You’ve seen the gigantic potpourri of artworks at Art Stage Singapore 2018 last weekend. Now it’s time to narrow it down to your tastes — by visiting some stunning solo art exhibitions in Singapore, held at the various art galleries spread across town.
Going solo is an achievement for visual artists. Often having to fight for your attention as commercial gallery owners regularly display a hotchpotch of oeuvres from various talents, these one-man or one-woman shows are wisely planned to captivate. The artists have gained a certain reputation in the industry, attracting regulars who would patronise their artworks in greater quantity.
Here are five intriguing individuals and their works worth poring over and possibly procuring.
1. Wayan Novi at Art Porters Gallery
January 24 – April 15, 2018
Wayan Novi is a 29-year-old Balinese painter who lives and works in Yogyakarta. His solo exhibition at Art Porters Gallery, titled Wayan Novi’s Landscape of Memories, consists of eight paintings and one installation. Novi is known for his works that manipulate the eye. Paintings consist of dots and dashes where you must train yourself to find shapes and figures that evoke the impression of natural landscapes. Then, suddenly, teapots and kettles emerge. There is also the child-like drawing of a home, squiggly flower and is that a… cockerel? Novi is tremendously inspired by his childhood memories in Bali, making this one of the most playful solo art exhibitions to catch.
2. Kim Lim at STPI
January 13 – March 3, 2018
Kim Lim (nope, not that Kim Lim: Peter Lim’s daughter) was a British, Singapore-born sculptor and print-maker. She worked across various sculptural materials, such as wood, stone and marble, but her exquisite works on paper distinguishes her as a true pioneer. The exhibition at STPI will mark the first major solo exhibition of Kim Lim’s sculptures in Singapore. Titled Kim Lim: Sculpting Light, there are many poetic works of symmetry and fluidity on display — sculpted boulders that managed to write a new narrative for Asian sculptors in the global art scene. Lim drew inspiration from her travels around Asia, from sources as diverse as Khmer temples to Japanese gardens and early Chinese art.
3. David LaChapelle at Pearl Lam Galleries
December 22, 2017 – February 25, 2018
Veteran American photographer David LaChapelle’s career spans over 30 years. When he first started out in the late 1980s, the 17-year-old LaChapelle was offered his first job by Andy Warhol to shoot for a magazine. The now 54-year-old artist continues to balance editorial and fine art photography as a language of self-expression. He’s had many solo art exhibitions but his first one in Singapore, SCAPEs presented by Pearl Lam Galleries, includes selections from his early projects to selected works from LaChapelle’s newest photographic series. Never before seen in Southeast Asia, the New World series showcase the photographer’s early experimentation with painting on negatives to produce luminous narratives.
SEE ALSO: Ryan Su talks Andy Warhol
4. Hubert le Gall at Mazel Galerie
January 12 – March 25, 2018
Hubert Le Gall’s creations are storybook-like with a pinch of humour, yet totally functional. Each of his furniture pieces tells a story. The 57-year-old French artist-designer, who has been commissioned to design for luxury brands like Dior and Ruinart, holds his first solo show in Asia, thanks to Mazel Galerie. Hubert Le Gall: Welcome To My World features flower-power drawers, bunny armchairs befitting Hugh Hefner as well Hubert Le Gall’s most recent addition to his Flower Table series, the Orchid, which is only available in Singapore.
5. Jahan Loh at The Culture Story
January 13 – March 18, 2018
Jahan Loh is, many would say, Singapore’s leading Pop artist. He’s the man who famously made the colourful paintings of ‘Ma Ling’ luncheon meat and lychees in syrup tins — clearly a colloquial quasi-spoof of Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Cans. After a four-year hiatus from showcasing in Singapore, Loh returns home with one of the most fascinating solo art exhibitions in town. The Culture Story, a boutique art consultancy-slash-gallery in Singapore, is presenting Loh’s solo show called Genesis: God’s Terrarium. It presents eight new blue-and-pink paintings depicting scenes from the Garden of Eden and sculptures, including a larger-than-life monument of a strong Adam and voluptuous Eve rendered in bronze and silver finish. No faces here though, just bodies. In this seemingly alternate universe, humans look extra-terrestrial. Loh is pretty immersed in Japanese culture and draws inspiration from manga.
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