Singapore is always full of things to do on the weekend. I really should make more of it! This weekend I visited the 2nd edition of Singapore Contemporary Art Show at Suntec Convention and Exhibition Centre.
The show offered a wide range of high-quality, collectible works from all around the world. With over 3000 works of art to take in, it was a great way to spend a few hours indoors (as the weather was miserable!).
Galleries, museums and institutions from Japna, China, Singpore, United States of America, Taiwan, Vietnam, United Kingdom, Malaysia, Australia, South Korea, Pakistan, Brazil, Peru, India and Hong Kong occupied a space of 6000 square feet! There was a look to see!
So what's it all about. It's about being innovative. Giving traditional art a twist. Or seeing things in new ways. Here are a few of my favourite pieces...
People Love
Kim Byung Jin's work really intrigued me. I'm a massive fan of all things type and love the intricacy of these pieces.
"Kim Byung Jin is a highly sought after artist by developers from the world’s major cities, to fill their hotel lobbies and offices buildings. His work is composed of countless letter, logos, or shapes that build into another figure, showing two images with one work. It is up to the viewer to decide which image he or she chooses to see. His work is a highly elaborate and time consuming. The artwork is first given its initial look through 3D digital imaging or sketches. Based on the sketch, Kim creates the shape using clay, plaster, or FRP plastic. On top of this base shape, he painstakingly molds together these countless shapes or letters in steel to create the exact same shape of the clay. After careful sanding of the molded areas, he layers multiple high quality car paint over an extended period of time while heating at 200 degrees in a kiln. Kim says he finds truthfulness in this labor intensive nature of his work. Popular with hotels from world’s major cities like Hong Kong, Dubai, and New York, he is currently busy working on artworks to decorate the lobbies of Park Hyatt in Hainan, China and Mandarin Oriental in Macau."
Standard Portrait, Wu Guanzhong
This piece won Indosuez Wealth Management Best of Show. This is a portrait of and tribute to Wu Guanzhong, a contemporary Chinese painter who was widely considered a founder of modern Chinese painting.
"Shen Shaomin is an artist based in Sydney and Beijing. He has exhibited internationally in exhibitions including the 2006 Liverpool Biennial, Mahjong at Museum of Fine Arts in Switzerland, and Dialogue at East West Gallery in Melbourne. Shen Shaomin's art is designed to make people think about the world around them and the impact that they have on the world, as individuals and as members of the human race. He first became famous for creating fantastic creatures out of skeletons. These include a giant mosquito, a centaur, and a three-headed beast. In an interview from December 2006, Shen said, "Some people seem to think that I make only one type of work. But they are only works from one stage of my life. In each stage I choose a different material." He has since passed through many stages of artistic creation. Today, his works include skeletons of mythical creatures, experimental fields (also constructed out of bones), bonsai, the Summit installation, Fighter X, and Kowtow Pump."
Old Pine Tree
Lee Gil-Rae has used nature as his muse for 20 years. He crafts sculptures from steel and copper pipes. With rapid deforestation, Lee Gil-Rae's trees narrate the artificial nature of that city dwellers so closely identify with.
"Lee Gil-Rae graduated from Kyunghee University after studying in the department of art education, later going on to gain his Masters in the discipline of Sculpture. For twenty years, Lee used nature as his muse and crafted sculptures from steel and copper pipes. With rapid deforestation, Lee Gil-Rae's trees narrate the artificial nature that city dwellers so closely identify with. The man-made and constructed simulation of nature is apparent in all towns and cities. Nature is removed and confined to make room for the ever-expanding population. Lee Gil-Rae has participated in several exhibitions in Korea, America and Japan and features in numerous permanent collections. He constructs enormous forests of copper, capturing this rapidly depleting resource for eternity."
American Sandscapes
Robert Dutesco's silver gelatine selenium prints were mesmerising and relaxing. A Romanian-born Canadian artist, photographer and filmmaker. The American Sandscapes series were documented between 1994 and 2004, when Dutesco travalled across the southwestern United States, California, Utah, New Mexico and Colorado.
"Roberto Dutesco is a Romanian-born Canadian artist, photographer and filmmaker. He travels and works worldwide and resides in his three homes, in Montreal, New York City and São Paulo. Dutesco began his career as a fashion photographer in Montreal, Canada. In 1994, he shifted the focus of his work to long-term personal projects that explore his environmental interests and natural subject matter. His photographs of the landscapes, wildlife and horses of Sable Island have been on permanent exhibition since 2006 in Soho, New York City, at two locations."
To read more about Robert Dutesco and to see more of his work, please visit http://dutesco.com
Beached Bums
I loved this piece by Rhonda Cao, and was interested if you had to get your own sand if you purchased it! Sculpture with a twist!
"Rhonda Cao loves working with the human form. She also likes to include some irreverence in her work to balance the traditional medium of bronze that she usually works in. She would like to think that her work makes people smile and for her, it is really important that people want to touch her work and fee comfortable in doing so."
