Arts Picks: Three art exhibitions to visit this weekend
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Cultural Medallion recipient Ang Ah Tee with his painting at Grantral Mall @ MacPherson.
PHOTO: LOW SOK LENG
Follow topic:
Singapore Masters In MacPherson
More than 50 works by 25 of Singapore’s Nanyang artists have been brought together for a group show at Grantral Mall @ MacPherson, located next to Tai Seng MRT station.
The second edition of art gallery Artualize’s Bringing The Arts To The Community programme comes after a successful inaugural effort at Tan Tock Seng Hospital in May.
Artualize owner Low Sok Leng, who is the daughter of second-generation artist Low Hai Hong, says: “Grantral Mall @ MacPherson is located near many light industrial estates in the MacPherson and Ubi area and, with the relocation of the Malaysia tour agencies from Golden Mile, it is also the place to take coaches to Malaysia.
“The most common response from our first exhibition at Tan Tock Seng Hospital was that we should hold such exhibitions in more places and let more people enjoy art. So, yes, you can now see some art during your lunchtime and before you take your bus for a holiday in Malaysia.”
Artists on show include four Cultural Medallion recipients – Ang Ah Tee, Tay Chee Toh, Chng Seok Tin and Lim Tze Peng.
Works by second-generation artists Koeh Sia Yong, Low Puay Hua, Siew Hock Meng and Low Hai Hong are also part of the exhibition, which spans the mediums of oil, acrylic, watercolour, Chinese ink, calligraphy and sculpture.
Low Sok Leng has planned another pop-up at CityLink Mall from July 31 to Aug 21. She has also been making efforts to promote Singapore’s Chinese artists, including recording interviews with them in a series available on YouTube titled Stories Of Artists ( youtube.com/@artualize
Where: Grantral Mall @ MacPherson, 601 MacPherson Road str.sg/iion
MRT: Tai Seng
When: Till July 30, 11am to 6pm daily
Admission: Free
Info:
Fools @ Mr Lim’s Shop Of Visual Treasures
Tang Da Wu with his artwork at Mr Lim’s Shop Of Visual Treasures
PHOTO: MR LIM’S SHOP OF VISUAL TREASURES
While 2022’s Fools show at gallery Mr Lim’s Shop Of Visual Treasures in Haji Lane included three face masks created by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, the exhibition in 2023 has attracted the support of four pillars of Singapore art – Liu Kang, Goh Beng Kwan, Tang Da Wu and Cheo Chai Hiang.
But their participation is meant to draw attention to the works of 27 relatively unknown artists, as the exhibition aims to show support to those who are bent on pursuing art.
Mr Lim Chiao Woon, who left his corporate job to open the gallery in 2021 after he was diagnosed with cancer, says: “It brings me great joy (to put on the show) and great sadness. The sadness is from seeing talented individuals give up their practice due to the lack of support, financially and emotionally. Many are on financial aid and have huge fights with their families. Pursuing what they feel passionately for is a lonely and arduous journey.”
This group of artists includes 42-year-old Ezzam Rahman, whose works of sculpture, installation, digital media and performance are often time-based and ephemeral; and Kim Ji-hyun, 24, a visual artist who explores themes of despair, desire and melancholy.
Established artist Tang has contributed a granite sculpture cut by hand into a split banana leaf that is a 20-year-old work in progress – the perfect embodiment of art as a persistent and relentless pursuit of something foolish.
Where: Mr Lim’s Shop Of Visual Treasures, 8 Haji Lane str.sg/iioh
MRT: Bugis
When: Saturday to Aug 6. Wednesdays to Sundays, noon to 7pm. Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays
Admission: Free
Info:
Kim Kang-Yong: The Boundaries Between Reality And Image
Kim Kang-yong’s solo exhibition.
PHOTO: THE COLUMNS GALLERY
For South Korean contemporary artist Kim Kang-yong, born in 1950, a simple brick can be eloquent.
His mixed-media works play with tessellation, the protrusion and the absence of bricks, giving remarkable range to a simple motif that has been the building block of cities.
More than 50 of his works are on show at The Columns Gallery in Gillman Barracks and challenge viewers’ perception of reality.
The gallery says Kim’s detailed, neutral and mechanical representation of bricks can be considered a Korean reinterpretation of hyperrealism.
“The theme of his work involves repetition and formativeness, and his works are about the industrialisation of our society,” says the gallery.
“Simulacre, in which an image comes independent of the original, becomes far more real than the original itself and eventually serves as its own reality.”
Where: The Columns Gallery, 01-35 Gillman Barracks, 22 Lock Road str.sg/iio7
MRT: Labrador Park
When: Till Sept 16. Tuesdays to Fridays, 11am to 7pm; Saturdays and Sundays, noon to 6pm. Closed on Mondays and public holidays
Admission: Free
Info:
