| Cover picture: Hiromi Tango, Dr Emma Burrows and Dr Tilman Dingler, Wheel, 2021, at ArtScience Museum’s MENTAL: Colours of Wellbeing |

Asian Civilisations Museum – Russel Wong in Kyoto

Russel Wong in Kyoto was first shown alongside Life in Edo in 2021, and then it was extended into 2022! Additional photographs by Wong were added, keeping the focus on an inside look of geikos in Kyoto, but I also really liked the atmosphere of showing Kyoto in flowering season.

National Gallery Singapore – Chua Mia Tee: Directing the Real

I was able to visit this exhibition twice because it went on for about a year — early on in January and one more time on its last day! This is a solo exhibition dedicated to Singaporean artist Chua Mia Tee, and I enjoyed seeing his views of Singapore back in the old days…

Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall (shown on right of painting) is missing its crown at the top of its dome! I found this missing detail so funny, because I only learned a while back too about the building’s crown! Also my favourite work of architecture in Singapore.

Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre – Life is Sweet: Ang Ku Kueh Girl Exhibition

Found this a sweet exhibition and I loved these uplifting messages along with these cute Ang Ku Kueh Girl illustrations!

Han Sai Por’s Microorganisms Landscape

The use of the Jendela art space at the Esplanade for Han Sai Por’s mixed-media Microorganisms Landscape was pretty good! I also liked seeing a different side to Han’s work, who is well-known for her sculptures which are easily found across Singapore.

Hong Kong: Through the Looking Glass miniature exhibition《細看香港》

Take me back to Hong Kong!!! Here’s to me doing that in 2023!!! In the meantime, I loved seeing these miniatures of everyday Hong Kong scenes — and there were so many other people viewing this exhibition too!

200 TRUNKS, 200 VISIONARIES: THE EXHIBITION

In celebration of the 200th anniversary of Louis Vuitton’s birth, LV launched this exhibition that invited 200 artists, creatives, and some celebrities to reinterpret the classic LV trunk. Singapore was the second stop for this travelling exhibition, which is really cool! Loved the ideas and creativity that was abounding here.

National Museum of Singapore – OFF / ON: Everyday Technology that Changed our Lives, 1970s – 2000s

More throwbacks to an older Singapore, I really liked these room set-ups like the barber salon and the photographer’s studio!

i Light Singapore

i Light finally returned after its last showing in 2019! It was really nice walking around the Marina Bay area again at night to see all the lights.

My favourite from i Light this year was Firefly Field! They are electronically controlled but appear to sway naturally in the wind.

Botanic Gardens Gallop Extension

I finally visited the new(-ish) Gallop Extension at Botanic Gardens, and I definitely want to visit again! There are two black and white houses named Inverturret and Atbara, and you can explore their interiors, learn more about the colonial era architecture, and see exhibitions and highlights from the Singapore Botanic Gardens collection.

Asian Civilisations Museum – Batik Kita: Dressing in Port Cities

Popped by ACM again to see the exhibition Batik Kita, that featured batik in textiles in both its traditional and contemporary forms.

Malay Heritage Centre – Cerita

I visited the Malay Heritage Centre before it closed for renovation, and its last exhibition was Cerita (Stories). The highlight piece for me was this stunning painting by Raden Saleh!

Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum

Finally visited the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum for the first time ever — after so long! It’s situated within the campus of National University of Singapore, and the museum exhibits are set across two stories. I thought it was really well done; it’s cool to see Singapore’s very own dinosaur exhibits, and I was also particularly taken by the molluscs section!

National Gallery Singapore – Wu Guanzhong: Travelling with the Master

I still think that the best Wu Guanzhong exhibition at National Gallery Singapore was Wu Guanzhong: Beauty Beyond Form in 2016. The latest showing Wu Guanzhong: Travelling with the Master was a little cobbled together, but it was still nice to see some really great works by Wu.

National Gallery Singapore – Nothing is Forever: Rethinking Sculpture in Singapore

Running from 29 July 2022 to 5 February 2023

Haha, I couldn’t help myself! It doesn’t matter when one doesn’t ‘get’ the art, just pose with it and have fun…!

House of Dreams

I loved this display of Barbie dolls at House of Dreams hosted at the Ion Orchard art gallery space, it was so pink, bright and fabulous! Loved the vintage looks to the contemporary ones, with my favourites below!

Asian Civilisations Museum – ACM and Anima Mundi: Chinese Christian art from the Vatican Museums 

Currently showing

This exhibition of loans from the Anima Mundi (Soul of the World), Vatican Museums at ACM featuring Chinese Christian art seems to be getting little traction, but it’s a really nice display of works incorporated within ACM’s Christian art gallery! The works of Chinese Christian art makes for both a strange and interesting combination that I’ve never really encountered before.

ArtScience Museum – MENTAL: Colours of Wellbeing 

Running from 3 September 2022 – 26 February 2023

I thought that MENTAL was both fun and a little quirky! The exhibition’s take on mental health and wellbeing was not exactly what I was expecting (I thought I should come out of it feeling nice and cosy or something like that??), but there was a good variety of responses and artworks that related to the theme.

Even in Fear by Zhou definitely made me feel a little more anxious than I should have! The white balloon in the bright pink container keeps expanding and filling up the space until it looks like it’s going to explode — and then it deflates, and the cycle repeats again.

I thought this work Hello Human, Hello Machine was really fun because you could pick up the payphone and it connects you to someone and start a conversation! But, spoiler alert, I am convinced that the person on the line is pre-recorded……

In Mirror Ritual, you look into the mirror and the AI machine presents you with a poem based on the emotions on your face. I gave it my best neutral expression and this is what I got, which cracked me up!!

I thought this was the perfect note to end this post with. Thank you 2022, you’ve been a ride — and of course, one of my ultimate highlights of the year was visiting London, and I should do another highlight post of that! I hope the new year 2023 treats you well, and that you be kind on yourself too! Let’s see what it will bring…

The post Art of 2022 appeared first on Wording Art.

| Cover picture: Cao Fei, 浮槎 Fú Chá, 2020 |

Singapore Flyer – Whimsical Reality

2020 started with a trip to the Singapore Flyer to see the exhibition ‘Whimsical Reality’ featuring watercolour works by Ah Guo Illustration 阿果绘本. I’ve been following Ah Guo’s work for quite a long time, and I love his childlike, light-hearted illustrations of various Singapore scenes!

National Gallery Singapore – Chua Soo Bin: Truths & Legends

Spent a day out visiting National Gallery Singapore and went to see the understated exhibition of Chua Soo Bin’s portrait photography. I especially liked these photos of Wu Guanzhong sketching in the streets of London, Bangkok’s floating markets and at Singapore’s Bird Park (this should be Jurong Bird Park surely!) Click here to also see my review of the exhibition ‘Wu Guanzhong: Beauty Beyond Form’ at National Gallery Singapore from 2016.

National Gallery Singapore – Light to Night Festival: Invisible Cities

The Light to Night festival was also happening in January, and as always, it delivered a fun lineup of light installations and art skin projections. I also found it hilarious that one of Twardzik-Ching Chor Leng’s Five Stones was propped up above the bus stop outside Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall!

I’m not sure why this was here, but this setup of LINE’s Brown in a Merlion costume at Funan mall was so cute!!

Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre – Huat Huat Land

A display of giant pineapples, mahjong tiles and murals on the rooftop of Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre for Chinese New Year! Huat Ah!

Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre – SINGAPO人

SINGAPO人 is a permanent exhibition at SCCC that looks to discover Chinese Singapore culture. I really enjoyed visiting this and playing with all the interactive sections. There’s this game of ‘Would You Rather’, for example have Coffee or Tea, Eat Out or Eat at Home (as seen above) and after making your choice, it shows the poll percentage for each option!

Peeking into a small hole in a display to see a camera staring back at me!

Had to capture this drip tile from the old Nanyang University’s Administrative Building — especially as I’m studying at Nanyang Technological University now!

CB Summer

And then we hit pause — circuit breaker began in early April, classes went online, and it took a lot of effort to continue to study / work from home.

Over these few months, I also started to tune into art online (here are some of my recommendations!). Although there were also sadly a slew of exhibition cancellations, like the i Light festival, the Picasso and Matisse exhibition at National Gallery Singapore and the ‘Angelica Kauffman’ exhibition in London’s Royal Academy of Arts…

I’m currently researching Kauffman’s self-portraits and so I’d made travel plans to visit London and to see this exhibition — all cancelled! Ah well, so I made do with buying the exhibition catalogue. Here’s an image of Kauffman’s Self-Portrait with Stylus from the catalogue (excuse the colouring!), which is my favourite of all of her self-portraits! It belongs in a private collection so I really hope to have a chance to see it in an exhibition in future…

Asian Civilisations Museum – Fashion and Textiles Gallery

Ventured back out to see exhibitions again in August, and it felt like a grand affair! Dressed up again to view the new Fashion and Textiles, as well as Jewellery, galleries at Asian Civilisations Museum. The galleries will have a rotating display, and the Fashion and Textiles gallery currently features Chinese dress from the Qing (imperial wear) and modern periods (cheongsams). I thought the Fashion and Textiles gallery was surprisingly small!

National Museum of Singapore – Music For Everyone: Variations on a Theme

This solo exhibition of Song-Ming Ang’s work was first presented in the Singapore Pavilion of 2019’s Venice Biennale and had a re-showing at National Museum of Singapore. The title Music for Everyone ‘references a series of concerts organised by the then Singapore’s Ministry of Culture from 1971 to 1985’, and the exhibition overall also looks at music education in Singapore, like all those recorder music classes (so not for me)…

I especially liked Ang’s Manifesto for Bad Music, as I got quite into twentieth-century art manifestoes in class last semester!

Singapore Art Museum – Time Passes

Since Singapore Art Museum is currently under renovation, their exhibition ‘Time Passes’ is currently held at National Gallery Singapore. I thought the highlight work was Ashley Yeo’s intricate work of paper, which she makes using 3D printing.

In the gallery next door, ‘An Exercise of Meaning in a Glitch Season’ is also showing at National Gallery Singapore. Both exhibitions are part of ‘Proposals for Novel Ways of Being’, a series of exhibitions and programmes made in response to COVID-19. Both exhibitions run until 21 February 2021.

Esplanade Tunnel – Combing for Ice and Jade

This is a solo exhibition of Kurt Tong’s work as part of the 7th Singapore International Photography Festival (SIPF). ‘Combing for Ice and Jade’ tells the life story of Tong’s nanny (or majie) who became a ‘Comb Sister’ — ‘a community of women in Southern China who took a vow of chastity’ and left their hometowns to work and be financially independent. I liked the quiet, understated way of showing her life through various photographs, but I especially liked the video at the beginning of exhibition in which Tong discusses this seven-year project.

‘Combing for Ice and Jade’ is ongoing till 10 Jan 2021.

National Gallery Singapore – Georgette Chen: At Home in the World

The long awaited Georgette Chen retrospective is here! I enjoyed visiting this exhibition, and I will post about it in more detail in a separate post. In the meantime, I wanted to highlight this photograph of Chen painting Lotus Symphony en plein air (outdoors) in her friend’s garden full of lotuses. It’s nice to see a glimpse of the process and the final result situated next to the other.

‘Georgette Chen: At Home in the World’ is running for a long time until 26 September 2021.

ArtScience Museum – Margins: drawing pictures of home 

‘Margins: drawing pictures of home’ is also included in SIPF this year, and it’s a small exhibition featuring works by 15 contemporary photographers centred around Singapore as home.

My sister reminded me that we first saw this work in Hong Kong’s PMQ as part of detour 2015! While there were 1600 photographs there, the 12 photographs included here depicting the daily food choices for those living at the poverty line in different Asian countries still remains as poignant.

I liked the light humour of Hu’s People Mountain People Sea, a literal translation of 人山人海, which means a huge crowd in Chinese. Hu juxtaposes scenes of Singapore with ‘cutouts’ of the Old Master Q comic character, and I thought it was pretty fun!

My favourite from ‘Margins’ is Soh’s photographs of the last SS24 train to depart from Tanjong Pagar Railway Station (see my photos of the station at this link) before the railway line was officially removed.

‘Margins: drawing pictures of home’ is showing until 28 February 2021.

Gardens by the Bay: Christmas Wonderland’s Walk of Lights

Ending off 2020 with some festive cheer! I wanted to do another re-visit of Christmas Wonderland since this year’s Walk of Lights featured some new light attractions that have not been shown before! Loved all the lights and as always, the luminarie light installations (made all the way from Italy) are so gorgeous and impressive! Here’s to a brilliant 2021!

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The standout exhibition to me (when I went) was Wu Guanzhong: Beauty Beyond Form located at the Wu Guanzhong Gallery that boasts to be the biggest exhibition of Wu’s work ever done. It’s being held through 25th September 2016. I wonder if the Wu Guanzhong Gallery will only contain Wu’s works? We’ll have to see about that, for now, more on Wu Guanzhong: Beauty Beyond Form!

All Wu Guanzhong, Red Houses of Qingdao, 1975, oil on board

全部吳冠中，‘青島紅樓’，1975年，油彩畫板

The Yangtze River Bridge at Nanjing, 1973, oil on board

‘南京長江大橋’，1973年，油彩畫板

The exhibition uses a pretty standard chronological format to showcase Wu’s works across his career. Wu was a Chinese artist who developed his distinctive style of combining ‘Chinese’ ink and ‘Western’ oil painting. I liked seeing his earlier works depicting scenes of China in the 1970s, and how he transitioned into making more abstract works. Overall, I find Wu very much rooted in Chinese culture in his choice of subject matter (what the subject of an artwork is).

A Mountain Town Along-side the Yangtze River, 1974, oil on board

‘長江山城’，1974年， 油彩畫板

The Riverside Jungle, 1978, Chinese ink and color on paper

‘濱江丛林’，1978年，水墨設色紙本

Really like this one! Love the contrast between the dense jungle and the peaceful boater rowing along the river. Interesting buildup of ink layers for the jungle, difference in tonalities in the depictions of the mountain and the river reflection from the jungle green, and use of compositional space with the jungle taking up most of the painting and a slit of space given to the river to balance it out.

Mulberry Grove, 1981, Chinese ink and color on paper

‘桑園’，1981年，水墨設色紙本

Yulong Snow Mountain, undated (1983), Chinese ink and color on paper

‘玉龍雪山’，無年款（1983年），水墨設色紙本

I was looking at this painting for a while – it’s really quite amazing how the seemingly effortless lines and blobs of ink come together so well to make a picture of a mountain landscape.

The Great Wall (I), 1986, Chinese ink and color on paper

‘長城（一）’，1986年，水墨設色紙本

And another favorite of mine, this one done in Wu’s familiar style of lines and colored dots. The thick brushstrokes along the bottom half of the painting really give an impression of the sweeping distance of the Great Wall of China.

A Former Homestead, 1995, Chinese ink and color on paper

‘故宅’，1995年，水墨設色紙本

Spring and Autumn of Lotus Pond, 1996, oil on canvas

‘荷塘春秋’，1996年，油彩畫布

Ferry Pier, 1979, Chinese ink and color on paper

‘湘西渡口’，1979年，水墨設色紙本

I have to say that the gallery was actually too dim, with very bright spotlights centered on each painting. While it made for a fine viewing experience, my photos came out very dark and unfocused at times so that meant some heavy photo editing on my part.

Not sure who sculpted this, but it’s cute to see a sculpture of Wu at work at the end of the gallery space!

White Haired Flowers, 2003, Chinese ink and color on paper

‘白髮之花’，2003年，水墨設色紙本

A World of Ice and Snow, 1997, Chinese ink on paper

‘冰天雪地’，1997年，水墨紙本

Really really like this one, located at the end of the exhibition. I’m not always a fan of abstractness, but Wu’s use of ink with varying tones and line with varying thickness in all of his paintings translates very well to abstract works. I also find the title 冰天雪地 interestingly fitting and very ‘Chinese,’ if I can say so.

The fundamental elements of formal beauty comprise form, color and rhythm. I used Eastern rhythms in the absorption of Western form and color, like a snake swallowing an elephant. Sometimes I felt I couldn’t gulp it all down and I switched to using [Chinese] ink. This is why in the mid-1970s I began creating a large number of ink paintings. Oil paint and ink are two blades of the same pair of scissors used to cut the pattern for a whole new suit. To indigenize oil painting and to modernize Chinese painting: in my view these are two sides of the same face.

This exhibition is free for all Singaporeans! To find out more about the exhibition and National Gallery Singapore, check out their website here.

To view more Wu Guanzhong, check out this post about Hong Kong Museum of Art’s previous exhibition featuring his artworks.

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1. Donation of Works by Wu Guanzhong 2014

This exhibition is located in the same space with The Four Gentlemen, and it was fun to turn the corner from Chinese historical and modern art to Chinese contemporary art! As noted in the exhibition title, it showcases newly donated works of Wu’s by his family to the Museum.

Wu Guanzhong, A lotus pond (Double stamp), dated 1995, horizontal scroll, ink and color on paper

I love how Wu updates the use of the traditional Chinese medium of ink and color on paper. He continues to work with varying tones of ink but renders his subjects in new abstract forms. The lotuses are mostly painted in black ink moving in different directions so it may be a little hard to identify what he’s drawing (without looking at the title first, ha!), but he gives a clear hint with his colored lotuses.

I find this so refreshing. Abstract art can be fun and interesting in its own way, but sometimes when intentional depictions of things in real life are a little too abstract, I’ll feel… surprised/confused/muddled.

The spots of color scattered across the painting might seem a little random when you see it up close, but I think it adds a sense of energy along with the strong ink brushstrokes.

Wu Guanzhong, Puzzlement, dated 1998, horizontal scroll, ink and color on paper

The first thing I thought when I saw Puzzlement was that it is Jackson Pollock-esque, he of action paintings and energetic splashes of paint all across his large canvases. It’s impressive that Wu managed to achieve that kind of effect with ink and color on paper instead of oil on canvas.

Puzzlement doesn’t seem to be made with that spirit in mind though, since the tangled lines and random spots of color are meant to represent the “bits and pieces in the painter’s anxious mind and fragmented memory,” as mentioned in the Artist’s Statement.

Wu Guanzhong, A fishing harbour, dated 1997, horizontal scroll, ink on paper

This is a favorite of mine! Again, this piece departs from the traditional look of an ink painting except that there is still a name and red seal at the bottom left of the painting. I love the detail of the splattered ink, that I’m thinking is the effect from flicking your finger over the brush. It’s done so precisely and adds a really nice touch to the painting, like it’s sunlight reflecting off the water.

Wu Guanzhong, Leaping, dated 1996, oil on canvas

This is another favorite! Honestly, when I saw it from afar, I was a little confused and unimpressed – I thought it was a white fish floating in a mass of black. But of course, it’s all about going up close to see the details. The painting shows a realistically depicted ripple of water entirely rendered in black. Instead of using the (perhaps easier) option of ink, Leaping is done with oil on canvas.

Wu masters the art of both ink and oil painting and I find it very interesting how he subverts expectations in his use of mediums in his various paintings.

Location: Chinese Fine Art Gallery (4/F)

2. Random Moments

This is a small exhibition made up of video art, and is titled as such since there is no central theme to the works. I have to say that I am not particularly interested in video art but it’s always nice to see more types of art! The exhibition space was sectioned off into different areas/rooms for each piece, most with a bench placed in front of the screenings so you can sit and watch them!

Tsui Ngai, Miranda, Shoe-stories, 2001, video and digital image, approx. 44 mins

The highlight of the exhibition for me was Tsui’s Shoe-stories which is a widescreen black-and-white video divided into three sections, each alternatively cutting to different people’s shoes.

The title pretty much says it all, and I found it fascinating how the way people sit and position their feet, their choice of shoe-wear, the pattern or print of their shoe, and their little feet-tics can actually lead us to form an impression of the person. It’s commendable how Tsui recognised this as a potential subject for documentation and presents it in a sophisticated manner.

I was including my shoe-story here – this is me interacting with art! ;)

Location: Historical Pictures Gallery (3/F)

3. Tempting Touch – the Art of Tong King-sum

This is an exhibition of Hong Kong sculptor Tong King Sum’s works made with different types of wood. When you enter the gallery, you are greeted with Unfinished Work that Tong was preparing for an exhibition for the Hong Kong Visual Arts Society, but he passed away before the sculpture could be completed. Tong had drawn various markings over it and there is a large incision on the left as well.

Tong King Sum, Unfinished Work, 2007, teak

There is also a sculptor studio set in the exhibition, but I’m not sure if it’s supposed to represent how Tong’s studio looked like or if it’s a general impression of an artist’s workshop. Anyhow, I found it interesting how there was a mix of real items, such as the saw and shoes on the ground and the cap hanging off the rack, and fake styrofoam items made to look real, like most of the tools hanging on the wall.

Location: Contemporary Hong Kong Art Gallery (2/F)

4. All Are Guests – Homecoming

All Are Guests – Homecoming features a mix of works by Hong Kong artists and here are my highlights!

Chow Chun Fai’s Reproducing ‘Hong Kong Our Home Theme Song’ is an impressive sight that spans three walls, made up of small paintings meant to represent the various facets of Hong Kong from the point of view of a “guest.” The paintings are all taken together to form a video, or you could take it that the paintings are “screenshots” of the video on the right wall. Please excuse the photo quality, the lighting was not good for taking photos!

Chow Chun Fai, Reproducing ‘Hong Kong Our Home Theme Song,’ 2014, paintings and video

Leung Mee Ping’s Out of Place is a mix of video installations shown on both sides of cloth-like screens that were assembled in a maze-like way with speakers situated above each screen. It felt surreal to me, as you walk around, you feel like you’re experiencing the city along with what you see on the screens.

Leung Mee Ping, Out of Place, 2014, video installation

Leung took these videos in the Asian cities Bangkok, Beijing, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Shenzhen, Tokyo and Varanasi. She focuses on the experiences of city drifters who live in these cities but have somehow been cast aside in the public mindset of what the city represents. In the video captured in the first photo above, Leung follows an old man as he walks through Hong Kong, who seems strangely unaffected by all the bustle going on around him, lost in his own world. And really, who thinks of Hong Kongers in this way?

I was standing in the middle of all that and I almost missed seeing myself in this photo again! ;)

Location: Special Exhibition Gallery (2/F)

This wraps up my weekend trip to the Hong Kong Museum of Art! Do check out the exhibitions while they’re still ongoing at:

Hong Kong Museum of Art
10 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong

Mondays to Fridays 10:00am – 6:00pm
Saturdays, Sundays & Public Holidays 10:00am – 7:00pm
Closed on Thursdays (except public holidays)

Standard Ticket $10
Concession Ticket $5

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