(UPDATE: Check out the quick video tour whipped up by my colleague Alvin Chong at the end of this post.)
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Round Two. I’m liking it a lot. Even this guy was floored.
And this basketball player jumped out of his skin in excitement and promptly assumed the foetal position.
On a slightly more serious note, I’m giving this year’s Art Stage a thumbs up — barring any missteps like last year’s Indian artist hoohah. It improves on the previous year’s success, methinks. But that’s coming from a casual observer and non-collector. Apparently sales have been a bit slower when it opened to collectors and VIPs today, traditionally the time when much of the buying takes place. Hopefully it’ll pick up. Or else I’ll just assume regional collectors have bad taste. Heh.
As someone else observed, this year seems more experimental that last year. Very little pop art, no huge Ai Weiwei installation (although his mug appears once or twice), no David LaChapelle or Takashi Murakami (spotted a Gilbert & George somewhere, though).
But it’s precisely because of this seeming absence of “sexy” names that makes this year feel a tad bit more special.
There’s a palpable Asian (if not South-east Asian) feel to the whole proceedings The Indonesian galleries are out in full force, the Chinese galleries are presenting some unusual work, and the Singapore presence is rather impressive: a prominent space is given to the local showcase Island Allegories (featuring Zhao Renhui, Betty Susiarjo and Ng Joon Kiat), Richard Koh Fine Art’s mini-room of Vertical Submarine’s cheeky text-based works is classy, ditto 2902 Gallery’s Zhao Renhui solo.
But what I’m really loving is its Project Stage section, where galleries are showcasing a specific artist. Kinda like how Art Hong Kong clumps all the more adventurous, smaller galleries one floor above its more overtly commercial offerings. Here, where everything’s all in one floor, you really feel the difference once you cross over to the regular galleries.
The Project Stage section is all at the back and I suggest you start your tour there. The galleries are very warm and accomodating, and the works fresh like Aditya Novali’s The Wall: Asian (Un)Real Estate Project installation at Galeri Canna Indonesia; Han Jinsu’s mechanical contraptions at Culture Cube Force; Yu Bogong’s sculptures at Magician Space (look out for the small one with a “beating heart”); and Cyrus Tang’s Burtonesque crystalised bones installation at Anna Pappas Gallery, among others.
In the meantime, a bunch of photos to whet your appetite. Stay tuned to our video tour, which we’ll be uploading soon.
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The fair throws up these little quirky surprises. Over at the regular galleries, Chinese artist Zheng Yunhan is presenting this performance — he makes and pours coffee for you.
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Here’s another Art Stage work where you can take photos! But no nudity in this installation by Shooshie Sulaiman and her collaborators ya? Only retro old school picture taking moments. Heh.
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Just to clarify, there are a lot more 2D works that are on display, which I haven’t posted here.
Between last year’s second Affordable Art Fair and this year’s Art Stage, I’m beginning to see how, from an art commerce perspective, these two fairs could be hugely complementary. It looks like it could work.
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(Art Stage Singapore runs from Jan 12 to 15 at Marina Bay Sands Convention and Exhibition Centre. More details here. I know there’s been some grumblings about the $30 day ticket price, so hopefully these photos can help you make up your mind if it’s worth it or not. And just to remind you, there’s a $10 concession for students, NSF and senior citizens.)
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