Arts Picks: Catch South-east Asian art for free at Richard Koh Fine Art, STPI and T:>Works
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Vietnamese artist Phuc Thien Hoang's Discrimination (2020) will show at Richard Koh Fine Art.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF ART LABOR
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Diverse Visions: A Group Exhibition Of South-east Asian Artists
Explore the cultural richness of South-east Asia in a group exhibition of nine young artists from across the region.
Fans of Paul Cezanne might recognise the French painter’s imprint on Vietnamese artist Phuc Thien Hoang’s Discrimination (2020). But Phuc’s work animates the lives of Ho Chi Minh City’s inhabitants in a dramatic and colourful tableau that is entirely his own.
Another highlight is Malaysian artist Haffendi Anuar’s series titled Site. Haffendi stitches a variety of textiles – kain pelikat (stripe-patterned sarong), rice sacks, denim, felt and canvas – into a rectangular collage that is a fascinating blend of tradition and modernity.
The exhibition at Richard Koh Fine Art also features works from Cambodia, Thailand and Singapore.
Where: 01-26 Gillman Barracks, 47 Malan Road str.sg/i4iM
MRT: Labrador Park
When: Till April 22, Tuesdays to Saturdays, 11am to 7pm
Admission: Free
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Rirkrit Tiravanija: We Don’t Recognise What We Don’t See
Thai artist Rirkrit Tiravanija’s Untitled 2020 (Nature Morte) (2023) features 20 tombstones for extinct animals engraved onto aluminium plates.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF STPI CREATIVE WORKSHOP & GALLERY
Internationally acclaimed Thai artist Rirkrit Tiravanija has a new solo exhibition at STPI Creative Workshop & Gallery, curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist, star director of the Serpentine Galleries in London.
On display are 40 artworks created during the Buenos Aires-born artist’s third residency with STPI. The exhibition offers a haunting glimpse into themes of extinction and the end of civilisation.
In a series of 20 “tombstones”, Tiravanija depicts the extinction of animal species – from the dodo bird (1662) to the Pinta Island tortoise (2012) – using aluminium plates in a graveyard arrangement.
The exhibition’s titular work, We Don’t Recognise What We Don’t See, peers into the bond between an orang utan mother and child. The work, which might appear like a blank canvas at first sight, becomes visible only under ultraviolet light.
The show is part of STPI’s year-long celebration of its 21st anniversary.
Where: STPI Creative Workshop & Gallery, 41 Robertson Quay str.sg/i4iA
MRT: Fort Canning
When: Saturday to June 4
Admission: Free
Info:
T:>Works’ PerForm Open Academy Of Arts And Activations
Vietnam-based art collective Art Labor’s Hammock Cafe at Times Museum in Guangdong, China.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF ART LABOR
Hear from artists around the world at theatre company T:>Works’ inaugural gathering of its 14 international fellows under the PerForm programme.
Ho Chi Minh City-based art collective Art Labor – comprising artists Thao Nguyen Phan, Truong Cong Tung and Arlette Quynh-Anh Tran – will deliver the opening keynote on April 13 at 7.30pm.
Curiously, the collective does not create single artworks but develops ground-up initiatives, such as the one visitors will be treated to.
The atmosphere will resemble an urban picnic as audiences are invited to lounge in hammocks during the lecture. The night begins with a Vietnamese coffee ritual and ends with a supper reception of Indonesian food from Tanamera Coffee.
On April 14 and 15, members of the public can also attend workshops on topics as diverse as oracle reading and African literature.
The event culminates in a series of talks by all the fellows, presented in a marathon format on April 15, which stretches from 11am to 1am the next day. Audiences are encouraged to stay for as long – or as short – as they wish.
Where: T:>Works, 72-13 Mohamed Sultan Road performfellowship.org/open-academy
MRT: Fort Canning
When: April 13 to 16, various times
Admission: Free with registration
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