Resident Artist -LatinArtSingapore Gallery

Meet the curator of LatinArtSingapore

by Helena A. Cochrane

Becca Meurer’s kids enjoy benefits from her work that few others can. As gallerist and curator for about 25 highly sought-after Venezuelan artists, Becca hangs beautiful original oil paintings in her home, including the kids’ bedrooms. Becca’s son was crushed to learn that the serene cerulean blues of the Clelia Benitez beach scene that hung in his bedroom was on its way to a buyer. When Becca informed the artist of the sale, and her son’s reaction, Clelia promptly offered a new one as a gift to him in her next shipment of paintings.

Clelia Benitez beach scene

Becca says she chose her home off Tanglin Road, with its broad, open spaces, brightly colored walls and diffuse light, to house the LatinArtSingapore collection. She is continuing the work here that she initiated while living in Venezuela from 2006-2008. During her time in Caracas, one piece at a local exhibition captivated her, so Becca reached out to the artist Carlos Alberto García personally to purchase his work. Through him, she connected with a network of caraqueño painters, because he was also a professor at the Institute of Fine Arts. Becca has cultivated her warm working relationship with these artists for over a decade, and learned as much about the business of art as the inspiration and technique that drive those she represents. Becca has carried LatinArt with her wherever her family has been stationed, whether in Moscow, Geneva, Caracas, Dusseldorf or Singapore, strengthening ties between makers and purchasers of art across the continents.

For the Meurers, this has meant sometimes hosting artists in their home over several weeks. The family have watched, transfixed, as painter Bruno García, sculpted over coffee and dessert. One evening during his stay, in a seemingly casual manner, he manipulated hanger wires into lively human figures, working out kinks in his ideas about form.

Becca Muerer with a Jose Guedez piece

From growing to understand the market, to expanding her proficiency in appreciating the art, Becca says that her work with LatinArtSingapore’s painters has been an extraordinary path. Ultimately, curating and promoting these paintings builds connections around the globe and through the heart. Talking with the painters and learning about their creative arcs, she has gained deeper insight into their imagery and technique in the paintings. Further, Becca recognizes that art enthusiasts may need a lot of time for a painting to grow enough on them so that they would want to purchase it. She eschews the hard sell: “People buy the pieces that they dream about, the ones that won’t let them go.” The highest reward for this endeavor is “the process of seeing other people fall in love with a piece of art.”

Eduardo Azuaje painting

Indeed, the thrilling variety of artwork in Becca’s house gallery pulls the viewer in. What we know superficially about recent hard times in Venezuela is countered in these works’ vibrant colors, geometric compositions, and the natural and urban spaces recreated and idealized on canvas. Becca Meurer’s connection to the painting community in Caracas, Venezuela builds opportunity on both ends of the market. For the painters, whom she describes as generous, creative, energetic and resilient, LatinArtSingapore extends their presence in the global market. Their work, already in museums, galleries, and private homes in the Americas, is landing with happy clients in Europe and Asia. For the buyers, Becca has opened a window to an exciting modern esthetic arising from the mixture of natural and urban spaces alternating on the canvas. She’s alert to her unique situation: “We’ve met some extraordinary people, and this has been a very special journey.”

LatinArtSingapore has a new exhibition this fall, featuring works recently curated for the discerning buyer in Singapore. You'll find the gallery on both Facebook and Instagram @ latinartsingapore, as well as online at www.latinartsingapore. com. Message LatinArtSingapore directly on any of these platforms to arrange a visit to the collections.

Energía Poética - LatinArtSingapore's latest exhibition

Since moving from Philadelphia in 2018, Helena has been active with AWA's Walking with Women, Writers' Group and International Choir as well as with Urban Sketchers of Singapore.