Where to go and what to see
By A&M

Singapore Art Week is upon us, and aside from S.E.A. Focus, here are our picks for what to visit:

Lucy Liu, ‘Velocity’, 2006-2008, mixed-media on canvas, 60” x 72”. Image courtesy of Ryan Foundation.

Lucy Liu & Shubigi Rao: Unhomed Belongings

Actress and artist Lucy Liu collaborates with local artist Shubigi Rao for this exhibition, drawing threads of similarities in both their artistic practices. Co-organised by The Ryan Foundation and National Museum of Singapore, the artworks displayed converge on themes of history and identity as well as the use of found objects. Shubigi Rao’s ‘Pulp’ finds a conversational partner in Lucy Liu’s ‘Lost and Found’; the former investigates the history of destroyed books and libraries, while the latter creates books of items found on the streets.

National Museum of Singapore, 12 January to 24 February.

Nandita Mukand, ‘Uncontained’, 2018, cloth, wool, thread, acrylic, resin, hot glue, sand, 95 x 95 x 4cm. Image courtesy of the artist.

Mind(less) Wilderness

‘Mind(less) Wilderness’ is Nandita Mukand’s solo exhibition, jointly presented by Miaja Gallery and Ikkan Art Gallery. Curated by Tanya Michele Amador, it showcases paintings and sculptures that interweave organic objects and synthetic materials with cloth. Like plants growing in the forest, Mukand parallels this to the workings of the urban mind and the interconnectedness of contemporary life. Grounding her work in resources such as neuroplasticity and Buddhist texts, she encases seeds and other objects found in nature with epoxy resin, in a commentary on how belief systems restrict our true potential.

Miaja Gallery, 17 January to 1 March.

Noor Iskandar, ‘Masjid 2’, 2018, digital print on fabric, 35cm x 35cm. Image courtesy of Amador Arts Projects.

REUNITE Young Talent Programme (YTP) 2019

‘REUNITE YTP 2019’ features previous winners of the Young Talent Programme, jointly organised by Affordable Art Fair Singapore and ION Art. In conjunction with ION Orchard’s ten-year anniversary, the exhibition is an opportunity to view works by artists Alecia Neo, Lavender Chang, Vellachi Ganesan, Hilmi Johandi, Noor Iskandar, Ezekiel Wong Kelwin, Khin Thethtar Latt and Zhang Fuming. Commenting on the timing of the show, Alan Koh, Fair Director of Affordable Art Fair, says, “This reunion during Singapore Art Week highlights the importance of supporting young talents and will show how far these artists have come since they first joined the Young Talent Programme.”

ION Art Gallery, 18 to 27 January.

Bart Was Not Here, ‘God Complex III’, 2018, acrylic on canvas, 152.4 x 110 cm. Image courtesy of Intersections Gallery.

Back to the Future and Playing Time & Space

Intersections Gallery continues to champion Burmese artists. In ‘Back to the Future’, Wunna Aung and Thu Myat recreate the past and modernise the future respectively. Wunna Aung paints portraits of the last dynasty of Burma in Warhol’s signature pop art style, while Thu Myat plays on humorous and modern depictions of traditional Burmese pagoda Guardians and Buddhist faith. For ‘Playing Time and Space’, the artists are joined by Bart Was Not Here. The sister exhibition charts new universes, using street art as a form of travel into a sanctuary outside of political disenchantments in Myanmar.

‘Back to the Future’, Royal Plaza on Scotts, 17 January to 17 March.

‘Playing Time and Space’, Intersections Gallery, 17 January to 18 February.

Phua Shi Ying, '敢當 - U+1F595 Talisman', 2019, ceramic and silver leaf, 48 x 19 x 34cm. Image courtesy of the artist.

ORTHODOX

‘ORTHODOX’ is a group exhibition by 12 emerging artists exploring ideas about personal faith. The artists coming together for the show have varied backgrounds but are all below the age of 30. It unfolds across two alternative artist-run spaces: Your MOTHER Gallery is set in the living residence of Jeremy Hiah and Lina Adam, while Coda Culture is a commercial gallery established by Seelan Palay in 2018. The show is organised by The Right Belief, a collective founded by Nicole Phua, who is also the co-curator of the show. This is the first of more exhibitions, open calls and activities the collective hopes to organise in the future.

’ORTHODOX’ runs at Your MOTHER Gallery, 19 January to 2 February, and at Coda Culture, 20 January to 3 February.

Chua Ek Kay, ‘A Quiet Singapore Afternoon’, 2006, chinese ink on paper, 97 x 90cm. Image courtesy of Art Agenda S.E.A.

The Modern Space

Sandy Ma, Associate Director of Phillips Hong Kong and Dickson Yewn, Creative Director of YEWN Contemporary Chinese Fine Jewelry will give talks followed by a cocktail reception on 25 January. The Modern Space houses events of Art Agenda S.E.A, an art agency with an art advisory and curatorial unit as well as 1B2G, which specialises in vintage Danish furniture. There will be an eclectic showcase of modern and contemporary Asian art, mid-century Danish design and contemporary Chinese fine jewelry.

The Modern Space, 315 Outram Road, #05-04 on 25 January.