Dear Painter at Sundaram Tagore Gallery is a show curated by Singaporean June Yap that examines painting in the context of contemporary art. Nine home-grown and Singapore-based artists present works that interrogate the notion of painting.
BEHIND BLUE EYES (2015)
By Kai Lam, painting installation, 230.5x208x52.5cm
This installation presents a painting as a peep show - the audience cannot see the full work and is instead made to look closely at its individual details. The artist used existing materials, such as an old door and a broken radio, that add an interesting texture to the work.
AFTER FONTANA (2015)
By Francis Ng, plaster de Paris reinforced, 200x150x50cm
The frame is central to this work as viewers get to see the gallery framed within the hole of this sculpture. Multidisciplinary artist Ng looks at the illusion of canvas as a 3-D space.
MELATONE 4S_16S_-139_-120 (FAR SIDE) (2015)
By Jeremy Sharma, zinc bonded onto high-density polystyrene foam, 213x122x23cm
The far side of the moon, as seen 55km from above its surface, comes into focus with Sharma's work. The artist used heated zinc particles on polystyrene foam to create a powdery texture that mimics the surface of the moon.
THE WAIT WITHOUT WAITING (2015)
By Chun Kai Qun, 2-channel HD video, 90 seconds looped
This mesmerising video work, which depicts the movement of taxis zipping across a quiet road at night, is an examination of how paint is applied to a canvas, by drawing the brush from one end to another. In this case, the paint is red and green - the colours of taxi lights.
#90 (2015)
By Warren Khong, acrylic, wall paint, wood and plaster, 184x80x10cm
Khong plays with light and space in a way that recalls the works of American artist James Turell. There are colours that appear to be the result of the interplay between light and shadow, but which have been painted by the artist.
IN OTHER WORDS, PUT IT DIFFERENTLY, THAT IS TO SAY (2015)
By Chun Kaifeng, installation, various dimensions
Chun's work references the miter joint, which holds two parts to form a corner. This installation takes common fixtures of urban life - a pair of elongated cans and a quarter of a watermelon, for example - and makes them look odd and yet in harmony with one another.
EXPLOSION OF HEAT, IN MY DARK SIBERIA (2015)
By Martin Constable, oil paint on medium-density fibreboard, 70x60cm
Nanyang Technological University teaching professor Constable painted this work based on a photograph he had taken, playing on the idea of how the invention of the daguerreotype (an early form of photography) in the 1800s was expected to lead to the death of painting.
SOLID TURN LIQUID (2015)
By Jane Lee, mixed media on fibreglass canvas and poured enamel, various dimensions
This work by Lee, known for her tactile paintings, looks at the idea of movement in painting, where it looks like the paint has flowed from one painting to another. Here, painting is deconstructed and takes on a sculptural form.
WHERE: 01-05 Gillman Barracks, 5 Lock Road WHEN: Till Oct 25, Tue - Sat, 11am - 7pm, Sun, 11am - 6pm. Closed on Mon ADMISSION: Free INFO: www.sundaramtagore.com
Nabilah Said
