Jan 17 2014

Preview: Art Stage Singapore

by Marybeth Stock

At the China Platform, 10 eclectic projects were curated by Huang Du under the theme “The Status of Chinese Contemporary Art: Transformation in Concept and Language.” Here, artist Zhang Zuerui’s Pulling Sweater (2011).

An installation by Chen Quilin links the ancient role of familial lineage with the tradition of hand-made tofu in The Hundred Surnames in Tofu (2004–14).

Works for the Taiwan Platform were selected by collector and curator Rudy Tseng in “La Salle Aux Images”; its four projects reflected specific historical and cultural influences from Japan and China which resonate today in contemporary Taiwanese art. Detail from The Emperor’s Treasure Chest-Two (2012), by multimedia artist Tu Wei-Cheng.

Curator Aaron Seeto brought together six artists for the Australia Platform; their complex juxtaposition of mediums reflect the country’s intrinsic disparities. The languid installation Changing Skin (2013) by Juz Kitson dominated the space.

The sprawling Southeast Asia Platform was the most diverse and vibrant of the special exhibit spaces here: the 36 artists on view here—representing seven countries—were worthy of their own stand-alone show. Here, Washing the Obsolete in the Arms of the Absolute (2013) by Malaysian artist Justin Lim.

Controlled Desire (2013), by Laotian artist Bounpaul Phothyzan.

Nocturne, an installation curated by Louis Ho which integrates the works of Singapore artists Sarah Choo and Jolene Lai.

Indonesian artist FX Harsono’s The Raining Bed (2013).

Not Much To See (2013), by Singapore sculptor Chun Kai Feng.

Milky Way (2013), by Thai sculptor Manit Kantasak.

The reflective media installation Ark (2013), by Filipino artist Mark Justiniani.

Non-Being by Itself (2013), part of an installation by Thai artist Kamin Lertchaiprasert.

The India Platform featured six artists, curated by artist and independent curator Bose Krishnamachari.

The austere Korea Platform, curated by Kim Sung Won, presented four artists whose works hinged on a discourse about “Access.” Here, a still from the video installation Labryinthos (2013) by Jihye Park.

“Dark Matter” was the theme of the Japan Platform, curated by Mami Kataoka. Five artists were featured, including Tatsuo Miyajima, whose Life (Corps sans Organes) No. 19 (2013) is shown here.

The Central Asia Platform, curated by Charles Merewether, featured five artists whose video works included Zukhra (2013), by Uzbekistan artist Saodat Ismailova.

[Around the Fair]:
Norwegian street artist Dolk Lundgren, known as “Dolk,” offered up the eye-catching Goldrush (2013).

Dolk strikes again with Puppy Love (2013).

At the entrance to Art Stage: The Continuous Gate (2014) by Indonesia artist Joko Dwi Avianto.

During its preview this past Wednesday, Art Stage Singapore was hectic and crowded—not only with deadline-frantic media, but with eager collectors who, according to several local galleries, had already snapped up over a quarter of a million dollars’ worth of paintings and photographs by Singapore artists alone.

Now in its fourth incarnation, Art Stage is featuring 158 international galleries at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre. Some 75 percent of these participated last year, including White Cube (London, Hong Kong, São Paolo), Galerie Krinzinger (Vienna) and Galerie Perrotin (Hong Kong, Pari and New York), along with nearly 30 Singapore galleries. Art Stage, a quasi-commercial venture, is supported heavily by Singapore government arts and development agencies, but with well over 40,000 visitors anticipated during its three-day run, and considering the current investment enthusiasm for the region’s arts market, this venture may well be poised to succeed on its own.

The fair has clearly gained conceptual depth since last year. At the risk of eclipsing the independent gallery spaces, Art Stage founder and director Lorenzo Rudolf has established eight country and regional “Platforms” as the event’s pivotal nodes. Each of these presents a savvy mix of emerging and established artists from Southeast Asia, India, China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Australia and Central Asia. The largest of these, the Southeast Asia Platform, is experienced as an exuberant labyrinth of painting, installation, photography and multimedia projects by over 35 artists. The Japan Platform is perhaps the most astute of the platforms, with a half-dozen coherent and beautifully integrated installations. Rudolf is banking that the “risk-free” curatorial approach of the eight Platforms will not only educate collectors unfamiliar with these markets, but will create opportunities for young galleries and artists while at the same time encouraging greater academic—and commercial— awareness in Southeast Asian visual arts.

Art Stage Singapore is on view January 16–19, 2014 at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Singapore.

Marybeth Stock is a writer, researcher and editor based in Singapore and Japan.

Back to Blog