Art Stage Singapore is back! Dubbed the “flagship Asian art event of the region” and now in its fourth year, the annual art fair has a strong focus on the Asian (or as Founder and Fair Director, Mr Lorenzo Rudolf, correctly put it at a media preview – Asia-Pacific) art scene. This years sees the introduction of eight country and regional Platform, each curated by a leading international curator.
Art Stage Singapore provides an amazing array of art work to immerse oneself in.
The largest platform is the Southeast Asia Platform, which I must say is particularly intriguing, with some 31 works of artists from Cambodia, Indonesia, The Philippines, Myanmar, Malaysia, Laos, Thailand and Singapore being presented. Besides Myanmar’s pioneering abstract expressionist Soe Niang’s creation of reverse sketches on the walls of a large box to attract one’s attention (see previous post: We Are Asia – Art Stage Singapore 2014), there are several eye-catching works.
The writing on the wall. Detail of Myanmar artist Soe Niang’s attempt to create a series of reverse sketches on the black coated interior walls of a huge box.
One that I was taken by is Laotian artist Bounpaul Phothyzan’s Controlled Desire – a sphere of suspended human shaped figurines – human shaped fruit, Na Li Phon or ‘Miracle Fruit’, which according to Hmong folklore brings good fortune. The work is an attempt on the artist’s part to bring attention to social and environmental concerns and to put the spotlight on the human desire to manipulate nature for self-satisfaction.
‘Controlled Desire’ by Bounpaul Phothyzan.
Another set of work that will catch the eye is that of Filipino artist Mark Justiniani, which uses reflective media to good effect in the artist’s attempt to explore the principle of Superposition. Also represented in the country/regional platforms are India, China, Taiwan, Australia, Korea, Japan, and Central Asia. One that did get a fair bit of attention at the media preview was China’s Chen Qiulin’s The Hundred Surnames in Tofu – a work that looks at Chinese culture (in its surnames and their link to lineage) and its gradual decay and decomposition through the use of tofu.
Mark Justiniani’s ‘Tunnel’.
Another of Mark Justiniani’s study of Superposition.
Thai artist Manit Kantasak’s ‘Milky Way’ – an installation of wood engravings in 194 jars.
A close-up of Bounpaul Phothyzan’s Miracle Fruit in ‘Controlled Desire’.
Thai artist Ruangsak Anuwatwimon’s Hocus-Pocus – a table with glass from Central World Plaza shattered during the politically motivated violent protests of 2010.
Indian artist Raghava KK’s ‘Redrawing the Map’ in the India Platform. The work is a playful take on the ‘beautifully impossible India’.
India Platform curator Bose Krishnamachari (R) at the India Platform.
Sakshi Gupta’s take on transformation at the India Platform.
The Central Asia Platform features video installations of several Central Asian artists.
‘The Hundred Surnames in Tofu’ by China artist Chen Qiulin.
Taiwan’s Tu Pei-Shih’s ‘Making Fantasies’ which has a NC16 rating.
Besides the country and regional platforms, there are some 158 galleries represented at the fair, 75% of which are based in the Asia-Pacific. The galleries have, as in previous years, brought in an amazing array of work, from the works of well-known and established artists to the quirky and bizarre works of contemporary and emerging artists.
Facing-off. Emerging artist Sam Jinks’ ‘Divide’.
The most photographed work is probably that of Korean artist Choi Jeong Hwa’s inflatable ‘Love Me’.
Scream has some rather quirky pieces including Sally Fuerst’s oil on canvas work ‘Robot’.
More from Scream.
Also at Scream.
Art Stage Singapore 2014 runs from 16 to 19 January 2014 and is being held at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre. Besides the fair proper, there are also lots of fringe and community events and tours to look forward to including public talks, Platform Art Tours and workshops. More information is available at the fair’s website, Art Stage Singapore, including a list of exhibitors, a guide to the fair and information on ticketing.
Opera Gallery has its usual collection of Dali’s sculptural works.
Taiwan Platform curator Rudy Tseng speaking at the media preview yesterday, as Korea Platform’s Kim Sung Won and Japan Platform’s Mami Kataoka look on.
More photographs taken at a preview of Art Stage 2014:
The Long and Winding Road 