Visitors at Art Stage Singapore, 2015. Photograph: Chloé Wolifson
It might be a provocative question, but not an unwarranted one. The Australian art world (like our country in general) has strong ties with Asia. Hong Kong and China have booming art markets and Indonesia is becoming an increasingly popular destination for emerging artists to undertake residencies. So what’s going on in the tiny island state of Singapore?
In late January this year, as Singapore’s 50th birthday celebrations kicked off, I headed to Singapore Art Week 2015 to find out. The week was centred on Art Stage Singapore. Art Stage founder and director Lorenzo Rudolf was formerly head of art fair giant Art Basel. Clearly Rudolf has high hopes for Art Stage, which he is marketing as the fair for Asian art – distinguishing it from the more internationally-focussed Art Basel Hong Kong.
A waiter serves drinks at the Vernissage of Art Stage Singapore 2015. Photograph: Chloé Wolifson
The fair featured a curated mini-exhibition of the work of emerging South-East Asian artists, as well as Special Exhibitions focussing on Malaysia, Korea, Russia, Modernism and Video respectively. On paper this seemed like a motley assortment and in reality that proved true. Video Stage was exceptional (see the links below to read my thoughts on that), and the Malaysian hang elicited some interesting work. The Russian exhibition, on the other hand, was a solo presentation of established collaborators AES+F, whose huge, slick video works are widely exhibited. Art Stage’s desire that the exhibition introduced “video art from Russia’s emerging contemporary scene” seemed far-fetched. Meanwhile, the Special Exhibition of Modern Art, a solo retrospective of French painter André Masson, while extensive, did little to provide an historical context that would have been most welcome in a burgeoning market of new collectors. To be fair, Art Stage have said that the Masson show was the first step in developing a strong Modern section at Art Stage, which will include “Asian Modern.” Here’s hoping this does indeed take place in subsequent iterations of the fair, as it would be great to see historical work of more contextual relevance.
Gilbert & George’s exhibition Utopian Pictures at ARNDT, Gillman Barracks, Singapore, January 2015. Photograph: Chloé Wolifson
Beyond the fair there was a plethora of other art-related events to be experienced city-wide. These ranged from the glitz of the Prudential Eye Awards at the ArtScience Museum, to the more toned-down rigour of the Signature Art Prize at the Singapore Art Museum, to the pulsing event Art At Night in the happening cultural hub of Gillman Barracks.
The crowd enjoying Art At Night at Gillman Barracks, Singapore. Photograph: Chloé Wolifson
So, is there an art scene in Singapore? If Singapore Art Week is anything to go by, then absolutely. But with the eyes of the art world on the exponentially growing Asian art market, Art Stage Singapore will need to continue to work hard to live up to it’s slogan “We Are Asia.”
I wrote about my Singapore Art Week highlights for RAVEN, which you can read online. My account of the fair and the prizes is published in the March 20215 issue of Art Monthly Australia – on news stands now.