Presented by
ART STAGE SINGAPORE 2017
Feed your soul and nourish your creativity with a healthy dose of Asian contemporary art at Art Stage Singapore 2017.
Art Stage kicks off the international art season in Singapore. This year it takes place Jan. 12-15, 2017 at Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Centre from 12pm–8pm each day, and 11pm–6pm on Sunday.
The great thing about Art Stage is you don’t need to be a hardcore art buff to appreciate the exhibitions. Each exhibition, ranging from performance pieces to paintings, showcases both established and up-and-coming talent so you can discover, learn about and understand the Southeast Asian art scene.
On that note, here’s something both avid art aficionados and amateur art lovers can appreciate: five of the Southeast Asian artists we’re most excited about.
Ivan Lam, Malaysia
Ivan Lam, Vending machine / Image courtesy of the artist and Wei-Ling Gallery
Ivan Lam and Wei-Ling Gallery collaborated with Art Stage Singapore to produce a very smart and deeply meaningful art piece: a vending machine. If you were expecting more paintings and less Cheetos, well, read on.
“Vending Art” is a work of art and also a distributor of art, playing with the concept of the show itself. Ivan took artwork from artists around the region and essentially “smuggled” them in by including them inside the working vending machine. Is art now a commodity? Have we found a way to bypass middlemen who sell art? Does this project take sides, divide or unite artists? Talk about a conversation starter!
It’s hard to pin Ivan down to one art form or one source of inspiration. His work spans mediums and ideas from popular culture, autobiographies, current affairs and every day vistas.
Svay Sareth, Cambodia
Svay Sareth, I, Svay Sareth, eat rubber sandals / Image courtesy of the artist and SA SA BASSAC
Svay grew up in Cambodia during a time of political turmoil. He began making art during his childhood in a refugee camp. After studying in France he returned to live and work in Siam Reap. His work at Art Stage, “I, Svay Sareth, eat rubber sandals”, is performance art, shown on looping HD video.
This unique piece is somewhere between comedy and suffering. It started from an encounter with a rubber sandal vendor. For the artist, and those who experienced the Khmer Rouge first hand, rubber sandals represent corrupted communism.
Svay purchases the sandals and the motorbike and proceeds to gnaw them (the sandals, not the bike) to bits, thus changing the story, resisting Cambodia’s fast-growing consumer society and refusing to “consume political ideologies that continue to maintain low education and high poverty levels.”
Svay often makes a statement on conflict by using materials and processes associated with war, such as metals, uniforms, camouflage and actions requiring great endurance.
Jose Tence Ruiz, Philippines
Jose Tence Ruiz, CSI Chimoy Si Imbisibol / Image courtesy of the artist and Artinformal
“CSI: Chimoy Si Imbisibol” is a series of electrostatic prints on canvas that make a deep statement about life in Southeast Asia, and the Philippines in particular.
Chimoy is a colloquial term for ‘household helper’ in the Philippines, someone who does the dirty and mundane household chores.
In the painting, masked figures, or chimoy, are depicted as forensic experts in the midst of everyday household chores. Their white clinical attire creates a stark sense of alienation while simultaneously obscuring their presence. Jose is making a comment on domestic help as “the invisible force behind the world’s labour economy.”
This award-winning multi-media artist is also an independent writer and consultant and curator for Institutions such as the Cultural Center of the Phillippines and The National Commission for Culture and the Arts.
Handiwirman Saputra, Indonesia
Handiwirman Saputra, Pose No. 1 / Image courtesy of the private collection of Michael Tay and Talenia Phua Gajardo (MT Collection)
After you’ve thoroughly explored the Southeast Asia Forum Exhibition, take a moment to enjoy the Collectors’ Stage 2017. Here, six Singaporean art lovers will show their private collections.
We’re looking forward to seeing the works of Handiwirman Supatra of Indonesia included in the collection of Michael Tay and Talenia Phua Gajardo (MT Collection).
Handiwirman is a multi-media artist known for using objects and found objects. His work at Art Stage is a series called “Pose. 1”, “Pose. 2” and “Pose. 3”. His art is often seen as an extension of the still life genre. He takes careful consideration of each detail and the result is a play on perception. Through Handiwirman’s art familiar objects can be interpreted in many different ways.
Martha Atienza, Philippines
Martha Atienza, Azimuth / Image courtesy of the private collection of Michelangelo and Lourdes Samson
Another artist we’re looking forward to seeing as part of the Collectors’ Stage is Martha Atienza. She’s a Filipino-Dutch artist who grew up both in Manila and the Netherlands. Her work is part of the private collection of Michelangelo and Lourdes Samson.
The private collections demonstrate the openness and inter-connectivity of Singapore with Asia and the rest of the world. Martha, who creates art through the medium of video, is an interesting example of that connectivity. Both her Dutch and Filipino sides inspire her installations.
At Art Stage be sure to take a moment to watch her video series, which takes viewers from the Atlantic Ocean to the Philippine Sea to the Mississippi River.
Martha is now focusing her time discovering ways to effect social change and development with contemporary art.
The Collectors’ Stage also feature artists such as Thailand’s Vasan Sithiket, Zimbabwe’s Moffat Takadiwa, India’s Asim Waqif and Wong Hoy Cheong from Malaysia. There’s so much to look forward to!
Art Stage put Singapore on the map as the connector between talented regional artists and the global art scene. Each year it drives international appreciation and understanding of Southeast Asian contemporary art. Don’t miss the opportunity to take part in 2017. For more information visit the offical Art Stage Singapore website and Facebook page.
