Arts Picks: Catch works by Burmese painter Bagyi Aung Soe, four Singapore poets

Bagyi Aung Soe (1923-1990) – Book Launch and Solo Exhibition at Gajah Gallery

A pioneer of modern art in Myanmar, Bagyi Aung Soe shocked audiences with nudes and politics at a time when the military junta restricted artistic expression.

In 2021, the late painter’s first major solo exhibition was held at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, with more than 50 works loaned from Gajah Gallery founder and director Jasdeep Sandhu’s personal collection.

A curated selection, including several of the artist’s audacious felt-tip pen on paper works, will be on display at Gajah Gallery Singapore from Saturday to June 4.

A book of essays, including his own writings, will also be launched on Saturday from 2.30pm. Contributor and art historian Yin Ker, who co-curated the Paris exhibition, will deliver a talk on the painter’s modernist legacy at the event.

Mr Sandhu says: “Yin Ker’s insights into the artist’s works and contexts became one of the reasons a world-class institution like the Centre Pompidou began taking interest in hosting shows for significant Asian artists.

“I hope such rigorous, thoughtful research continues not only for Aung Soe, but also for other artists in our region.”

Where: 03-04 Gajah Gallery, 39 Keppel Road
MRT: Tanjong Pagar
When: Saturday to June 4; Mondays to Fridays, 11am to 7pm, Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, noon to 6pm (exhibition); Saturday, 2.30 to 5pm (book launch)
Admission: Free
Info:

str.sg/io9P

Lilla Torg: A Scandinavian Journey – Book Launch and Reading

Four Singaporean poets took a two-week writing road trip from Copenhagen to Stockholm in 2007. Sixteen years later, Dakota Books is publishing a book of poems written on the trail of their Scandinavian romp.

The book launches on Friday at Projector X: Picturehouse with readings by the poets – Heng Siok Tian, Yeow Kai Chai, Yong Shu Hoong and Toh Hsien Min – who have collectively published more than 20 solo poetry collections.

Curiously, the poems featured in Lilla Torg: A Scandinavian Journey are written using surrealist devices including the exquisite corpse, in which one poet’s ending line became another’s opening in a series of interlinked poems.

Yeow, who won the Singapore Literature Prize for English poetry in 2022, says: “We wanted to test ourselves, to place constraints and prompts, so we can write outside our comfort zones, and to take inspiration from the surroundings, and from one another.”

Audiences can also expect the quartet to share their experiences as ambassadors of Singapore poetry in Scandinavia.

Where: 05-01 Projector X: Picturehouse, 2 Handy Road
MRT: Dhoby Ghaut
When: Friday, 7pm
Admission: Free with registration
Info:

str.sg/io9m

Abhipsaa – A Seeking by Bijayini Satpathy

Be enthralled by Bijayini Satpathy, one of the foremost masters of the Indian classical dance odissi, in the Asian premiere of Abhipsaa – A Seeking at the Esplanade from Friday to Sunday.

Satpathy, who spent 25 years as performer and principal dancer with the renowned Nrityagram Dance Ensemble in southern India, has been praised by The New Yorker magazine for her “exquisite grace and technique”.

This performance, commissioned by Duke University and Baryshnikov Arts Center, comprises four choreographic works that reimagine traditional odissi forms through a modern and personal lens.

It plays as part of the Esplanade’s Raga 2023, a showcase of Indian performing arts throughout the year.

Where: Esplanade Theatre Studio, 1 Esplanade Drive
MRT: City Hall/Esplanade
When: Friday and Saturday, 8pm; Sunday, 3pm
Admission: $35 and $28 (concession)
Info:

str.sg/io9s