Anish Kapoor, Untitled (Stellar Green Pearl / Transparent Black), 2014, aluminium and paint, kamel mennour

Anish Kapoor, Mirror (Magenta), 2016, stainless steel and lacquer, Kukje Gallery

Julian Opie, Runners (individual titles: Running men; Running women), 2015, pair of screenprints, Alan Cristea Gallery

Looks like Julian Opie’s theme for the year is all about exercise and running…

Julian Opie, Soldier and Pilot, I., 2015, vinyl on wooden stretcher, Lisson Gallery

Julian Opie, Teacher and Waiter, I., 2015, vinyl on wooden stretcher, Lisson Gallery

Julian Opie, Plastic Umbrella, 2014, silkscreen on painted wooden board, Gerhardsen Gemer

Julian Opie, Kukje Gallery

There were also these two works that are not part of the exercise theme and are more in line with his images of city walking, a lot of which was shown at Art Basel in Hong Kong last year. I missed getting the didactic for this last artwork, but it’s a moving image of women walking continuously over and over again.

Lee Ufan, Dialogue, 2014, oil on canvas, Lisson Gallery

Lee Ufan, Dialogue, 2015, oil on canvas, Kukje Gallery

Lee Ufan, Correspondence, 1995, oil on canvas, Ben Brown Fine Arts

Lee Ufan (이우환) is Korea’s answer to a Minimalist artist, and his works with a smooth dab of paint in the middle of a large white canvas are always around at Art Basel Hong Kong. I’m not really a fan of any kind of Minimalism, but I guess the precision and simplicity of such works appeal to people.

Felix Gonzalez-Torres, “Untitled” (Last Light), 1993, light bulbs, extension cord, plastic light sockets, dimmer switch, Andrea Rosen Gallery

Morimura Yasumasa, Portrait (Futago), 1988, type C print, transparent medium, frame, ShugoArts

This was such an art history moment!! Granted, this probably looks really out there for first-time viewers, so a bit of background is needed here. Morimura is a well-known Japanese appropriation artist, and his photography features him dressed up and acting after models in famous paintings, artists, and famous figures in history, whether male or female. This work appropriates Édouard Manet’s Olympia (1863), an art history favorite, which at the time of its showing outraged viewers for its depiction of a prostitute holding a boldly confrontational stare. Traditionally, (male) artists painted female mythological figures in the nude that made it comfortable for the “male gaze,” since they were not “real” people and most never look directly towards the viewer. Manet however started something new, and while not particularly appreciated at the time for his efforts, he is now often known as the artist who began the wave of modern art.

Morimura’s enactment of the scene of Olympia is more extravagant but he gets the details of the painting down pat. He adds a Japanese flair to his work, with the black waving cat at the right corner and the blanket with a gold crane motif. Morimura’s work has come up in class on quite a few occasions, so it was great to see a properly blown up version of this photograph at the fair!

Keith Haring, Untitled, 1989, acrylic on canvas, Gladstone Gallery

Tracey Emin, You Saved Me, Galleria Lorcan O’Neill Roma

Not all of Emin’s works appeal to me, but I’m a big fan of her neon word art. There really needs to be a Tracey Emin font.

Also, I found the showing of this work at the fair over the Easter weekend nicely fitting, since it ties in with the commemoration of Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. :D

Alexander Calder, Small Moths, 1974, Dominique Lévy

One of my favorites by Calder I’ve ever seen!

Alexander Calder, Ben Brown Fine Arts

Alexander Calder

Alexander Calder, Black and Blue, 1975, painted sheet metal and wire, Acquavella

Looking at Calder’s mobile from a different angle. And trying not to get blinded by the spotlights.

Alexander Calder, The Golfer (John D. Rockefeller as a Golfer), 1927, wire with wood base, Van de Weghe Fine Art

A different kind of style from Calder, and equally well done.

Jeff Koons

True story: I was trying to get a shot of Koons’s work from the side, but two women taking a selfie with the work told me to move aside because I was appearing at the side of their photo. -.- I don’t think a super crowded Art Basel fair is exactly the best place to exercise your supposed right not to get photobombed in your selfie.

Edgar Degas, Dancer Looking at the Sole of Her Right Foot, 1919-1937, bronze, Acquavella

I have to commemorate my first time seeing a Degas! He is now well-loved for his paintings of ballet dancers that examine the physicality of their bodies in movement. I would love to travel and see the masterpieces of modern art for myself one day, but I’m definitely happy to view these smaller works in Hong Kong!

Claude Monet, Route de Monte-Carlo, December 1883, oil on canvas, Acquavella

I patiently waited to get this MONEY SHOT. Monet is worth it, yes. On another note, Acquavella always brings in the bulk of modern art to Art Basel Hong Kong.

Pablo Picasso, Femme aux mains croisees II, December 19, 1960 – January 1, 1961, oil on canvas, Acquavella

Niko Luoma, Self-titled adaptation of the Young Ladies of Avignon (1907, Pablo Picasso), 2015, archival pigment print, diasec with floater frame, Atlas Gallery

Hmm, I’m not really buying it. Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon (The Young Ladies of Avignon) is also an art history favorite (and also features prostitutes). Funnily enough, it was never fully completed as Picasso tossed it aside after his friends and peers criticized the painting while he was still working on it. I don’t actually think it’s his best and most groundbreaking work as a lot of people probably put it; I find his Cubist works with Georges Braque (his collaborator on Cubism who has been kinda forgotten) much more interesting and forward-looking.

Tom Wesselmann, Blue Nude #3 N125, 1999, oil on cut-out aluminium, Gmurzynska

This references to Henri Matisse’s Blue Nude, which was a motif that Matisse went back to over the years. Again, not really buying it…

Roy Lichtenstein, Water Lilies with Cloud, 1992, screenprinted enamel on stainless steel with painted wood frame, Edward Tyler Nahem

Rudolf Bauer, Furioso XII, 1918, oil on canvas

Andy Warhol, Mao, 1973, acrylic and silkscreen ink on linen, varnished, Ben Brown Fine Arts

So much of Warhol at the fair this year!

Andy Warhol, Mao (set of ten), 1972, screenprints on paper

Discussing serious business under the gaze of Mao. I find this quite amusing.

Andy Warhol, Flowers (portfolio of 10), 1970, screenprint on paper, Galerie Thomas

Andy Warhol, Self-portrait, 1966, synthetic polymer paint, silkscreen ink on canvas, Van de Weghe Fine Art; Self Portrait (Red), c. 1966-67, acrylic and silkscreen ink on canvas, Edward Tyler Nahem

Andy Warhol, Campbell’s Elvis, 1962, silkscreen ink and acrylic on canvas, Edward Tyler Nahem

Andy Warhol, Diamond Dust Shoes (Green), 1980, acrylic, silkscreen ink and diamond dust on canvas, Edward Tyler Nahem

Diamond Dust Shoes (Green) and Campbell’s Elvis appeals more to me than Warhol’s more well-known serial artworks for some reason. I guess it’s one of those things about art.

Andy Warhol, Dollar Sign, 1981, synthetic polymer paint and silkscreen ink on canvas, Van de Weghe Fine Art

Jaume Plensa, Slumberland XXXI (Patricia), 2015, graphite on paper, Richard Gray Gallery

Subtle, charming, and so beautiful.

Jaume Plensa, Roots (Study), 2015, painted stainless steel, Richard Gray Gallery

Nice to see this again, albeit in a smaller size! The big one sits at Raffles Place in Singapore.

Jaume Plensa, Laura Asia; Paula Europe; Mar Asia, 2015, marble, Galerie Lelong

These three sculptures are pretty large in size, and are based on portraits of women who Plensa knows. Feels like a bit of quiet amid the bustling fair.

And that’s it for my review of Art Basel Hong Kong this year! To see the first half of my review of Art Basel featuring contemporary artworks, click here, and if you’ll like to see my review of Art Basel last year, click here to see all of the related posts!

The post Art Basel Hong Kong 2016 | Oldies Are Goodies appeared first on Wording Art.

Using sculptures as Singapore’s preferred form of public art is, to me, actually a great idea given Singapore’s wide spaces and greenery and its buildings’ shiny facades. The sculptures are mostly located in Singapore’s business and shopping areas, so they are planted perfectly along a tourist’s route! :D

| Cover picture: David Gerstein, Momentum, 2007, Raffles Quay |

So I decided to take a city tour, and see the sculptures on display. I started off my sculpture hunting with David Gerstein’s sculpture (above). I’d been driven past it so many times on numerous joyrides so it’s definitely familiar.

While looking for a spot to take a good shot, I discovered so many other sculptures at Raffles Place! I’d never found a reason to go into the business district, so the range of sculptures in the area were all completely new to me.

Yang Ying-Feng, Progress & Advancement, commissioned and presented by Lien Ying Chow on 8.8.1988

A sculpture tracking Singapore’s kampong past to the modern skyscaper views we have today.

Anish Kapoor, Ocean Financial Centre

Ocean Financial Centre

Jaume Plensa, Soul, 2011, painted stainless steel

An open sculpture of a seated figure with his knees brought to his chest and his arms wrapped around his legs. I’m not too keen on the sitting position, but I do love the Chinese characters, English and Malay letters and the Tamil words that make up the figure. It well represents Singapore’s linguistic diversity, and is very effective in catching your attention.

This is located at the back of Ocean Financial Centre, and you can see David Gerstein’s Momentum across the road from here.

Past the large green space at Raffles Place, there is Ocean Financial Centre. Beyond its sculptures around the building, it has a gorgeous triangle-paneled roof and also boasts a Guinness World Record for the world’s Largest Vertical Garden.

Golden Shoe

This is an exception, but this long colorful mural of people shopping and dining was too good not to share.

Salvador Dalí, Homage to Newton, 1985, bronze with dark patina, UOB Plaza

Seeing a work of Dalí on the street was an absolutely delightful surprise! He was an important player of the Surrealism movement that started in the 1920s. I’m not familiar with the period, but to summarize it simply, it played with ideas relating to the subconscious and the mind. To know more, do check out this essay on Surrealism at Met Museum.

Putting that aside, this sculpture pays homage to Sir Isaac Newton’s discovery of the law of gravity. The story goes that an apple fell on Newton’s head while he was sitting under an apple tree and then, Eureka! He discovered gravity. The falling apple is represented by the ball hanging from the right hand of the figure.

I like the detail of the ball in the figure’s chest though, because it looks like it represents the figure’s CG (center of gravity), HA!

One Raffles Place

Royal Group Building

Royal One Philip

Henry Moore, Large Reclining Figure, 1984, OCBC Centre

Fernando Botero, Bird, 1932, bronze, UOB Plaza

I don’t think I’m the only one who has walked along the streets of Clarke Quay and wondered what this large bird is doing smack dab beside the river. Turns out it’s part of UOB Plaza, and the bird is meant to signify peace and serenity. I find it funny how I never guessed it was Botero’s work either, as it’s in keeping with Botero’s voluptuous artworks. Bird has been around since 1990.

Auguste Rodin, The Thinker, 1902, OUE Bayfront

I’ve seen this for a while now and really, The Thinker is one of those artworks that is known everywhere. I was really excited this time to see it again because I’d just learned a bit about Rodin’s works in a class last semester, and also learned that The Thinker was made by Rodin himself. (I’d never heard of Rodin, but I knew of The Thinker, HAHAHA.)

Rodin was a sculptor of the Symbolism period that started in the 1880s. I don’t understand and/or like Symbolism and/or Symbolist artists in general, but Rodin is the exception for me. Rodin is brilliant at imbuing his sculpted figures with character and emotion, and showing the figures’ bodily tension using only the single material of bronze. This is something I always miss, but take a look again, and you’ll notice that The Thinker‘s right arm is bent on his left knee. His entire body also looks like it’s going in on itself, and he’s balancing on a small slab of stone, much too small to seat his large figure. In real life, it would be way uncomfortable.

Another thing is that Rodin liked to leave his sculptures looking unrefined. You can see how he worked the sculpture with his hands especially on the stone seat, and the figure definitely doesn’t look “perfect.” This could be said to be related to Symbolist themes, but I’m not good at talking about Symbolism, so do check out this essay on Symbolism at Met Museum.

Merlion Park

There’s a park called Merlion Park with a mini Merlion right behind the actual Merlion. This is so hilarious!

Roy Lichtenstein, Six Brushstrokes, 1997, aluminium, Roy Lichtenstein Sculpture Plaza, Millenia Walk

I’ve seen these sculptures so many times, but I never knew these were by Roy Lichtenstein of Pop Art fame! These last few works of Lichtenstein’s combine Chinese calligraphic techniques with Western artistic themes. I don’t really see it, to be honest; I always just thought they were colorful and fun.

ASEAN Sculpture Garden, Fort Canning Park

These sculptures are part of the ASEAN Sculpture Garden in Singapore’s iconic Fort Canning Park but I got scared away from exploring more because of mosquitoes. -.-

Green space opposite UE Square

Furama Riverfront Hotel

Ion Orchard

Kumari Nahappan, Nutmeg & Mace, 2009, bronze, Ion Orchard

Fun fact: Ion Orchard’s site used to be a nutmeg plantation!

Ion Orchard

Ion Orchard

Wei Chi Jing De, 1975, Hilton Hotel

Qiu Shu Bao, 1975, Hilton Hotel

These figures were generals of Emperor Tang Tai Zong in the Tang dynasty (618 CE) who were thought to possess special powers. They are seen as guardians of doorways in popular Chinese belief.

Anthony Poon, Sense Surround #4, 2006, painted aluminium, St. Regis Hotel

Li Chen, Dragon-Riding Bodhisattva, 2001, St. Regis Hotel

Dr. Ng Eng Teng, Mother & Child, beside Forum The Shopping Mall

Gramercy Park sales gallery, before Tomlinson Road

Gillman Barracks

Alocassia Apartments

Yayoi Kusama, Let’s Go to a Paradise of Glorious Tulips, 2009, mixed media, Orchard Central rooftop

I never thought I would see a piece by Yayoi Kusama, known for her polka-dotted works, for the first time in Singapore!

Victor Tan Wee Tar, The Stair, The Clouds and The Sky, 2009, stainless steel wires and rods, Orchard Central rooftop

Anish Kapoor, Sky Mirror, 2010, stainless steel, collection of Marina Bay Sands, lily pond outside of ArtScience Museum

UPDATE: Freshly viewed sculpture along the beautiful stretch outside the ArtScience Museum! Sky Mirror aptly reflects the sky, and a bit of the lotus design of ArtScience Museum.

There are so many sculptures on the streets of Singapore and I still have a few in mind that I haven’t got round to visiting yet. The biggest surprise for me was discovering artworks by renowned modern artists and popular contemporary artists that had long been sitting on the streets waiting to be discovered.

I will update this post when I do see more! In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed this post and have fun hunting them down for yourself if you’re in Singapore! ;)

The post Sculptures on the Street appeared first on Wording Art.

| Cover picture: Alighiero Boetti, Rinaldo Annamaria Luna Rossi, 1993-94, blue ballpoint pen on cardboard on canvas, Tornabuoni Art |

303 Gallery

Another mirror piece in the fair – right side up this time! So perfect for selfies.

Liza Lou, Untitled, #14, 2011, Untitled, #15, 2011, Untitled, (Grid), 2012-14, Untitled, #12, 2011, woven glass beads on linen, Goodman Gallery

Kendell Geers, Four Letter Brand (Evil) 1, Four Letter Brand (Fate) 1, Four Letter Brand (Life) 1, Four Letter Brand (Gift) 1, plexiglas mirror and charred wood, Goodman Gallery

Alfredo Jaar, Other People Think, 2012, lightbox with transparency, Goodman Gallery

Hey, I do too!

Julian Opie, Walking in the rain, London, Walking in the rain, Seoul, 2015, screenprints, Alan Cristea Gallery

Polígrafa Obra Gráfica

Every gallery booth has a table and chairs for their staff, sometimes also for the laying out of books and brochures and whatnot, but this cardboard-style desk and chairs set looked very interesting!

Isabel Nolan, There will be time no longer, 2014, mild steel, wadding, wool and thread, Kerlin Gallery

Isabel Nolan, The emptied room: A rug for the 20th Century, 2014, hand tufted wool, Kerlin Gallery

Liam Gillick, Intermodal Elevation, 2015, powder coated aluminium, plexiglas, Kerlin Gallery

So many people at Art Basel! Just don’t stand too still to be thought of as a sculpture…

Norberto Roldan, Viper, 2015, oil and acrylic on canvas, Arndt

Love it! The quote is perfect, and I like the juxtaposition with an image of a fighter jet.

Leung Mee Ping, Expected Departure, x-rays, light boxes, 2006-14, Osage

I actually find this concept of x-ray images of various vomit bags really interesting! There’s a Hello Kitty bag, Thai Airways bag…

Yifei Chen, Early Morning (Suzhou), 1983, oil on canvas, Hammer Galleries

Yifei Chen, Leisurely Boat Ride (Suzhou, China), 1983, oil on canvas, Hammer Galleries

Yang Maoyuan, THEY are coming to Hong Kong, 2014, mixed media, Platform China

The title made me crack up so hard, HAHAHA! My favorite is the horse, there’s also a mutated camel and blue ball monster in the background. Weird creatures or not, doesn’t the horse look so real? You can really see the meticulousness that Yang put into his work in the details of the horse’s face, with small sweat/saliva beads on its little hairs.

João Vasco Paiva, Mausoleum, 2015, acrylic on stone resin modules on galvanized mild steel structure, Edouard Malingue Gallery

I first saw Paiva’s works in his Near and Elsewhere exhibition at Edouard Malingue Gallery at the end of 2013 and I remember my favorite were his stone resin works representing the styrofoam boxes you often see at wet markets in Wanchai (Hong Kong). That was my first foray into contemporary art! It was really nice to see Paiva’s works again but now in a larger than life format!

Fernando Botero, Man with dog, 2005, oil on canvas, galerie gmurzynska

Pablo Picasso, Femme à la robe verte, 1956, oil on canvas, Acquavella

I love how this painting was hung beside a photograph of Picasso at work. Can you spot the painting in the photograph? :)

Wayne Thiebaud, Four Heart Cakes, 1971, pen and ink on paper; Ten Candies, 2000, pastel on paper, Acquavella

Gerhard Richter, Abstraktes Bild (568-1), 1984, oil on canvas, Van de Weghe Fine Art

Jeff Koons, Flower Drawing (Red), 2011, mirror-polished stainless steel with transparent color coating; reflecting Andy Warhol, Endangered Species (Ram), 1983, synthetic polymer paint and silkscreen ink on canvas, Van de Weghe Fine Art

Kitty Chou, Conflation #2, 2012, inkjet on Hahnemühle photo rag paper; Wang Keping, Femme, 2006, acacia;  Tseng Kwong Chi, Paris, France (Female Figure and Eiffel), 1983, silver gelatin print, Ben Brown Fine Arts

Alexander Calder, Poisson Avec Tête Humaine, 1976, metal painted hanging mobile, Ben Brown Fine Arts

Vik Muniz, Forbidden City (Postcards from Nowhere), 2014, digital C-print, Ben Brown Fine Arts

I love Muniz’s Postcards from Nowhere series! He builds images of places and people with scraps of paper, postcards, and the like, with the scraps themselves containing images related to the overall image Muniz creates. The final piece we see is a photograph of his work.

Gavin Turk, Refuse, 2012, painted bronze, Ben Brown Fine Arts

This is too funny. It’s the shiniest and most refined bag of trash I’ve seen because it’s made of bronze! I really wonder where this artwork can be displayed though…

William Tillyer, The Frobisher Paintings, Oranges on a Plate, 2015, acrylic and mesh on canvas, Bernard Jacobson Gallery

Andy Warhol, Mao, 1973, synthetic polymer and silkscreen on canvas, Edward Tyler Nahem Fine Art

Andy Warhol, Flowers, 1970, set of ten screenprints on paper, Edward Tyler Nahem Fine Art

Andy Warhol, Jackie, 1964, acrylic and silkscreen ink on canvas, Edward Tyler Nahem Fine Art

It’s again great to see works from modern artists like Pop Art forerunner Andy Warhol at Art Basel. I’m not a big fan of Warhol’s, but I do find his ideas interesting!

Alighiero Boetti, Mappa acquolina in bocca nell’anno 84 Alighiero e Boetti Afghanistan, 1983-84, embroidery on cloth, Tornabuoni Art

Pinaree Sanpitak, The Hammock, 2014/15, blown glass and steel, Yavuz Gallery

When I was younger, I always had this dream to sleep in a hammock. I never did, and I still haven’t!

Haegue Yang, Sonic Figure – Ancient Revenant, 2015, steel stand, metal grid, powder coating, casters, copper plated bells, nickel plated bells, metal rings, Galerie Chantal Crousel

Yoshitomo Nara, Setsuko the Cat, 2012, bronze, Blum & Poe

Bronze sculptures make up another part of Nara’ wide repertoire. I find this looks a little creepy, I prefer the little girls!

Pablo Picasso, Compotier et bouteille sur un guéridon (Fruit bowl and bottle on a pedestal table), 1913-17, oil on canvas, Richard Gray Gallery

Picasso’s Cubist pieces are always so fun to decipher! Love his work.

Jaume Plensa, Blake in Venice (In Seed Time Learn…), Blake in Venice (Exuberance is Beauty), Blake in Venice (One Thought Fills…), 2013, murano glass, Richard Gray Gallery

Roy Lichtenstein, Sky, Land, and Water, 1984, oil and magna on canvas, Richard Gray Gallery

Cy Twombly, Untitled, 1973, drawing paper, transparent adhesive film, staples, oil, charcoal and oil crayon on paper, Galerie Karsten Greve

That’s the end of my review of Art Basel Hong Kong 2015! I highly recommend it! Tickets are pricey, but the numerous artworks you see is worth it. What’s interesting is also all the different types of people attending the fair – besides the art collectors and buyers, there are many families, couples, students and kids! It’s a fun outing idea for everyone. :D

Dates for next year’s Art Basel in Hong Kong have already been released, it’s going to be held a little later during March 24-26, 2016! The Art Basel fairs are apparently planned a few years in advance. O.O

Till then, can’t wait to see what’s in store for next year’s fair!

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