October Round-Up

The Koppel Project Hive, 16albermarle Project Space, NAFA, Objectifs, Galerie A2Z, Seoul Museum of Art
By Vivyan Yeo

KV Duong, ‘Too foreign for home, too Foreign for here No 4 - I'm coming Home B’, 2020, acrylic and collage on mulberry paper and canvas, 122 x 92 x 4cm. Image courtesy of the artist.

The Lost and The Remained

Contemplating the relationship between humanity and nature, ‘The Lost and The Remained’ features works by 12 Southeast Asian artists living in London. They comprise paintings, installations, films and performances by Indonesian artist Aliansyah Caniago, Philippine practitioner Carina Santos, Vietnamese-born KV Duong and more. Together, they explore the coexistence of multiple traditions and the discovery of one’s roots through art. The show is presented by An.other Asian, an artist-led collective striving to create safe spaces for Southeast Asian artists to connect and exchange knowledge. 

‘The Lost and The Remained’ runs from 27 to 30 October 2022 at The Koppel Project Hive, London, England. Click here to find out more.

I Gusti Ayu Kadek Murniasih, ‘Nyut Nyut’, 2001, acrylic on canvas, 150 x 100cm. Image courtesy of 16albermarle Project Space.

Our Grandfather Road

Australia-based 16albermarle Project Space presents ‘Our Grandfather Road’, a showcase of the works of 17 women and transgender artists from a private collection of Southeast Asian art. They include Bussaraporn Thongchai from Thailand, I Gusti Ayu Kadek Murniasih from Indonesia, Soe Yu Nwe from Myanmar, Wawi Navarozza from the Philippines and many more. Curated by Jennifer Yang, the exhibition resists ideas of a universal feminine or regional experience. Instead, the works focus on how the body remembers and is deeply impacted by their specific, lived reality. 

‘Our Grandfather Road’ is on show from 20 August to 15 October 2022 at 16albermarle Project Space, Newtown, Australia. Click here to find out more.

Tang Da Wu, ‘Kill the Artist’, 2022, oil on canvas, 204 x 160cm. Image courtesy of Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts.

Art School SG: Tang Da Wu “This One is Dangerous”

Singapore artist Tang Da Wu’s third double-bill exhibition at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts is an inquiry into the nature of art schools and explores the specific context of teaching and practising art in Singapore. Titled ‘Art School SG: Tang Da Wu “This One is Dangerous”’, the exhibition showcases new paintings, drawings, site-specific installations and live performances. To close the exhibition on 30 October, the artist will perform his work ‘Rubbish is Coming’, which is free for all to attend. 

‘Art School SG: Tang Da Wu “This One is Dangerous”’ runs from 1 to 30 October 2022 at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore. Click here to find out more.

Mike HJ Chang, 'Cinema-Going-Surrogates', 2016-ongoing, photography series. Image courtesy of the artist.

Sugar Pills for a Bitter World 

Embracing “Gen-Z humour” and “Post-Dada irony”, curator Daniel Chong brings together five Singapore artists whose works toggle between comedy and wisdom. Created by artists Eng Kai Er, Desiree Tham, Mike HJ Chang, Ryan Lim, Yeyoon Avis and Zi Yi, each work represents a placebo pill to help us navigate the chaos of our age. They explore themes such as capitalism, surveillance, mindfulness, social dynamics and geology. The exhibition was borne from the Curator Open Call 2022 by Objectifs, which provided mentorship by curator Sam I-shan. 

‘Sugar Pills for a Bitter World’ is on show from 23 September to 6 November 2022 at Objectifs, Singapore. Click here to find out more. 

Trần Trọng Vũ, ‘Long métrage’, 2022, oil on canvas, 158x100cm. Image courtesy of Galerie A2Z.

Tôi & Moi

Curated by Lê Thiên-Bảo, this debut solo exhibition by Trần Trọng Vũ in Paris showcases paintings created in the last 20 years, from 2002 to 2022. The artist left Vietnam during Doi Moi, a programme of political and economic reforms, to pursue an artistic career in Paris in 1989. The first floor of ‘TÔI & MOI’ features colourful images reminiscent of propaganda art in Vietnam, and the next floor centres on Vũ’s experience in France. In these works, hazy recollections of the past and the ongoing present interweave to form imaginary and at times absurd worlds. 

‘Tôi & Moi’ runs from 6 October to 12 November 2022 at Galerie A2Z, Paris, France. Click here to find out more.

Duto Hardono, Variation & Improvisation for ‘In Harmonia Progressio’, 2016–2017, actualisation of an instructional score by performers. Performance view, Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Nusantara (Museum MACAN), Jakarta, Indonesia. Photo by Duto Hardono. Image courtesy of the artist and Seoul Museum of Art.

Scoring the Words

Seoul Museum of Art presents ‘Scoring the Words’, a group show that imagines itself as a poem of artistic practices. A song of communal resilience, the exhibition features 14 artists, curators, researchers and musicians who have been engaging with political, social and cultural issues within Asia. They include installations and performances by Southeast Asian practitioners Chulayarnnon Siriphol, Duto Hardono, Jason Wee and Jompet Kuswidananto. Rather than delineating a regional identity, the show acknowledges common experiences of colonialism and developmentalism and examines the possibility of particularly “Asian” reflections.

‘Scoring the Words’ is on show from 1 September to 20 November 2022 at Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea. Click here to find out more.