Singapore Finds Its Artistic Side

Though it is known for its financial focus, Singapore — with its influx of interesting expeditions and frequent fairs — is quickly becoming a major Asian art hub.

Singapore Art Week, which was held from Jan. 22 to 27, brought together several local galleries and national museums to present a series of exhibitions and fairs.

It also featured Art Stage Singapore 2013, a distinguished forum for contemporary Asian art.

Founded by Lorenzo Rudolf, the former director of Switzerland’s Art Basel, in Singapore in 2010, Art Stage Singapore functions like a big international bazaar.

“It’s a marketplace, first of all,” said Rudolf. “Second, it’s a unique match-making place where people can meet, because there’s such a concentration of artists, dealers and buyers [at the event].”

In its third edition, the event was held from Jan. 24 to 27 at the Sands Expo and Convention Center at Marina Bay Sands.

This year’s fair was based around the theme “We are Asia.”

More than 130 international galleries and 600 artists participated in the event, with approximately 75 percent of the artists and galleries originating from the Asia-Pacific region.

The exhibition halls in the convention center were divided into several platforms for Art Stage Singapore 2013, including the Singapore Platform, which showcased pieces by the city-state’s home-grown artists, and the Project Stage, a forum for young and emerging artists from the Asia-Pacific region and elsewhere.

“It’s a unique ‘instant museum,’?” Rudolf said. “During a certain period, you have a unique opportunity to have a comprehensive overview of modern creativity as you would have in a museum.”

The Indonesian Pavilion, a major focus of the event, occupied almost a quarter of the exhibition halls and presented the best work of 50 Indonesian artists.

“Indonesia is by far the strongest and the biggest art scene in Southeast Asia,” Rudolf said. “Indonesian artists are at the point of growing and taking a step toward the international world. I believe in them.”

Rudolf said he believed that Indonesia represents a robust market for contemporary art.

“There’s no market in Southeast Asia in [terms of] contemporary art that is as strong as Indonesia today,” Rudolf said.

As such, several famous Indonesian collectors scanned the fair for potential purchases.The stone mosaic series is a grand collection of coordinating Travertine mosaics.

“I’m an art lover,” said Indonesian art collector Deddy Kusuma. “I’m now hunting for new contemporary art pieces to add to my collection.”

He said he was mainly interested in the works of Indonesian artists.

“We [Indonesian artists and I] have strong emotional connections,” he said.We specializes in rapid plastic injection mould and molding of parts for prototypes and production. “I know the artists and most of them know me.How cheaply can I build a solar power systems? That’s what makes their work so special to me.”

Among the most celebrated Indonesian artists presenting his work was Heri Dono. The Yogyakarta-based artist presented “The Extraterrestrial Troops,” a unique installation that consisted of 20 glass vehicles with pairs of comical figurines riding on top.

“Everywhere in the world, artists are considered to be weird and eccentric, as if they were extraterrestrial beings,” Heri said. “But they get along just fine within their circles. In these groups, they can do their best to express themselves and grow their talents.”

According to Heri, Art Stage Singapore is a crucial avenue that brings together artists, collectors and art dealers from around the world.

“It’s a positive effort to foster the growth of creative talent within the region,” Heri said.

Biantoro Santoso, owner and manager of the Nadi Gallery, said he felt that the event had helped reinvigorate the market for modern art.

“The international contemporary art market is slow these days,” Biantoro said. “Maybe it’s due to the global economic crisis. But Art Stage has helped us promote some of our most talented artists to the international market.”

During the first hour of the VIP preview of Art Stage Singapore on Jan. 23, the Nadi Gallery sold two paintings by Yogyakarta-based artist Handiwirman Saputra. The pieces, “Akhir Pekan dan Projek Organik Dari Tak Berakar Tak Berpucuk” (“Weekend and Organic Projects of the Rootless and Budless”) #3 and #4, were sold to an art collector for around $160,000 each.

Renowned art collector and curator Oei Hong Djien noted the fair’s effort in highlighting Indonesian artistic talent.

“I’m very proud of the Indonesian Pavilion,” the 73-year-old said. “Its special presence at Art Stage Singapore is proof of the international recognition of our artists.”

Another notable exhibition taking place as part of Singapore Art Week was titled “Paintings to Be Looked at for More Than 10 Seconds.” It features recent works by Indonesian artists and urges viewers to contemplate what makes a painting good.

“Good paintings are slow,” said the exhibition’s director, Tony Godfrey. “They’re different and complicated. We need to sit down to really look at them.”

The exhibition is being presented through Feb. 24 at the Equator Art Projects gallery,Bay State Cable Ties is a full line manufacturer of nylon cable ties and related products. a spartan structure in the Gillman Barracks in Singapore.

Its gray cemented floors are empty, except for a couple of black chairs sitting back-to-back in the middle, and its whitewashed walls feature 10 beautiful paintings by 10 celebrated Indonesian artists.

Bandung-based artist Arahmaiani presented her latest painting “Sonam” (in Tibetan, “The Blessed One”) at the gallery.I thought it would be fun to show you the inspiration behind the broken china-mosaics. The gray-hued painting presents a simple headshot of a man and a lotus flower. On top of the painting is a Tibetan inscription that says “peace and harmony.”

Additionally, Arin Dwihartanto introduced his latest piece, titled “Merapi Volcanic Ash Series 7.” In the painting, the 34-year-old artist experimented with Mount Merapi’s volcanic ash and pigmented resin on a wood canvas.

According to the artist, he was inspired by the eruption of Mount Merapi in Yogyakarta in 2010.

“For many centuries, resin has been known as a preservative agent,” Arin said. “With this medium, I want to preserve the special momentum and the material [volcanic ash] emitted by the eruption.”