March Round-Up

Mnuchin Gallery, NAFA, Almine Rech, Nova Contemporary, Yavuz Gallery, Kathmandu Photo Gallery
By Vivyan Yeo

From left to right: Christine Ay Tjoe, ‘Layer As A Hiding Place’, 2013, oil on canvas, 180 x 200cm; Joan Mitchell, ‘Mandres’, 1961-62, oil on canvas, 222.3 x 200.5cm. Image courtesy of Mnuchin Gallery.

Joan Mitchell–Christine Ay Tjoe

Mnuchin Gallery presents a duo exhibition featuring works by Joan Mitchell and Christine Ay Tjoe, two pioneers of abstraction. Mitchell was active in America and France in the 1900s and was inspired by nature, poetry and personal memory. Ay Tjoe lives and works in Bandung, exploring spirituality, nature and religious mythology in Southeast Asia. Despite coming from different periods and cultural backgrounds, the two are connected by their use of dynamic, powerful gestures to convey deep emotion. Their practices transcend generational movements and traditional definitions of Eastern and Western Art. 

’Joan Mitchell–Christine Ay Tjoe‘ runs from 9 February to 18 March 2023 at Mnuchin Gallery, New York, United States. Click here for more information.

Supachai Areerungruang, ‘Inequality No.9’, 2022, charcoal on paper, 38 x 56cm. Image courtesy of Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts.

White Space: Lines at the Door 

Encouraging experimentation, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts brings together three artists based in Southeast Asia. They are Singapore-based Milenko Pvarčki, Ivan Lam from Malaysia and Supachai Areerungruang from Thailand. Comprising 40 artworks, the exhibition focuses on the language of drawing, often used in research as a bearer of ideas throughout the artistic process. It includes a variety of mediums such as pencil, graphite, charcoal, ink, pastel and watercolour. Visitors are encouraged to explore and compare how each artist employs drawing in unique ways. 

‘White Space: Lines at the Door’ runs from 22 February to 26 March 2023 at Lim Hak Tai Gallery NAFA Campus 1, Singapore. Click here for more information.

Roby Dwi Antono, ‘We are There Together’, 2022, oil on canvas, 200 x 140cm. Image courtesy of Almine Rech Gallery.

Yang Asing Itu (That Peculiar..)

‘Yang Asing Its (That Peculiar..)’ is Roby Dwi Antono’s first show as an artist represented by Almine Rech Gallery. Featuring 27 new artworks, the solo exhibition debuts paintings of uncanny creatures. They are simultaneously alien and familiar, possessing human-like and ethereal qualities. While inspired by kaiju, beasts often portrayed in Japanese media, these creatures are peaceful and face the audience with open arms. They also comprise elements from flora such as the orchid, jasmine flower, and pitcher plants. Together, these humanoids evoke themes of birth, harmony, balance and healing. 

‘Yang Asing Itu (That Peculiar..)’ runs from 8 March to 8 April 2023 at Almine Rech Gallery, Brussels, Belgium. Click here for more information.

Supawich Weesapen, ‘The Reverie of the Comet and the Soul’, 2023, oil on canvas, 200 x 280cm. Image courtesy of Nova Contemporary.

The Comet and The Nostalgic Souls 

Nova Contemporary presents the first solo show by Thai artist Supawich Weesapen. Titled ‘The Comet and The Nostalgic Souls’, it illustrates the sublime appearance of a comet that sparks feelings of “anemoia”, or surreal longing for an unfamiliar time. The works are supernatural and scientific, mimicking the glow of LCD screens in darkness. In what seems to be a stroke of fate, Weesapen completed this body of work at the start of 2023, when a rare green comet named C/2022 E3 (Z.T.F) approached Earth again after nearly 50,000 years. A book by the artist and a text written by Roger Nelson accompany the exhibition.

‘The Comet and The Nostalgic Souls’ runs from 18 February to 8 April 2023 at Nova Contemporary, Bangkok, Thailand. Click here for more information.

Ian Tee, ‘THE WHITENESS OF THE WHALE’, 2022, acrylic, target papers and collage on destroyed aluminium composite panel, 180 x 150cm. Image courtesy of the artist and Yavuz Gallery.

MOBY DICK (I AM THE DEVIL IN YOUR HEART)

Singapore artist Ian Tee’s third solo exhibition at Yavuz Gallery debuts a new series inspired by Herman Melville’s novel, Moby Dick. In this story, the white whale is a metaphor for an all-consuming obsession over forlorn hope. Featuring labour-intensive cuts into aluminium surfaces, Tee’s artworks mirror the drama and euphoria underlying a chase for something unattainable. An evolution of his ‘Target Paintings’, which began in 2019, this new series utilises comic strips, children’s books, target papers, reflective tape, prayer cards and more. Their gestural quality calls to mind action scenes from comic books, evoking a sense of conflict, energy and rebellion. 

‘MOBY DICK (I AM THE DEVIL IN YOUR HEART)’ runs from 11 March to 9 April 2023 at Yavuz Gallery, Singapore. Click here for more information.

Kathy Anne Lim, c. 2020, ‘Poolside’, kodak portra 400, medium format. Image courtesy of the artist.

White Noise

Curated by Akkara Naktamna, ‘White Noise’ is a solo exhibition by Singapore photographer Kathy Anne Lim. At once haunting and alluring, the series depicts plumes of smoke floating through curated foliage and community spaces. It focuses on how fumigation is common in Singapore and Bangkok, where diseases are often transmitted by insects. While employed for the good of the public, fumigation is harmful to human beings as well. The images allude to the metaphor of control, where political developments like corruption, democracy and free expression may appear charming but are potentially poisonous. 

‘White Noise’ runs from 4 March to 22 April 2023 at Kathmandu Photo Gallery, Bangkok, Thailand. Click here for more information.