NOW & THEN
SETTING THE STAGE BY GILLY BEAL IMAGES COURTESY OF ART STAGE AND THE ARTISTS
Ahmad Zakii Anward - I Am Not What I Am
THIS YEAR’S ART STAGE SAW 51,000 VISITORS PASS THROUGH ITS DOORS OVER FIVE DAYS, WITH THE EVENT SEEMING BUZZIER THAN EVER. ITS KEY SELLING POINT IS ITS STRONG ASIAN IDENTITY, AND THE FACT THAT IT PROMOTES EMERGING ARTISTS AND GALLERIES FROM THE SOUTH EAST ASIAN REGION. IN ALL, OVER 200 GALLERIES FROM 29 COUNTRIES –75 PERCENT OF WHICH WERE FROM ASIA-PACIFIC − WERE REPRESENTED. GALLERIES FROM JAPAN, KOREA AND TAIWAN WERE WELL REPRESENTED, SO THERE WERE BRUSHSTROKES APLENTY. BUT THE FOCUS WAS ON SOUTHEAST ASIA, WITH SINGAPORE AT IT’S CENTRE, IN A BID TO DEVELOP AND GROW THE REGION’S ARTISTIC PRESENCE. A curated South East Asia pla orm, featuring the works of 32 emerging ar sts from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore was a focal point for visitors and collectors alike – a er all, it’s always be er to buy early when it comes to an ar st’s career. Curated by Singaporean curator Khim Ong, Eagles Fly, Sheep Flock – Biographical Imprints: Ar s c Prac ces in South East Asia, presented a diverse range of work – from pain ng, installa on and photography to video and performance. A standout ar st was Singaporean painter and video ar st Hilmi Johandi, who has been steadily gaining awards and interna onal exposure. He showed two large-scale pain ngs: Framing Camellia and The Vernissage. Johandi takes images from post-war Singapore films, archival photographs, found footage, and uses them as reference in his works, which are set against the backdrop of a Singapore that is rapidly changing. There is a strong feeling of nostalgia in his work and his pain ngs are emo ve and nuanced. Being Human, a special exhibi on of 16 Malaysian ar sts who use the human figure as their main subject, featured works by Ahmad Zakii Anwar, Chong Ai Le and Kow Leong Kiang. Organised by ar st collec ve F Klub (F is for figure), this group is perhaps trying to go against the grain in the contemporary art world’s love of conceptual and mul media work. The red dots next to many of the pain ngs is testament to the 8
FEBRUARY- MARCH 2015
enduring popularity of figura on among collectors in the region. But figura ve work was not the only form on show - Malaysian gallerist Richard Koh featured many abstract ar sts from Malaysia and the region.
“an important role to play in helping to build the eco-system to support contemporary art from the region.”
Malaysian ar st Wong Perng Fey showed a series of textural abstract works with the gallery. In these oil and enamel works, the picture plane is more like an arena where the ar st plays out a series of gestures and incorporates the accident into the surface. A young Malaysian ar st, Yeoh Choo Kuan, working within the abstract expressionist tradi on of pain ng, creates thick impasto surfaces in his work. He places string at intervals across the canvas as he applies paint. Once dry, he removes the string to create strong linear pa erns. Many regional galleries, like the Thai La Lanta Fine Art, made their debut this year, showing work by Thai ar st Thanawat Promsuk. His delicate series of in mate work included faded images of the ar st himself, or people who have played an important part in his life such as his girlfriend. What is interes ng about these works is how he has unpicked the raw canvas in the centre of the image, leaving behind a tangle of threads that – for the ar st – communicate the complex es between two people. Art Stage Singapore has to be applauded for bringing South East Asian art to a wider interna onal audience. As Lorenzo Rudolf, Founder and Fair Director says, the fair has
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Kow Leong Kiang - Lonely Assassin