Kong Hong Kongs State-of-the-Arts Gallery has collaborated with the Italian Chamber of Commerce and Italian art agency Larte Mostre, to present a debut showcase of Italian fashion photographer Malena Mazza in Asia, From a Female Eye. The exhibition makes a collection ofsignature pieces of the world renowned photographer, and focuses on the physical beauty of female body, gesture and its associated connotations.
Lee Wen: Lucid Dreams in the Reverie of the Real 20.04.12 10.06.12 Singapore Arts Museum www.singaporeartmuseum.sg Singapore Lucid Dreams in the Reverie of the Real is an exhibition of works of multidisciplinary artist Lee Wen, who is one of Singapore's most internationally recognised contemporary artists. His earliest known work is a book entitled A Waking Dream (1981). Lee is best known for his Yellow Man series of work and is also one of the pioneers of performance art in Singapore.
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ART WIRE
Emily of Emerald Hill: Singapore Identity on Stage 01.06.12 17.02.13 Peranakan Museum www.peranakanmuseum.sg Singapore Emily of Emerald Hill: Singaporean Identity on Stage is an exhibition about one of Singapores best known and most loved plays: Emily of Emerald Hill, written by Stella Kon in 1982. Acclaimed by audiences around the world, the play was instrumental in giving expression to Peranakan and Singaporean identity.This exhibition examines how the play was created, and the different ways it has been performed over the years
In the Mood for Cheongsam: Modernity & Singapore Women 28.05.12 27.06.12 The National Museum www.nationalmuseum.sg Singapore In the Mood for Cheongsam: Modernity and Singapore Women tells the story of the changing social roles of Singapore women from the turn of the 20th century to present day by looking at the history and development of the traditional cheongsam. For the first time, the National Museum presents its own collection of cheongsams from the 1920s to the present in this exhibition.
Transforming Minds: Buddhism in Art 10.02.12 12.06.12 Asia Society www.asiasociety.org Hong Kong The exhibition presents sublime and uplifting as well as deeply spiritual works of art that straddle traditional and contemporary masterpieces from a mix of Asian cultures. In recent times, artists have addressed Buddhism from an individualistic standpoint this has had an impact on the artistic production of contemporary artists. These include Montien Boonma, Zhang Huan, Mariko Mori and Michael Joo.
Lets Not Talk About Politics 15.07.12 onwards Gandhara-art www.gandhara-net.com Hong Kong This exhibition looks at the connection between conversation and politics in Pakistan. Passionate discourse about politics is inevitable. It permeates the nations consciousness from television talk shows to heated discussions in sitting rooms, offices or over a cup of tea or coffee. This exhibition reveals how Pakistani contemporary art is also part of a visual conversation. This exhibition features the work of artists Adeel us Zafar, Aisha Khalid, Attiya Shaukat, Mahreen Zuberi, and Noor Ali Chagani.
Tjukurpa Mulapa (True Stories) 25.07.12 01.09.12 ReDot Fine Art Gallery www.redotgallery.com Singapore ReDot Fine Art Gallery will present the first ever group show of works from Ernabella Arts, titled Tjukurpa Mulapa (True Stories). Senior aboriginal artists from this respected community will showcase their talents at work in an extravaganza of colour and detail, bold dotting and subtle textures The community is the oldest permanent settlement in the Anangu Pitjantjtjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) region of north-western South Australia.
Picasso: Masterpieces from Muse National Picasso, Paris 19.05.12 22.07.12 Hong Kong Heritage Museum www.heritagemuseum.gov.hk Hong Kong This exhibition is jointly presented by the Consulate General of France in Hong Kong and Macau and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, and jointly organised by the Hong Kong Heritage Museum and the Muse National Picasso, Paris. Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) is considered by many to be the most widely recognised and influential artist of the 20th century. This showcases 56 of the artists original works.
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ART WIRE
Divine Power: The Dragon in Chinese Art 11.02.12 18.11.12 Gallery II & III, Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong www.cuhk.edu.hk/ics/amm Hong Kong During the Year of the Dragon, the CUHK Art Museum is collaborating with the Oriental Ceramic Society and various private collections to present more than 200 exhibits of dragon images that date from the Neolithic period to 20th century. It is a remarkable mustattend exhibition for culture buffs and takes enthusiasts on a visual and cultural exploration that looks beyond the myth and the motif of a cultural and mystical entity.
The Elephant Man by Chung Ying Theatre Company 31.05.12 03.06.12 Auditorium, Kwai Tsing Theatre www.chungying.com Hong Kong The "Elephant Man", John Merrick, was abandoned by his parents in childhood and became adopted by the owner of a circus. John suffered inhuman treatment at the circus until he met, British surgeon Dr. Frederick Treves. The play retells the story of Merrick who was believed to have suffered from neurofibromatosis and proteus syndrome. In his short life, Merrick experienced ridicule but his physical deformity also reflected the spiritual ugliness of society.
Three Dimensions 09.06.12 07.07.12 Blindspot Gallery Hong Kong This is an exhibition of architectural photography by Peter Margonelli, Dick Chan, and Eason Tsang. The artists offer an interesting glimpse of the changing cityscapes of Hong Kong. Their distinct visual language is grounded in unique personal and cultural perspectives and the images are often without people. They present a previously unseen and fascinating view of Hong Kong.
Geraldine Javier: Playing God in an Art Lab 14.06.12 11.08.12 Singapore Tyler Print Institute www.stpi.com.sg Singapore Geraldine Javier: Playing God In An Art Lab is produced in collaboration with STPIs workshop and offers a subversive artistic revelation. It absorbs the viewer like a work of edgy fiction and weaves a visual tale of life and death with drawings of insects, botanicals and human motifs about life and death against a backdrop of the seasons. Theres a dark, romantic vision in Javiers creative chemistry of paper pulp and print elements.
New Media Art Showcase 13.06.12 05.08.12 I/O (Input/Output) Gallery www.inputoutput.tv Hong Kong Following its presentation of Taiwans exciting new media art scene, I/0 would like to showcase the first generation of video artists from Japan, Professor Naoko Tosa and the shining star of the post 80s, Tian Xiao Lei. Naoka Tosa is an internatio-nally renowned media artist and has been a leading light in the field. in recent decades, Taiwan has been an incubator of creativity with work that is hi-tech, intellectual and groundbreaking.
Identity Collective 28.06.12 28.07.12 Identity Gallery www.identityartgallery.com Hong Kong Identity Art Gallery presents Identity Collective, its first year anniversary show exhibiting selected works by artists that the gallery has represented in its first year including Abigail Box, Fortes Pakeong Sequeira, Him Lo, Jonathan Trayte, Kounosuke Kawakami, Kurt Tong and Valrie Bastit Laudier.
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ART WIRE
Life Body Existence 07.07.12 10.07.12 ARTrium@Mica

facebook.com/lifebodyexistence
Song Kun: A Thousand Kisses Deep 03.06.12 15.07.12 UCCA www.ucca.org.cn Peoples Republic of China
Guest exhibition with stone sculptor Alex FR Eymieu 31.05.12 14.06.12 Puerta Roja www.puerta-roja.com Hong Kong Hong Kongs Puerta Roja will host a guest exhibition for Damina Gallery of stone sculptures by French artist Alex FR Eymieu. Eymieu is a master of stone masonry and creates sensual, abstract sculptures that curve through space. He carves and chisels carrera marble from Italy and granite stones from China, and he achieves continuous movement in his works. He also defies the densitiy and solidity of his media.
Garlands: Hiram To 28.06.12 28.07.12 Amelia Johnson Gallery www.ajc-art.com Hong Kong Garlands is a unique project by Hong Kong artist Hiram To who has collaborated with his mother Helen Lai to create a sidestep from his oeuvre of politically infusedconceptual art. Garlands follows on from the themes of Garden District. The artist uncharacteristically takes on his own family history and the process of understanding oneself through the earliest memories of his mothers tastes and likes.
Singapore International Childrens Film Festival 02.06.12 The Arts House www.theartshouse.com.sg Singapore Big Eyes, Big Minds The Singapore International Children's Film Festival is a creative celebration of kids! With five new line-ups of the best short films around the world, it is part of an exploration. It puts a spotlight on the wonder of childhood and the creative possibilities from the expanse of an infants mind. As Singapores art scene thrives, such a festival shows the connection between a creative mind and how our minds are reshaped in adulthood, often leaving childhood creativity behind.
Dullah (1919 1994): Portraits of Indonesia 06.07.12 31.07.12 Arch Angel Art Gallery www.archangelart.com.hk Hong Kong Indonesian artist Dullah was born in Solo, Java in 1919, and studied painting with Affandi and Sudjojono. All three went on to become celebrated artists. Dullah was the official Palace painter for Indonesias President Soekarno in the 1950s and is particularly well known for his landscape and portrait paintings. His paintings display a realism and naturalism that differs markedly from the Expressionism of his influences.
Singapore This is the first curatorial showcase of Prowess: Curators Collective. A collective that consists of four young ladies, who are passionate about the art world. This independent curator collective is from Ngee Ann Polytechnics graduating batch of Arts Business Management students. Life Body Existence features an art performance to advocate both social issues and recycling entitled, The Thousandth-Year Monsters which creates a carpet composed of receipts that spans the length of Orchard Road.
A Thousand Kisses Deep presents new work by one of the rising young art stars of China, Song Kun. The exhibition explores the properties of natural materials and carnality. The artist makes deeply personal moments into allegories of societal change, fear, desire and disillusion. Songs work is characterised by wistful desire, with figures portrayed as hovering in a dream world both familiar and fantastic.
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IN THE FRAME
ne eye-catching spectacle at Art HK 12 was a booth in which the art seemed noticeable by its absence at first empty walls with chalky outlines of Buddhist effigies and milling crowds. An installation, in which paparazzi chasing the ghost of a dead artist, perhaps ceremoniously summoned up and snapped by the Ipads they were holding? These Ipad paparazzi were pursuing something born from the marriage of art and technology that underscores the impermanence of conventions in art.
Pure Land: Inside the Mogao Grottoes at Dunhuang is a pioneering virtual reality experience in which audiences are immersed in a photographically experiential simulation. The exhibition has been produced by the CityU Applied Laboratory for Interactive Visualisation and Embodiment (ALIVE) in partnership with the Dunhuang Academy and the Friends of Dunhuang Hong Kong and was showcased at ART HK 12.
become such a part of life that it is now as Pop Art worthy as a Campbells soup can or Marilyn Monroe. The digital aspects of the 21st century have permeated society and could herald a new aesthetic that replaces silk screen brilliance with pixelated intensity. Art and digital have had an odd relationship, with the left brain origins of computer techniques the realm of graphic designers and animators the computer creative not used to splashes of paint and art historical references. To some, digital has engulfed fine art with tools that rapidly date time-honoured methods of creating, in other ways offering convenience and creative immediacy once mastered. But even as there are considerably more Photoshopped pictures, 3d renderings and CGI either pure or with mixed media entering galleries, a gulf remains between the fine art canvas and the digital screen. Digital, both in terms of aesthetics and applications, remains relevant to art simply because it has become an aspect of everyday life.
GHOSTING THE MACHINE

The digital divide in art has closed in recent years. But as fine artists employ technology that is shaping our lives they are also recreating its aesthetics using traditional methods.
Text: Remo Notarianni
Inner space
What viewers see in physical space might be void but the visitors become absorbed in the true-to-life experience of a world heritage site, Chinas Mogao Caves of the 1000 Buddhas, on screen. What they were exhibiting at ART HK is purely virtual, and demonstrates how digital absorption can be part of a cultural experience; it rapidly dates a time when digital was excluded from the fine art hierarchy by entertainment. But in this embrace, it is difficult for artists to ignore that digital ephemera has
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IN THE FRAME
Digital, both in terms of aesthetics and applications, remains significant in art simply because it has become an aspect of everyday life.
Pop goes the easel

Indonesian artist Nyoman Masriadi (b 1973), whose work is trademarked by black, often muscular, figures, has brought digital references into his visual dialogue on street art, advertising, and graffiti. Masriadi affirms that a desktop interface can join the pantheon of Pop Art. Significantly, Masriadi, who received his training at the Seni Indonesia (ISI) Yogyakarta is recognised as one of the figures to move away from a preoccupation with Balinese life, culture and traditions in his work. His garish aesthetic, largely caricaturefilled, resonates with tech-savvy, affluent new Indonesian collectors.
Lifting the layers

Chinese artist Chan Yu (b, 1982) fits into a Pop Art lineage with iconic images of 20th century figures such as Alfred Hitchcock, James Dean and Audrey Hepburn. His colormode series titled Three Produced All Things, with an arrangement of portraits in tonal overlays, looks more photo-montaged than painterly, and taps into our cinematic consciousness from the celluloid elegance of technicolour to the familiar novelty of digital cropped photos laid out transparently on an interface. Chan paints in acrylics and describes the work as expressing an absence of self and the presence of the image. In his iconic portraits of famous personalities, he defamiliarises the celluloid world they came from to highlight a self that is constructed in response to the world around it. But it is as if we are looking at a ghostlike collage of the machine-rendered and the physically reala desktop composition more aesthetically familiar to us than an image in the real word that is a representation of our self.
The peoples pixels

Chinese artist Feng Mengbo (b 1966), who graduated from the Design Department at the Beijing School of Arts & Crafts in 1985, exhibited an interactive custom made arcade console sculpture and 3D lenticular as well as print marquees at Art HK 12. Feng uses acrylics, as well as video installations, and includes narratives in the work that express cultural, political and artistic ideas in the adrenaline-pumped audio-visual language of videogames. He was one of the first artists to use the structures of electronic games to retell traditional Chinese opera legends, stories from the Cultural Revolution, and classic cinema.
John Lennon with Treble Meanings No.1 Chan Yu, 200 x 200cm
Photo credits: Connoisseur Contemporary, HanArt, copyright ALiVE, CityU & Dunhuang Academy, Gajah Gallery TOP TO BOTTOM: FMB Console Feng Mengbo Audrey Hepburn with Treble Meanings No.5 Chan Yu, 200 x 200cm Attack from Website Nyoman Masriadi acrylic on canvas, 300 x 200cm
Chan Yu is represented by Connoisseur Gontemporary in Hong Kong; Feng Mengbo was represented by Hong Kong based Hanart at ART HK 12; Nyoman Masriadi was represented by Singapores Gajah Gallery at Art HK 12; Pure Land: Inside the Mogao Grottoes at Dunhuang is an initiative of the City University of Hong Kongs Applied Laboratory for Interactive visualization and the friends of Dunhuang Hong Kong. 22
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ART LANDS
LAHORE > BANDUNG
rt in general and exhibition openings in particular are social by nature. However, while openings in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta give socialites the opportunity to get their photos in lifestyle magazines, people in Bandung often gather at openings to socialize. Artists, curators, art critics and their kids meet up to have drinks and snacks, to view and discuss art (as well as gossip about absentees). Platform3, which exhibited at the 2012 Hong Kong International Art Fair, offers a laid back space to catch up as well as experience great artistic experimentations. Three prominent curators Rifky Effendy, Aminudin TH Siregaror and Agung Hujatnikajennong and three successful artists Ariadhitya Pramuhendra (http://pramuhendra .com), Wiyoga Muhardentet and Radi Arwinda founded Platform3 in 2010 to offer artists a platform to experiment. Each year, solo exhibitions have been loosely organized around a different theme: art and post-colonialism in the first year, art and religiosity in the second, and art and global
sensibility this year (so far, Platform3 has only organised one group show, which was a fundraiser). After an artist has done one show, he or she becomes a member of Platform3. The exhibitions at Platform3 are a wonderful combination of ambition, seriousness and fun. The previous two exhibitions attest to the fun component: Like byYusuf Ismail (http://fluxcup.com), a witty appropriation of the history of video art (subsequently, he won the Bandung Contemporary Art Award (www.artsociates.com/ BaCAA)); and the pixel art exhibition bits&pix by Narpati Awangga, who is better known as oomleo (www.oomleo.com). After all, they must have thought, why should art always be serious?
In her artists statement, she quotes the Indian economist he won a Nobel Prize for his research and philosopher Amartya Sens book Identity and Violence: Our freedom to assert our personal identities can sometimes be extraordinarily limited in the eyes of others, no matter how we see ourselves. Moreover, in the same book he says that we have to distinguish between (1) the various affiliations and loyalties a person who happens to be a Muslim has, and (2) his or her Islamic identity in particular. It depends on the context, according to Sen, which part of our identity gets the focus. No matter how constrained we are by circumstances, we still have to choose and to make choices we need to reason, i.e. to give arguments and justifications. We all have plural identities. And Sen claims that if we overlook this, we tend to miniaturize people, which can have real and violent consequences.
Ideas and identities

The latest exhibition at Platform3, Revealing Identities by Sabina Gillani, takes a more serious, more solemn turn. She is the first non-Indonesian artist showing at Platform3, and is from Lahore, Pakistan.
REVEALING REVEALI N G IDENTITIES IDE NT IT IES

Sabina Gillani at Platform3
Text: Roy Voragen
Rachida from the Subverting the veil series digital print on Hahnemuhle canvas, 100 x 67.5cm, 2012
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ART LANDS
LAHORE > BANDUNG
Paradis Seekers (triptych), 22 x 15cm (each panel), Gouache on wasli, 2007-2008
It is, therefore, all the more fitting that Sabina Gillani has a contemporary take on the tradition of the Mughal school of miniature painting to critically investigate the making and limiting - of identity by those in power: men working for state bureaucracies and religious organizations define and guard the borders of (gender) identities. While Sabina Gillani sees herself as a progressive individual she has realized, that she doesnt always have the freedom to assert her individuality in public. In her work, she has started to depict women who might not have the voice to assert their multilayered identity. Sabina Gillani is widely traveled she has lived in Pakistan, Algiers, France and now in Indonesia, and she has visited many other places as well so she can rightly claim that in each place the making and limiting of
identity works in different ways (Islam, obviously, isnt practised in a uniform way). With her background in print-making, she has created poetic, memento morilike images that evocate to reflect upon the subject matter.
New spaces
In the meantime, Platform3 has a great year ahead after joining ArtHK12 (www.hongkongartfair .com). In 2010, Platform3 showed work by Ariadhitya Pramuhendra, in 2011 Radi Arwindas work, and this year Wiyoga Muhardentets work is shown at the Art Futures section (this section promotes emerging artists and young art spaces). However, Wiyoga wasnt the only artist present from Indonesia, Dita Gambiro was represented by Michael Janssen Gallery from Berlin. Last year Dita had a solo
show at Inkubator in Jakarta (http:// inkubator asia.com), another art space Rifky Effendy is involved in. Later this year, Emmitan Contemp-orary Art Gallery (www.emmitancagallery.com), Surabaya, will organize an exhibition in collab-oration with Platform3 with artists who have exhibited at Plaform3. And last but not least, Platform3 is planning to publish a book on their activities spanning the first two years, which, beside exhibitions and artists talks, include presentations and discussions. And it is places like Platform3 that make the contemporary art scene in Bandung so electrifying.
Insubordination series
Kulsoom, 25 x 18.5cm, photograph, gouache, graphite on Barite (photographic) paper, 2001 - 2006
Ayesha, 25 x 18.5cm, photograph, gouache, graphite on Barite (photographic) paper, 2001 - 2006
Platform3: infoplatform3.wordpress.com; the exhibition runs until June 10. The writer can be contacted at fatumbrutum.blogspot.com.
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DIALOGUES
n Jules Vernes novel Le tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours (1873), it took Phileas Fogg 80 days to travel around the world. In our fast-paced age, Thai artist Sutee Kunavichayanont offers the same opportunity in just five seconds. Around the World in 5 Seconds (2012) is in fact the name of an installation by the artist, placed at the entrance of the gallery space at Valentine Willie Fine Art Singapore, where his latest solo exhibition the world without politics, curated by Iola Lenzi, is showing until June 3. Audiences accessing the exhibition cannot escape negotiating the propositions that this work offers: either they let 242 pieces of cloth brush past their heads and/or shoulders or they proceed by bending down in an uncomfortable position in order to avoid such contact. Whichever way it is received, and despite the fact that the first cloth clearly displays the Singaporean flag, the placement of this work at the very entrance of the exhibition conceals the full extent of the work itself, which only becomes clear within the context of the exhibition space: the cloths are all national flags representing all the countries of the world.
conceptual terms, they can contribute to our individual identity through that sense of belonging. Yet they also create a sense of separation from the rest of humanity, which perhaps perpetuates some of the problems that affect the world. The concept of state becomes an essential element in the political choice the artist makes, when sourcing all the national flags and territories. Whilst such a choice is anchored to a specific moment in time, the fluidity of international relations allows for constant change and often displays a tendency for fragmentation, with the creation of new countries. The Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States, signed in 1933 and operative in 1934, despite being signed only by a limited number of countries, all from the Americas, codifies existing principles and therefore is applicable to all subjects of international law, namely sovereign nations. Its article 1 declares that The state as a person of international law should possess the following qualifications: (a) a permanent population; (b) a defined territory; (c) government; and (d) capacity to enter into relations with other states.
EURASIA
NORTH AMERICA
A NEW PANGA
AFRICA
Text and images: Daniela Beltrani
SOUTH AMERICA
And so, national flags are whitened out in the wall installation Purified Flags, 2012 or grouped in such way as to make them visibly indistinguishable in the floor installation United Flags, 2012; national territories, clearly not in scale in relation to one another, are blackened out and turned into casual blobs of ink (Countries Without Names, 2012) or grouped in such a way as to create a new Panga (remarkably reminiscent of the United Kingdom islands, I must add) of lines, colours and texts floating in an indistinct sea of casually varying depths in the only painting (The New World Order, 2012). Would the proposal in the title of this exhibition resolve the social, spiritual and political illnesses that afflict the world? Maybe not, but certainly a different thinking and course of action seem necessary, because, though history repeats itself, it is clearly teaching us nothing and, quoting Albert Einstein, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results.
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INDIA
Whitened flag
Yet with this exhibition, the artist proposes a world where commonly accepted conventional visual elements (national flags and geopolitical representations of the national territory), seemingly extracted from the most up-to-date atlas and paired with national sentiments, are denied in a nihilistic statement regarding politics, as an unnecessary (or unsuccessful) system of governance of the world.
ANTARCTICA
ST RA LI A
Blurring the lines

Around the World in 5 Seconds is more than an interactive work. It opens up a dialogue by connecting surreptitiously with an unaware audience at a level whereby the individual can subsequently identify himself with at least one country. National flags call out to our sense of pride and belonging to that country and, in
DIALOGUES
Purified Flags acrylic on international flags, 2012, 75.5 x 30cm each ( x 242 flags with poles)
Around the World in 5 seconds cloth, 2012, 80 x 120cm each ( x 242 pieces)
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SPACE
Futura UNKLE Point
Evidence Cang Xin
Polly Borland
Silence Clarke & Reilly
The Heretics Gate Doug Foster
REMAKING AND E N TERING: ENTERING: FIRST FIRST I M PRESSI ONS IMPRESSIONS IMPRESSIONS
Text: Natascha Nanji
MAY 4, 2012 MAY 4, 2012

Hong Kongs torrential rain on the opening night of Daydreaming With somehow heightened the allure of walking across the slickly decorated walkways of TaiKoo Place into Swire Properties ArtisTree, the venue for the first edition in the city of the multi-media project, co-curated by music veteran James Lavelle and Hong Kong art star Simon Birch. Even before having surveyed the works on display, one couldnt help but feel overwhelmed by the bejewelled entrance speckled with beautiful people entering the carefully darkened interior. Once inside the vast exhibition space (20,000 square feet), artworks gleamed like treasures waiting to be unearthed, seductively luring viewers as they strolled past the shining sculptures, impressive paintings and objects, towering installations, considered videos and even a room to stimulate the olfactory senses. Daydreaming With was a luxurious excursion through the glossy corridors of a globally engaged cultural aficionados mind.
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Photos: Daydreamin
SPACE
MAY 19, 2012 MAY 19, 2012

A dash across town, from an intriguing open studio event at Chai Wan to Wanchai in search of Double Happiness (the studio space in the Foo Tak building on Hennessey Road playing host venue) meant arriving hot, sweaty and full of anticipation. Reading that MIACA (Moving Image Archive of Contemporary Art) were screening, amongst others, a video by the Israeli artist Roee Rose as part of ART HK 12 was an exciting addition to the weeks activities. Upon arrival, the screening had begun; the room was dark and a projector screen was flashing images at the front of the small room with viewers crouched on low seats, paper cups in hand, surrounded by brown boxes stacked up to the ceiling. The screenings in no way failed to live up to the expectation I had placed upon them; however, the content of the videos are not the focus here (though encourage everyone to look up the potent work of Neil Beloufa, Yasuto Masumoto, Roee Rosen and Kota Takeuchi). The intimacy of such a space effectively lent itself to the subject matter of the screening, Traces of Rational Violence. Just as violence snakes its way into our public and private lives in various guises, the chosen videos both thematically and conceptually address violence in extremely diverse and unique ways, despite using film as their ultimate medium. Furthermore, the impermanence of the space, the cardboard boxes, the fold up chairs, pull down projector and so forth, gave the works an added sense of urgency, mirroring the issues laden within the subject of violence; shifting perspectives, temporality, uncertain boundaries and power relations; the seemingly passive act of viewing became one that felt active and challenging.
Photos: MIACA
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SPACE
Into context
Upon reflection, these two very different exhibitions brought to mind the radical texts written by Irish artist Brian ODoherty in 1976 Inside the White Cube. Although published over 30 years ago, the ideas posited remain as vital today; particularly when considering that both shows were open during the week of Art HK 12 the ultimate bastion to the enduring ideology behind the white cube. To capture the salient points of the 1976 essay, it is useful to quote from Simon Sheikhs essay, Positively White Cube Revisited, In many ways, ODohertys point is as simple as it is radical: the gallery space is not a neutral container, but a historical construct Indeed, the white cube not only conditions, but also overpowers the artworks themselves in its shift from placing content within a context to making the context itself the content. That is, the space itself becomes as important, if not more, than the content placed within it and certainly this was the case with ArtisTree, the sheer impressiveness of being in a space of such magnitude was aweinspiring. To understand how this shift occurs, Sheikh goes on to write, The white cube is conceived as a place free of context, where time and social space are thought to be excluded from the experience of artworks. To effectively understand this position within a context, we must delve further into ODohertys deconstruction on the construction of the white cube, ODoherty uses this analogy of the tomb and the treasury to illuminate how the white cube was constructed in order to give the artworks a timeless quality (and thus, lasting value) in both an economic and a political sense. It was a space for the immortality of a certain class or castes cultural values, as well as a staging ground for objects of sound economic investment for possible buyers. ODoherty thus reminds us that galleries are shopsspaces for producing surplus value, not use value. The white cube is still the model most often favoured for exhibiting art by many galleries, museums and alternative spaces as Sheikh himself says, I would add to this list also most art fairs and independently staged exhibitions. And therefore, as Sheikh concludes, their ideology remains one of commodity fetishism and eternal value(s) This makes screenings curated by an organisation like MIACA all the more pertinent. There may always be the white cubes that one will visit and even occasionally bask in; but amongst them are to be discovered the small dark rooms with captivating visions offering nothing more to take away than the impetus to discuss, write and seek more of the same.
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Skinny Beautiful Women Series #92 Shi Wei 180cm x 120cm
FRONTIERS
his June, a new buzzword appears to be in Singapore, as galleries put on exhibitions exploring new perspectives on sexuality and in different sociocultural contexts. Chinese artist Shi Wei, represented by Mulan Gallery in Singapore is known for his paintings of women, using the female body to portray facets of female sexuality in modern Chinese society. His works are being demonstrated by the exhibition Spellbound and the female body is often depicted as skinny and distorted, reflecting thinness as a dominant social trend. The female protagonist is sometimes happy, sometimes anguished, and sometimes indifferent. Her body is at times open and unadulterated, blatantly provocative sometimes hesitant and coy. Shi Wei's paintings are strikingly familiar, and are not altogether provocative images. However, under the frame of reference of fine art and the gallery space, the context is altered altogether - his uneasy yet honest portrayals put the meaning of beauty and the female body under scrutiny. Are these women beautiful and happy, or are they suffering and paying a price for their vanity? By juxtaposing a brand of sex appeal endorsed by the media against the anxiety and uncertainty of the subjects themselves, we can see Shi Wei's deep critique of the consumerism and materialism of modern day Chinese society. "Economic freedom influences the provocative and commercial nature of beauty," he explains. "This is different from traditional notions of beauty, in which a female is kindhearted, diligent and conservative."
SPELLBOUND SPELLBOUND EROTIKA EROT IKA EROTIKA

Artists are putting a spotlight on how perceptions of female sexuality are shaped by materialism, the media and cultural influences. Looking beyond the surface could redefine how we appreciate the female form.
Text: Gladys Teo
FRONTIERS
Noe III Xavier Comas, photograph (edition of 7)
The female protagonist is sometimes happy, sometimes anguished, and sometimes indifferent. Her body is at times open and unadulterated, blatantly provocative sometimes hesitant and coy.
That female sexuality can be modified by interactions with the physical and social environment, particularly by the media, is a view shared by the artists of "Tokyo Erotika", a group exhibition presented by Singapores Vue Prive exploring the various perspectives on sexuality in Japan. Emi Uchida is a Japanese artist who reinterprets the ancient art form of shunga in a contemporary theme. Shunga is a term loosely used for erotic art. Translated literally, the word means "picture of spring", where "spring" is a common euphemism for sex. Shunga was very popular and highly regarded during the Edo period when openness and freedom of sexuality and sexual expression was celebrated as part of humanity and in the arts. A mass-printed form of entertainment, shunga was given to brides and soldiers as wedding gifts and taken to battle as a talisman for protection against bad luck. Housewives hung them in kitchens to ward off accidents. Today, such art pieces no longer have the same function and they are often passed off as medieval pornography, perhaps due to the influence of modern mass-media forms such as Manga (comics) and animation. Uchida explains that shunga was created as a form of "laughing art" rather than eroticism, drawing from stories of the normal sexual life of normal people. Subjects wear trendy kimono prints, the intention was not to draw the viewers' attention on the female body unlike modern erotic manga, where female subjects are portrayed with "big tits, massive asses, young girl faces and acting hardcore pornographic scenes", in the words
Jiutamai Untitled 2 Xavier Comas, photograph (edition of 7)
Japanese Collapsible Fans Emi Uchida, ink on paper
of K-narf, the French-Australian artist who has been residing in Japan for more than 5 years. The traditional imagery of woodblock prints and paintings of shunga have been overshadowed by the modern porn industry, undermined by commercialism and influences from the West. Although ideals of beauty and eroticism may have lost its subtlety in the media, K-narf observes that this subtlety is not necessarily lost in reality. Japanese women, despite portrayals in manga and anime, are still "chic, elegantly dressed, polite and discreet". His work seeks to address gaps which he
observes exists between public and private facades of both men and women. The influence from the West on sexuality in Japan is not just confined to the media. It dates back to the 16th century. Spanish artist Xavier Comas jokes how people in Japan are constantly astonished at how he shares the same name as Francisco Javier, a household name in Japan because the pioneering Spanish Jesuit missionary introduced Christianity in Japan, thus converting thousands of people during the 16th century. According to Xavier, the first European missionaries who landed
in Japan were appalled by the openness and freedom of sexual expression, and wanted to "save the Japanese from sodomy and perversion" in accordance with Puritanism and the religious stigmatization of Roman Catholicism. The influence from Western missionaries was more pronounced towards the end of the Edo period. The Meiji era (1868-1912) saw the government introduce and apply Western morals influenced by Christianity. The notion of sexual taboos was introduced to Japan where the expression of sexuality was tightened and heavily restricted, both publicly and privately.
Spellbound runs from 9 June - 10 July at Mulan Gallery, 36 Armenian Street #01-07 Singapore 179934. Tokyo Erotika runs from 7 - 28 June at Vue Prive, 63 Spottiswoode Park Singapore 088651.
The Comfortable Sofa Shi Wei, 180cm x 130cm
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STATES OF THE ART

Sexuality in art has long been associated with the female form but when the occasional artist explores the male body the term homoeroticism springs to mind. A new exhibition is testing the limits of modern Singapore.
However, "Handsome: IVSG" did not merely replicate the visual aesthetics of the artist, or revisit the reactions, censorship and rejection of his works that dealt with sexual and graphic subject matters. It was an attempt to identify the constraints of contemporary art in Singapore and how artists negotiate these constraints.
Gender in flux
Redemption Marcus Mok
Homoeroticism in the visual arts and literature dates back to classical mythology, Renaissance literature and painting, but homosexuality as we know it today was not fully codified, in the artistic sense, until the mid20th century. Post-20th century homoeroticism has met controversy and censorship on different fronts: first, the rejection of homosexuals in a society of dichotomised sex and gender; and secondly, the restriction of open sexual expression as a form of perversion and sodomy. These are again codified concepts. Text: Gladys Teo The exhibition "Handsome: IVSG" was conceptualised as a tribute to Robert Mapplethorpe's work and legacy. The frank homoeroticism of the 20th century American photographers work sparked a controversy about the public funding of artworks.
Ten male artists were invited to explore various representations of masculinity. Curator and transgender artist Marla Bendini, in collaboration with Canadian artist Bruce LaBruce, presented L.A Zombie in SG, inspired by and reacting directly with Mapplethorpe's infamous selfportraits that presented an identity in flux, and with a resilience towards social rejection. Marla's own transgendered identity was created in 2007 as an amalgamation of art and life, and her presence in this exhibition illustrates her own identity along several places on the gender continuum. There are several parts of the assemblage, including a photograph of Marla with 47 platoon mates during her national service days and a slideshow of sequenced digital images of her private moments watching L.A Zombie, a video on reverse necrophilia (sexual attraction towards corpses).
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Lee Gwo Ying, Mixed media on paper
STATES OF THE ART
I think there is a great tragedy in the fact that the very notion of obscenity is connected to sex; instead of to violence.
Jason Lee superimposed photographs of men and women on each other to investigate the lines that are blurring between males and females. The resultant oscillating charge resonates with participating artist Marcus Mok who debates the duality between masculinity and femininity. "Men speak freely of their feminine side and women are not afraid to don the mantle of masculinity to succeed at whatever challenges they face - single motherhood, work, shattering, piercing or evading glass ceilings or simply living life. Evoking feminiity in the image of a male does not necessarily connote homosexuality and neither should it. I think the line between masculine and feminine can eventually become so blurred that the difference will only be seen in hyperbolated caricatures." Censorship and the other people Faisal Husni's expression of homoeroticism in his illustrations has led to numerous censorship and rejection at universities. "I'm always given the same excuse - 'we might be ok with it but other people might not be as open'. This is when I came upon the 'other people' subject. I've heard it too often enough 'I'm ok with it but other people... We've seen these kind of stuff but other people..." But who are these 'other people' that we are so concerned about? Do they even really exist?" exasperates Faisal, who prefers to channel his ideas into text and fiction, which is considered to be less "taboo" than his visual works.
Marla acknowledges that the LGBT sector has become more visible in Singapore's social landscape and that people are becoming more frank about their sexuality and gender expression. However, there are stigmatised attitudes and media outlets that still maintain a stance on normalizing homosexuality, either through censorship or through funding cuts. Marla revealed that the reference to Mapplethorpe as well as the subject matter on male gender studies has prevented funding for the exhibition. Clinical sexologist, Dr Martha Lee, stepped up support of the exhibition as a meaningful venture, evoking genuine conversations of what masculinity means, conducting laughter yoga and penile massage workshops for interested audiences. Despite these cases, the funds raised were still insufficient to cover the costs of the exhibition. Faisal concludes by paraphrasing American magazine guru Hugh Hefner: "I think there is a great tragedy in the fact that the very notion of obscenity is connected to sex; instead of to violence. Why are the most loving part of our nature and images relating to that considered obscene. It suggests very strongly that we have a very cock-eyed view on what is really moral."
L.A. Zombie in SG Bruce LaBruce & Marla Bendini
Anemone, Orchid & Hyacinth Faisal Husni, inkjet on paper
Handsome: IVSG ran from 5 18 May at The Substation.
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FEATURE
CANDY, ARTIFICIALLY ARTIFICIALLY SWEETENED

On the 14 May 2012 Singapores The Private Museum opened the third and final segment of its exhibition Kitakyushu Biennial in Singapore, with the title *Candy Factory Projects Desktop Music Part 2, which lasted until 27 May 2012.
apanese artist Takuji Kogo is behind these multimedia collaborative projects, collectively known as *Candy Factory Projects. They have been exhibited in galleries in Japan, Singapore, and Brisbane, amongst other places. This last exhibition featured a series of multiple video and sound projects grouped by collaborations of Takuji Kogo and totalling around 40 minutes: Robot, with American artist John Miller, with whom Kogo has collaborated since 1998, and who divides his time between New York and Berlin; Eur Rome, with Italian artist Federico Baronello who lives and works in the Sicilian city of Catania; and Desktop Free Jazz Project, with Seoul-based web art group Young Hae Chang Heavy Industries (YHCHI) consisting of American artist Marc Voge and the Korean Young-hae Chang.
The central, rectangular gallery of The Private Museum offers a quiet and immersive setting for the huge wall projection. Robot consists of eight videos of various lengths, in which real images and sounds appear in an idiosyncratic intermingling of synthetic voices and computerised renditions of actual people and places. The overall effect is that of an alienating digital and multi-sensorial stereogram, which, in its perfection, hides an image of fear and isolation. Upon closer inspection, the texts appearing on the videos are extracted from mass media messages; some might distinctly refer to online dating (Im Good, 2008, 332 & Look 49, 2011, 153) and chat websites (A Little About Me, 2010, 312), asking and offering opportunities of virtual encounters. The suggestion is that
people are unable to initiate a real encounter in real life and therefore rely on the protection that the digital screen offers from immediate and direct contact, which may carry the seed of failure. The Self therefore, whether male or female, becomes reduced to an indistinct essence which seems to rely on stereotypes (Asian Wife, 2011, 358) of summary knowledge, which in turn may have its main source in the virtual world too; and on the good side of humanity, thus hiding certain flaws of character, which also contribute to define it. This repetition is a frequent strategy, and it often seems to reduce images and words to respective shapes and sounds, devoid of any contextual meaning (Why You Should Get To Know Me, 2007, 414).
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Text and images: Daniela Beltrani
FEATURE
emails that often crop up in peoples inboxes asking for help and requesting funds. The presence of an Alitalia aircraft appears sinister in its visual suggestion of the 9/11 incidents, yet perhaps mitigated by the presence of more environmentally friendly and colourful hot air balloons; but also of the 1980 strage di Ustica, when the DC-9 flight 870 of Aerolinee Itavia crashed into the Tyrrhenian Sea amidst rumours and conspiracy theories involving the Libyan government, amongst others. The last project is articulated in two similarly constructed videos, where the titles use a rebus-like mix of letters, numbers and acronyms heavily relying on sound and often used in SMSs to abbreviate messages: NE14KFC (translated as anyone for K.F.C.) and UDH82BME (translated as you would hate to be me). The assemblage of images (respectively deserts and mountains), text (the full length version of the title) and sound (disjointed computerised jazz) creates an emotional confusion, which is unsettling and displacing.
Since its inception in 2010, The Private Museum - founded by real estate developer Daniel Teo - has been quietly making waves with its carefully curated and intelligent programme, which includes artist talks and exhibitions of Chinese iconic photography, of paintings donated to the Catholic High School (which houses the gallery at 51 Waterloo Street, #02-06) by the late Chua Ek Kay, of a retrospective on Walasse Ting, just to mention a few. Its objective is providing a space for art collectors to showcase their collection in a curated display and an alternative platform for artists to push boundaries in the expressions of various art forms. In the Singaporean art world of museums and commercial galleries. The Private Museum has managed to find a niche, prioritising artistic considerations over mere economic profit. I look forward to more such exhibitions.
Or perhaps it may suggest cloning, in the oxymoronic attempt to assert individuality yet escape the loneliness that this implies. Eur Rome is comprised of two silent videos, pregnant with meanings and suggestions. The Palazzo della Civilt Romana, central monument of an area of southern Rome named E.U.R. (Esposizione Universale Romana, 1942), features prominently. The original inscription in its top part (UN Popolo Di Poeti Di Artisti Di Eroi/ Di Santi Di Pensatori Di Scienziati / Di Navigatori Di Trasmigratori)1 is replaced by the names of corporations, mainly from Italy and Libya. The messages appearing as emails written by two Libyan nationals, identifying themselves as the son of the late premier Gaddafi and the son of an official, are reminiscent of scam
Translated as A nation of poets, of artists, of heroes/of saints, of thinkers, of scientists/of sailors, of transmigrants
The programme of the entire exhibition can be viewed on www.theprivatemuseum.org under the Exhibition heading and on http://artonline.jp/logo/KITAKYUSHUBIENNIAL_SINGAPORE.pdf; all the videos shown can be viewed on http://artonline.jp/tour.html
NN Gallery founder Syed Nabil
PERSPECTIVES
TPAG: Tell us about your vision for the gallery when you first began showcasing modern and contemporary Malaysian art more than a decade ago. Syed Nabil: NN Gallery was established with the aim of promoting Malaysian art through exhibitions, producing exhibition catalogues and providing an online resource for our artists to the public. Our first exhibition was a group show of the artists we admired, a mix of the established and new, showing a range of paintings, installation art and sculptures, textiles, watercolours and works on paper. When we started, there were already some established galleries in town promoting Malaysian art, but we found that there was still room to represent emerging artists. We were fortunate to have the support of established modernists such as Yeoh Jin Leng and Cheong Laitong and the support of many senior Northern artists from Kedah and Penang who helped boost our credibility. On the onset there was a lot of support from private collectors and from institutions and banks wanting to build personal and corporate collections. It was an exciting beginning for us, as we would see not only the diverse language inherent in Malaysian art but also the differences in taste and approaches in collecting art. Then came the lull of the Asian Economic Crisis. The art market inevitably slowed down. As a result collectors became discerning which provided some impetus for the artists to create better works, bringing forth a new creative order and new kinds of artistic experimentation, all in a healthy bid for their works to be placed in public and private collections. How has the gallery as well as the Malaysian art scene evolved since then? When we first started, there were select regular art enthusiasts on the exhibition circuit. Today however the audience has grown, which reflects the interest in collecting Malaysian art. The number of practising artists has grown. The price of artworks too has increased. Today I hear some of my early clients remarking that the days when art used to be affordable are gone! There is undoubtedly an increase in art activity today with an equally growing number of people becoming interested in art. What is needed today is to help enrich the art scene, would be to engage the artists and the public at large in dialogue, for our institutions to bring back symposiums on art and to assertively showcase our Malaysian artists internationally. In our small capacity as a private gallery we can only do so much. I believe that with such added value placed on the arts, the appreciation and consciousness for it will become stronger.
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What were your challenges then?
NN GALLERY: NN GALLERY: RAISING RAISING A PLATFORM

NN Gallery was established in 1996 in Malaysia. It has since filled a vacuum by creating opportunities for the countrys emerging talent and artists in need of a voice. TPAGs Bharti Lalwani talked to founder Syed Nabil on how the gallery has helped the art scene in Malaysia evolve.
Text: Bharti Lalwani
PERSPECTIVES
TPAG: In what ways does your gallery nurture young and emerging artists in the country?
Syed Nabil: We host annual art competitions for young artists, and we also offer solo and group exhibitions for new emerging artists. Some of our more recognised artists today such as Zulkifli Yusoff , Ahmad Fuad Osman Eston Tan and Chan Kok Hooi to name a few, have held their very first solo exhibitions with us. We have over the years, as project directors facilitated some of our artists with their exhibitions abroad, taking part in international art residencies and in invitational art competitions. We work in partnership with universities, help garner sponsorship from institutions, corporate as well as private donors.
In your opinion what sort of issues have local artists grappled with over the last decade through their art?
The issues that concern our artists are broad and varied. Some are personal and some are universal concerns. These include family, identity, social, political, cultural and environmental issues that are being met with individual struggles and an understanding of it all in all, adding to the diversity of the expressions of Malaysian artists. Absolutely! Our local artists now travel extensively, taking part in art residencies, exhibitions and fairs all over the world. Their interaction with other cultures provides encourages wider assimilation and dialogue of what is happening in the world and global art trends. We hope to continue what we have done so far, which is to generate awareness of Malaysian art here and abroad. Our hopes would be for a thriving and exciting art scene which would resonate beyond our shores. I was appointed consultant for the Henry Butcher Art Auction 2011/12, I look forward to working together with our very first auctioneers, to raise the profile of our artists and their works, and raise the consciousness of the relevance and value of art.
Have these critical narratives shifted focus on more globalized themes?
How do you see your gallery evolving over the next ten years?
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NOW
SU JAK SUJAK SUJAK RAHMAN RAH MAN

AT
Established as one of Singapores leading masters in the art of batik painting, and with a well-known presence in the region, Sujak Rahmans works stand out for their fusion of contemporary Western art techniques with Indonesian sensibility and aesthetic. Working primarily with oils, acrylic and watercolour on batik cloth, Sujaks pieces are often figurative, drawing upon scenes from Indonesian cultural practices to depict the human condition. One of his hallmarks is that of female figures in various symbolical settings but whose faces are often devoid of emotion. In other instances, Sujak deploys a part of the human anatomy, whether a face or the body, as a motif that either juxtaposes with or serves as the main feature of his intended narrative. To date, Sujak has exhibited in Singapore, Japan, Moscow, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. His works have been highly sought after locally and internationally, most notably by the royalty in Dubai. Sujak is also co-founder of the TUJU Art Group in Singapore which was established to the nurture the new generation of young artists.
Photos: 7Adam
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BRANCH
1883 Puente Alto, Chile
DON ME LC HOR: DON MELCHOR: SPIRIT OF THE VINE OF THE

Artists shape materials into visions and realizations but their unique expressions are part of a sacred dialogue with the forces of life, from the tiniest creature to the vastest expanse. The art of winemaking calls for a bond between a mans soul, the Earth and the natural world.
olitician and businessman Don Melchor enters the viticultural paradise of Chiles fertile Puento Alto plains and introduces nobel grapevines from the Bordeaux region of France. For Melchor this planted the seeds of a vast wine empire, and today Concha y Toro stands as one of the most influential wineries in the world. It crafts some of the most enigmatic wines in the industry. With the introduction of grapes from the French Bordeaux region into the Chilean landscape, Melchors viticultural poetry has spoken to the souls of winemakers. Bordeaux style blends are usually made from a predominance of one Cabernet, smaller proportions of Merlot and tiny amounts of Cabernet Franc, and perhaps Petit Verdot grown
in the same vineyard. Don Melchor, takes this one further, graced with six plots of land within the same vineyard, that each yield Cabernet Sauvignon of slightly different characters which are made into wine (vinification) separately." The winemaker decided which of the plots should form the final blend. The final blend, together with small amounts of vinified Cabernet Franc was put into French oak barrels from Allier, Troncais and Nevers forest. The wine was then matured over 12 to 14 months to produce a long lived fine wine that takes on a personality of its own, with cultivated layers of complexity.
Photo: Summergate Wines 56 57
BRANCH
Art of Winemaking
All great wine grows from humble beginnings, and the process of wine growing can be described as a grape character building exercise. Chiles Puente Alto vineyard possesses deep stony soils that are poor in nutrients, with absorption, giving excellent drainage properties. By virtue, this makes the grapevines struggle to get the nutrients that they need, and this curtails the growth of excess vegetation. It results in smaller, fewer bunches of fruit. Ironically it is this frugal mechanism that concentrates flavours and builds up complexity in the character of the grape bunches on the vines. While struggling to survive, the vineyard workers diligently exercise care and attention when nursing the bunches. They prune them until they are ripe and ready to be picked. Bunches are handpicked, hand sorted, and selected to ensure only the best fruit becomes part of Don Melchors wine. But it is in the very struggle of the grape that the quality of the wine realizes itself, in concert with the ageless plight of the human soul. Like the sculptural effort to find an angel in the marble or timeless endeavours to paint masterpieces in the face hardship, Don Melchors wine is a testament to the triumph of the creative spirit. While art is beholden to nothing but the human soul, artistic beauty is ultimately engaged in a battle to become complete in the material world, but once it touches the soul, and embraces our senses, it leaves a timeless imprint.
ON THE TRAIL
THE ART T HE T HE OF GIVING G IVI NG
he Land of Smiles Thai Charity Dinner was held on 18 May, 2012 at Singapores Chef DTable @ Chijmes, in support of the Dr 19 Baht foundation, a Thai charity devoted to health and wellbeing. This was not only a breakthrough in terms of charitable ventures, but also the first time that The Pocket Arts Guide has been an official media partner for a charity event. This fund-raising activity, initiated by prominent Thai figure Mr Attasith Damrongrat, is part of a fund-raising tour in the region, organised by The Conservative of Thai Cultural Association. After its stop in Singapore, it is moving on to Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Beijing, Hong Kong, Tokyo and more. Singaporean artist Adeline Yeo, known for her finger paintings, was invited to paint live on the spot. Her completed work was successfully bidded by Mrs Saskia Lohoff, an art professional who promotes Asian artists in Germany. It was an evening of fine wine, food and art, and guests bidded for items of their fancy, all in support of charity.
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1 Singaporean artist Adeline Yeo with guests Mr & Mrs Lohoff
2 Mr Attasith welcoming guest Mr HM Kang 3 The beauty queens with guest Mr Suchard 4 Singaporean artist Adeline Yeo in action 5 The Pocket Arts Guide was the official media for the night 6 Mr Attasith with guests Mr Vincent Tan, Mr Richard Hoon and Mr KP Por
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ON THE TRAIL
14 7 9 13 8
10 17 12 15
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7, 8 Guests having a good time at the event 9 Mr Attasith giving a speech 10 Guests Mr Kelvin Chua, Mr Alan Chan, Mr Michael Bheem, Mr EL Chua 11 The completed work of Singaporean artist Adeline Yeo, Garden of Love 12 Mrs Lohoff with Singaporean artist Adeline Yeo
13 Mr Justin having a closer look at the wine in special bottle studded with Swavroski crystals 14 Mr TS Jim won his bid for the wine with gold flakes 15 Mr & Mrs Lohoff successfully bidded for the TWG hamper 16 Singaporean artist Adeline Yeo autographing for Mrs Lohoff 17 Guests Mr Suchard, Mr Richard Hoon and friends
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PORTFOLIO
MODERNMASTERS M ODERN MASTERS BOOST COLLECTOR BOOST COLLECTOR CONFIDENCE CONFIDENCE

Text: Remo Notarianni, Christies and Huang Yao Foundation
Zeng Fanzhis Fly was auctioned for USD 5.133, 968
he Evening Sale of Asian 20th Century and Contemporary Art at Christies auction in Hong Kong was held on 29th May 2012. It achieved USD$46,625,600 with an excess of 90 percent sold, and bolstered the confidence of buyers in the field. The success of the sale is also a testament to the aesthetic value of Asian art and the exponential growth of Asian 20th Century and Contemporary Art among collectors. Out of 41 lots sold, seven were sold in excess of USD 1,288,000. Among the categories, one outcome was a new world auction record for Indonesian modern master Affandi. His work At the Cockfight, achieved nearly four times its estimate, selling for USD 713,552, but contemporary Chinese artists still command stellar prices. For example, a few pieces by Chinese modern master Zao Wou Kis artworks at Christies auction were sold for more than USD 2 million, and his works 21.1.85 sold for USD2,609, 488; 04.08.98 sold for USD1,383,312; another work 5.7.62 sold for USD1,888,208.
Zeng Fanzhi, another Chinese modern master, saw his work Fly auctioned for USD5,133,968, and the Mark Series sold for USD3,258, 640. However, none of these artists achieved more than a triple return from the estimating price, except for Indonesian artist Affandi. Affandi (1907 1990), has become a well-known blue chip artist and the growing popularity of his works runs parallel with Indonesias thriving economy and the rising status of Indonesian artists globally. Auctions do however spring surprises and artistic re-emergence and new trends were evident at Christies this time round.
Chinese artist and calligrapher Huang Yao (19171987) was famous for his innovative calligraphy and cartoons in the 1930s. Huang Yaos works, often delivered with light-hearted optimism, span traditional Chinese as well as modern abstract categories. His ink painting Immortal Chess Players (1980, 140 x 74.5 cm) or Playing Chess (Christies title) was auctioned under Lot 3037 in the Fine Chinese Modern Art Paintings category for US$ 88, 012 (HKD680, 000), exceeding Christies estimates of US$19, 419 (HK$150,000) to US$ 25, 893 (HK$200,000) on the 26th May. The Immortal Chess Players visually retells the tale of a woodcutter in Chinas Jin dynasty who stumbled upon two children playing chess whilst he was working in the countryside. He became transfixed by the game but found that the handle (ke) of his axe had withered away (lan) before the game ended. He hurried home to find that he had become a stranger in his town, and those who he had known had passed away. He had indeed, encountered two immortals
playing a chess game which to them lasts a mortals lifetime. The painting includes Huang Yaos characteristic upside-down calligraphy, and the image is based on chuyunshu, a poem about a lifetime in the worldly sphere being the duration of a chess game in the immortal realm. Earlier in May, two of Huang Yaos paintings, that belonged to private collectors, were successfully auctioned by Henry Butcher Art Auctioneers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for USD 12,369 (RM39, 600) and US$24,738 (RM79, 200).
Photo: Christies
Huang Yaos ink painting Immortal Chess Players (1980)
Yayoi Kusamas Pumpkin set was one of the highest earning works of Japanese art during this Christies sale
Photo: Christies
Photo: Huang Yao Foundation
64 65
PORTFOLIO
I Sleep On Top Of Myself Shen Shaomin
THE RISE THE RISE THE RISE AND REBIRTH AND REBIRTH REBIRTH OF OF
ART HK HK HK
Dont Touch My Dog Li Tianbing Daniel Buren, presented by Lisson Untitled(black necklace) Jean-Michel Othoniel
There was a rise in visitors, improved organisation, and a wider selection of galleries from Europe and America. The figures and the sales demographics at Art HK highlighted growing connoisseurship among Asian art lovers, whose collections are embracing more than the brand names of Western art but these were also signs of things to come. The fifth and final edition of ART HK, which ran between 17 and 20 May, 2012 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC), attracted 266 galleries from 38 countries and had a record 67, 205 visitors, which was a six percent increase on last year. Next year the fair will be called Art Basel
Doppelganger (Pink Rocinante) Michael Joo, 2009-2012
Hong Kong, as the Swiss behemoth assumes ownership of what is arguably Asias largest and most successful art extravaganza. Impressive sales included those of Hong Kongs De Sarthe Gallery which sold No. 313, 1969 by Chinese artist Chu Teh-Chun for over US $3 million to an Asian collector, and Hans Hartungs work T1966-H32, 1966 to a Singaporean collector for US $400,000. George Baselitzs Stalin und Woroschilov pissen von der Kremlmover was sold by White Cube for EUR 500,000 to an Asian collector. Americas Blum & Poe sold two works by Zhu Jinshi, No.5, 2006 and Thick Strokes, No.4, 2006 for US $70,000 each to an Asian collector;
Sprth Magers Berlin London sold Sterling Rubys work SP191, 2011 for US $155,000 to an Australian collector; and George Condos Toy Head, 2012 for US $150,000 to an Asian collector. Questions abound over whether the record-breaking success of this years event was a swan song for the art fair in its first incarnation, which has been a local and regional success, not only in the way it has raised a platform for artists in the region but also in its capacity to bring the art worlds movers and shakers to Asia. But how Asian will Art HK become in future in terms of the selection of artists?
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Foreign Mao Yu Youhan, 1999
Flying Over Hong Kong Sir Peter Blake
There Are Little People Inside Me Takashi Murakami
Black Hole Yin Xiuzhen, 2010
Answers can be gauged as the growing importance of Asias artists matches the clout of its collectors. Western galleries had a healthy billing of Asian artists. Galleries such as AnnaNing were showcasing market sensations such as Zhao Wou Ki, whose current appeal is embellishing galleries from East to West. Its easy to become starstruck by the major names at such an event, but overall there was a fairly balanced showcase. In the Art Futures section, the best emerging artist award went to Lee Kit of Hong Kong for an installation called Something in My Hands, Galerie Urs Meile presented Ai Weiweis Cong, his memorial to
the 5,196 students who died when their schools collapsed in the Sichuan earthquake in 2008. Galerie Gmurzynskas booth was curated by Asia's architect sensation, Zaha Hadid, with a selection of her latest designs, which was embellished by additional works from artists such as Joan Miro and Fernando Botero. If Art HK 12 is a sign of things to come, then Art Basel Hong Kong could turn out to be truly phenomenal, but we hope it doesnt leave Hong Kong, and Asia for that fact, behind.
Tornabuoni Art sold five works by Alighiero Boetti from their solo presentation of his work, including Mappa, 1984 which sold for EUR 1 million. Elegy to the Spanish Republic No. 45, 1960 by Robert Motherwell was sold by Bernard Jacobson Gallery for US $1 million. Hauser & Wirth London and Zurich sold Western Mash Monument, 2006/2011, a fine silver sculpture by Paul McCarthy, for US $450,000 to a Latin American collection. Hoto Tatsuo Miyajima, 2008
68 69
TANJONG PAGAR, CHINATOWN & RAFFLES PLACE

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 iPreciation, The Fullerton Hotel DreamSpace Art Studio Utterly Art Galerie Sogan & Art Yong Gallery Art Commune Gallery Chan Hampe Galleries @ Tanjong Pagar Indigo Blue Art Galerie Belvedere Galerie Steph Ikkan Art International ReDot Fine Art Gallery Valentine Willie Fine Art Richard Koh Fine Art Art Xchange Gallery Ken Crystals Viridian Art House
SINGAPORE ART MUSEUM AREA

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 The Substation Art Plural Gallery Art Trove Yavuz Fine Art The Private Museum M Gallery Forest Rain Gallery The Gallery of Gnani Arts Sculpture Square Art Galleries @ NAFA The Luxe Art Museum Yisulang Art Gallery Art Gallery 3 Art Seasons Gallery
ESPLANADE & MARINA BAY SANDS

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Ode To Art Opera Gallery Art Science Museum The Asian Civilisations Museum The Arts House Gallery NaWei Ode To Art Chan Hampe Galleries Cape of Good Hope Art Gallery Art-2 Gallery S.Bin Art Plus Y2Arts Gajah Gallery Tembusu Art Gallery ArtXchange Gallery Artfolio
GALLERY SPOTTED
Art Trove Gallery
51 Waterloo Street #02-01/2/3 Singapore 187969 T: +65 6336 0915 F: +65 6336 9975 E: enquiry@art-trove.com www.art-trove.com Opening Hours Wed Sun: 11am to 6.30pm Call for private viewing
ORCHARD ROAD
1 Pop and Contemporary Fine Art 2 Gallery Reis 3 Art Space @ Scotts 4 Opera Gallery 5 Heng Artland 6 Sin Hua Gallery 7 M.A.D Museum of Art & Design 8 Vue Prive
HOLLAND VILLAGE
1 2
Sunjin Galleries Taksu
DEMPSEY HILL
1 2
Linda Gallery Red Sea Gallery
TANGLIN ROAD
1 The Gallery of Gnani Arts 2 Bruno Gallery 3 Boons Pottery 4 HaKaren Art Gallery
5 Lion City Art Gallery 6 Mulan Gallery 7 Yang Gallery
ART DIRECTORIES
C
74/75 Singapore Galleries 76 Art Auctioneers Museum + Art Venues Conservation + Restoration Art Schools Art Services 76/77 Artist Studios 77 Hong Kong Galleries Europe and the US Art Fairs 80 TPAG Classifieds 7Adam
7 Adam Park Singapore 289926 +65 6463 0777 enquiries@7adam.com www.7adam.com Open Daily: 11am to 8pm
SINGAPORE GALLERIES
09
Art Seasons Gallery

1 Selegie Road PoMo #02-21/24 Singapore 188306 +65 6741 6366 info@artseasonsgallery.com www.artseasonsgallery.com Mon Sat: 11am to 7pm Sun: 1pm to 6pm
Closed on Public Holidays or by appointment only
Yong Gallery Calligraphy and Woodcarving Lion City Art Gallery Cape of Good Hope Art Gallery
140 Hill Street #01-06 MICA Building Singapore 179369 +65 6733 3822 info@capeofgoodhope.com.sg www.capeofgoodhope.com.sg Daily: 11am to 7pm 19 Tanglin Road #02-07 Tanglin Shopping Centre Singapore 247909 +65 6733 0289 260 South Bridge Road Singapore 058809 Tel /Fax: +65 6226 1718 Hp: +65 9786 6916
yong_gallery_singapore@yahoo.com http://yonggallerysart.blogspot.com
Forest Rain Gallery

261 Waterloo Street #02-43/44 Singapore 180261 +65 6336 0926 info@forestraingallery.com www.forestraingallery.com Mon Fri: 10am to 6pm Sat: 10am to 4pm
Sunday and Public holidays by appointment only
Impress Galleries Pte Ltd

1 Kim Seng Promende #02-07/08 Greatworld City Singapore 237994. +65 6736 2966 / 6440 4533 impress@singnet.com.sg www.impressgalleries.com 10.30am - 9.30pm daily
lioncityartgallery.sg@gmail.com Facebook: Lion City Art Gallery
Daily: 10am to 7pm
Mon Sat: 11am to 6.30pm

Closed on Sunday
ARTXCHANGE Gallery
6 Eu Tong Sen Street #02-65 The Central Singapore 059817 +65 9027 3997 benny.oentoro@live.com www.artxchangegallery.com Mon Sat: 11am to 9pm
K
Richard Koh Fine Art
71 Duxton Road Singapore 089530 +65 6221 1209 info@rkfineart.com www.rkfineart.com Tue Fri: 11.30am to 7pm Sat: 12 noon to 6pm
Monday by appointment only Closed on Public Holidays
Chan Hampe Galleries @ Raffles Hotel

338 North Bridge Road #01-04 Raffles Hotel Arcade Singapore 188719 +65 6338 1962 www.chanhampegalleries.com Daily: 11am to 7pm
Closed on Public Holidays
The Gallery of Gnani Arts

1 Cuscaden Road #01-05 The Regent Singapore 249715 +65 6725 3112 arts@gnaniarts.com www.gnaniarts.com Tue Sun: 11am to 7pm
Chan Hampe Galleries @ Tanjong Pagar

27 Kreta Ayer Road Singapore 088994 +65 6222 1667 www.chanhampegalleries.com Weekdays: 10am to 6pm Weekends: 11am to 4pm
Ken Crystals
6 Eu Tong Sen Street #03-72 The Central Singapore 059817 +65 6339 0008 kencrystals@yahoo.com.sg Mon Sat: 11am to 7pm Sun: 1pm to 5pm
Boons Pottery Art Gallery 3

231 Bain Street #02-89 Bras Basah Complex Singapore 180231 +65 6333 4283 pohbeechoo@hotmail.com Mon Sat: 11am to 7pm Sun Public Holidays: 12pm to 6pm 91 Tanglin Road #01-02A Tanglin Place Singapore 247918 +65 6836 3978 www.boonspottery.com Daily: 11am to 6pm
Closed on Public Holidays
Closed on Wednesday and Public Holidays
Sunjin Galleries
43 Jalan Merah Saga #03-62 Work Loft@Chip Bee Singapore 278115 +65 6738 2317 info@sunjingalleries.com.sg www.sunjingalleries.com.sg Tue Fri: 11am to 7pm Sat: 11am to 6pm
74 75
ART DIRECTORIES
ART AUCTIONEERS
Christies Hong Kong Limited 22/F Alexandra House 18 Chater Road, Central Hong Kong Sothebys Singapore Pte Ltd 1 Cuscaden Road Regent Hotel Singapore Singapore 249715 Larasati 30 Bideford Road #03-02 Thong Sia Building Singapore 229922
CONSERVATION + RESTORATION
ART SERVICES
Helu-Trans (S) Pte Ltd
39 Keppel Road, #02-04/05 Tanjong Pagar Distripark Singapore 089065 +65 6225 5448 info@helutrans.com www.helutrans.com Storage Solutions Art Handling & Shipping Artspace Rental Project Management Lim Leong Seng Studio 107 91 Lorong J Telok Kurau Road Singapore 425985 +65 9738 2792 leongseng8@hotmail.com www.limleongseng.com.sg By appointment only
HONG KONG GALLERIES

Belgravia Gallery 12/F Silver Fortune Plaza 1 Wellington Street Central, Hong Kong Ben Brown Arts 301 Pedder Building 12 Pedder Street Central, Hong Kong Cat Street Gallery 222 Hollywood Road Sheung Wan Hong Kong Edouard Malingue Gallery First floor, 8 Queen's Road Central, Hong Kong
Sin Sin 53-54 Sai Street Central, Hong Kong Schoeni Art Gallery 21-31 Old Bailey Street Central, Hong Kong
Fine Art Asia 2012 (Hong Kong) 4 7 Oct 2012 www.fineartasia.com Affordable Art Fair (Singapore) 17 20 November 2012 www.affordableartfair.sg India Art Fair (New Delhi) 1 3 February 2013 www.indiaartfair.in
Renate Kant Studio

Renate Kant Studio
(new address!)
Conservation and restoration of paintings
Florenz 10 Changi South Street 1 Singapore 486788 +65 65464133 enquiry@florenz.com.sg www.florenz.com.sg Mon Thur: 8.30am to 5.45pm Fri: 8.30am to 5.30pm Sat: 8.30am to 12.30pm
Closed on Sundays
EUROPE AND THE US

Flo Peters Gallery Chilehaus C, Pumpen 8 20095 Hamburg Germany +49 40 3037 4686 info@flopetersgallery.com www.flopetersgallery.com Galerie Christian Lethert Antwerpener Strasse 4 D - 50672 Kln (Cologne) Germany
MUSEUMS + ART VENUES

Singapore Art Museum 71 Bras Basah Road SAM at 8Q 8 Queen Street National Museum 93 Stamford Road Singapore 178897 Asian Civilisations Museum 1 Empress Place Singapore 179555 National University of Singapore Museum (NUS) University Cultural Centre 50 Kent Ridge Crescent National University of Singapore Singapore 119279 Goodman Arts Centre 90 Goodman Road Singapore 539053 Sculpture Square 155 Middle Road Singapore 188977 MICA Building 140 Hill Street Singapore 179369 Telok Kurau Studios 91 Lorong J Telok Kurau Singapore 425985
8 Shrewsbury Road Singapore 307810 (near Novena MRT) +65 96803534 +65 62549549 renatevonroda@pacific.net.sg www.kantconservation.com.sg - Founded 1978 - Museums Trained Painting Conservation - Member of German Conservators Association (DRV) - 15 years experience in Asia
ART STUDIOS
Liu Xuanqi Art Studio Goodman Arts Centre 90 Goodman Road Block B #04-08 Singapore 439053 +65 9168 7785 hillad2006@gmail.com Opens daily: 9am to 6pm
Florenz was first established in 1986 and was recently re-launched with a showcase exhibition featuring artworks by the current in house team and also past collaborators. Florenz specialises in glass art of all disciplines and processes ranging from traditional stained glass, blown work, kiln forming, sandcarving and engraving. Artworks may be purchased or commissioned for commercial and private settings. Florenz is also an active participant in the Singapore art scene, participating in events such as Art Singapore, Affordable Arts and FLasia.
Chieu Sheuy Fook Studio Studio 102 91 Lorong J Telok Kurau Road Singapore 425985 +65 9669 0589 chieusf@gmail.com
Damina Gallery 2 Le Lok Street 1414 Ocean Industrial Building Hong Kong +852 2549 7711 donna@daminagallery.com www.damina-gallery.com By appointment only Gagosian Gallery 7/F Pedder Building 12 Pedder Street Central, Hong Kong
Alan Cristea Gallery 31 & 34 Cork Street London W1S 3NU White Cube 48 Hoxton Square, London N1 6PB L & M Arts 45 East 78 Street New York 10075
ART SCHOOLS
Lasalle 1 McNally Street Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts 38/80/151 Bencoolen St Art Schools School of the Arts Singapore (SOTA) 1 Zubir Said Drive Singapore 227968 The Singapore Tyler Print Institute 41 Robertson Quay
Agility Fine Arts +65 65000250 finearts@agilitylogistics.com www.agilitylogistics.com - Recommended Art Handler & Freight Forwarder for ArtStage 2012 - Climate-controlled Fine Art Bonded Storage Facility - Museum-standard Specialized Art installation, packing & logistics
Leo Hee Tong Block 173, Bishan St 13, #05-105 Singapore 570173 +65 6258 8787 + 65 9794 6511 leoheetong@hotmail.com Studio 404 91 Lorong J Telok Kurau Road Singapore 425985
Urich Lau Wai-Yuen Goodman Arts Centre 90 Goodman Road Block B #04-07 Singapore 439053 +65 9682 7214 urichlwy@gmail.com By appointment only
Para/Site Art Space G/F, 4 Po Yan Street, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
ART FAIRS
Art Fair JOG, Indonesia 14 28 July 2012 www.artfairjogja.com Melbourne Art Fair 1 5 August 2012 www.artfair.com.au/fair
Leslie Goh + 65 9681 1418 paint@lesliegoh.com.sg By appointment only
Jennifer Yao Lin Goodman Arts Centre 90 Goodman Road Block B #03-14 Singapore 439053 +65 9151 3227 cice_lin@yahoo.com By appointment only
Puerta Roja Private Latin Art Space Shop A, G/F Wai Yue Building 15 17 New Street Sheung Wan, Hong Kong +852 2803 0332 info@puerta-roja.com www.puerta-roja.com By appointment only
Asia Top Gallery Hotel Art Fair (AHAF SEOUL) 24 26 August 2012 www.hotelartfair.kr The Asia Pacific Contemporary Art Fair (Shanghai, China) 7 9 September 2012 www.shcontemporary.info/en
76 77
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TPAG ISSUE 32 JUNE/JULY 2012

TPAG ISSUE 32 JUNE/JULY 2012

Riding The Horses / Eternal Mother Scrolled Serigraphs

TPAG ISSUE 32 JUNE/JULY 2012

TPAG ISSUE 32 JUNE/JULY 2012

TPAG ISSUE 32 JUNE/JULY 2012

TPAG ISSUE 32 JUNE/JULY 2012

Life Body Existence 07.07.12 10.07.12 ARTrium@Mica

TPAG ISSUE 32 JUNE/JULY 2012

GHOSTING THE MACHINE

TPAG ISSUE 32 JUNE/JULY 2012

Pop goes the easel

Lifting the layers

The peoples pixels

TPAG ISSUE 32 JUNE/JULY 2012

Ideas and identities

REVEALING REVEALI N G IDENTITIES IDE NT IT IES

TPAG ISSUE 32 JUNE/JULY 2012

Paradis Seekers (triptych), 22 x 15cm (each panel), Gouache on wasli, 2007-2008

TPAG ISSUE 32 JUNE/JULY 2012

Text and images: Daniela Beltrani

Blurring the lines

TPAG ISSUE 32 JUNE/JULY 2012

TPAG ISSUE 32 JUNE/JULY 2012

Evidence Cang Xin

Silence Clarke & Reilly

The Heretics Gate Doug Foster

MAY 4, 2012 MAY 4, 2012

TPAG ISSUE 32 JUNE/JULY 2012

MAY 19, 2012 MAY 19, 2012

TPAG ISSUE 32 JUNE/JULY 2012

Skinny Beautiful Women Series #92 Shi Wei 180cm x 120cm

TPAG ISSUE 32 JUNE/JULY 2012

SPELLBOUND SPELLBOUND EROTIKA EROT IKA EROTIKA

TPAG ISSUE 32 JUNE/JULY 2012

Noe III Xavier Comas, photograph (edition of 7)

Jiutamai Untitled 2 Xavier Comas, photograph (edition of 7)

Japanese Collapsible Fans Emi Uchida, ink on paper

The Comfortable Sofa Shi Wei, 180cm x 130cm

TPAG ISSUE 32 JUNE/JULY 2012

STATES OF THE ART

Lee Gwo Ying, Mixed media on paper

STATES OF THE ART

TPAG ISSUE 32 JUNE/JULY 2012

L.A. Zombie in SG Bruce LaBruce & Marla Bendini

Anemone, Orchid & Hyacinth Faisal Husni, inkjet on paper

Handsome: IVSG ran from 5 18 May at The Substation.

TPAG ISSUE 32 JUNE/JULY 2012

CANDY, ARTIFICIALLY ARTIFICIALLY SWEETENED

Text and images: Daniela Beltrani

NN Gallery founder Syed Nabil

TPAG ISSUE 32 JUNE/JULY 2012

What were your challenges then?

NN GALLERY: NN GALLERY: RAISING RAISING A PLATFORM

Text: Bharti Lalwani

TPAG ISSUE 32 JUNE/JULY 2012

Have these critical narratives shifted focus on more globalized themes?

TPAG ISSUE 32 JUNE/JULY 2012

SU JAK SUJAK SUJAK RAHMAN RAH MAN

TPAG ISSUE 32 JUNE/JULY 2012

1883 Puente Alto, Chile

DON ME LC HOR: DON MELCHOR: SPIRIT OF THE VINE OF THE

Photo: Summergate Wines 56 57

TPAG ISSUE 32 JUNE/JULY 2012