Faris Heizer: Another Round

Cuturi Gallery is a next generation art gallery founded on the belief that art should be empowering and meaningful for everyone. A curator of change and a custodian of artistic diversity, Cuturi Gallery is a challenger of vested interests and of the status quo, pushing the boundaries of how galleries operate. The gallery connects broad audiences to high-quality art by diverse talents that speaks to the heart and tells the story of an undiscovered generation of aspiring artists that will have the art world aching for more. Diminishing aristocratic traditions and providing transparency in an art world that is at times daunting, Cuturi Gallery presents an inclusive and democratised art ecosystem which fosters greater collaboration, understanding and appreciation of art amongst artists, collectors and the industry at large.

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Cuturi Gallery is delighted to present Another Round, a solo presentation by Singaporean artist Faris Heizer (b. 1998, Singapore). In this new series of works, Heizer stages imagined scenes encompassing a tableaux of archetypal characters found in a fictional bar. Spanning scenes of a burly brawl mid-action to a secluded couple in the corner, Heizer captures the behavioural and the performative to correspond with his sustained investigation into the social organisation of our contemporary society. Heizer’s painterly sensibilities manifest in bold, gestural brushstrokes that both define and envelop his figurative depictions in the subdued atmosphere of a bar at once. Anchored by an earthy palette, figures lounge on deep-seated sofa of tufted upholstery, amidst the organised chaos of scattered bar stools. The bar serves as a gathering point for these anonymous figures; otherwise, a third place to connect with strangers and friends, between home and workplace. Accordingly, Heizer gives space and form to the dingy tenor of activities that unfold within such a prescribed setting. Each figure portrayed in this series borders on self-caricature to performing an extreme version of themselves under influence. The machismo; sentimental; and intrepid man then panders to a complex portrayal that probes at masculine norms, intertwined with the hedonistic tendencies of alcohol consumption, and the range of emotions it elicits. By bringing these works together, Heizer seamlessly navigates through the different imagined realities hidden beneath the clinking of glasses, and echoes of murmurs, shrouded in the thick air of alcohol, tobacco, and musk. Born in Singapore, Heizer graduated from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) with a Diploma in Fine Arts in 2018. His work has been featured in exhibitions at Sangkring Art Space, Yogyakarta (2019); Coda Culture, Singapore (2019); and Cuturi Gallery, Singapore (2020). Following his debut solo exhibition Shoe Shufflers at Coda Culture, Singapore (2020), Heizer took part in the group exhibition Body as a Dream at Art Agenda, Singapore (2021), and was included in the artist line-up as part of OH! Open House, Singapore (2021). Faris Heizer’s Another Round will be on view at Cuturi Gallery from 20 Mar to 4 Apr 2021.

Text by Dana Chan