Fabulous art at the newly opened National Gallery Singapore

We recently visited the newly opened National Gallery Singapore, which features Southeast Asia Art.  The National Gallery Singapore occupies two national monuments - the former Supreme Court and City Hall, both landmarks of Singapore's colonial past that have been beautifully restored and transformed beginning 2011 into a beautiful, majestic museum.  

Some inside views of the National Gallery which has been painstakingly restored

The National Gallery Singapore is located in the heart of Singapore's Civic district, and across the Padang (large field) on which several important gatherings including the National Day parade are held.  Below are some great views of Singapore one can get from Level 6.

Figure: Great views of Singapore across the 'Padang' or grounds from the NGS
Top: View of the CBD - Central Business District
Bottom: The iconic Marina Bay Sands hotel the Esplanade Theaters, and the Singapore Flyer

As an arts institution, the NGS reflects Singapore’s unique cultural heritage and geographical location by featuring Singapore and Southeast Asian art exhibitions. Working with other museums around the world the NGS co-presents Southeast Asian art in a wider context, as evidenced in the special exhibition currently running titled "Reframing Modernism", which features iconic works by modern artists from Southeast side by side with European artists.

The collection of exhibitions at the NGS is vast enough to take several visits to cover.  We managed to catch only a few of the exhibitions and I am highlighting some of the paintings and the people behind them that caught my eye.   Most galleries cover the little red dot's Ii.e. Singapore's) art history from the 19th century providing insights into the history of the country, and the circumstances and events that the artists lived through.

Lotus in a Breeze, by Georgette Chen, 1970

Lotus in a Breeze is a classic painting by Georgette Chen who settled in Singapore since the 1950s and taught art here as well.  She chose the lotus, which is indicative of her Chinese heritage.  Chen studied and learned art in Paris, New York and Shanghai.

Kampong Kuchan, by Suri bin Mohyani, 1951

Kampong Kuchan shows a region in Singapore which historically was a fishing village or Kampong.  In 1951, urban redevelopment began encroaching on to this Kampong, and this is when this painting was made.

Self portrait, by Lee Man Fong, 1958

A rare Self portrait, this painting shows Lee in this art studio with statues and busts.  You can see that he has painted this looking into a mirror.  Lee moved to Singapore in 1916 from China and went ot study with a scholarship at The Hague.  He was later appointed official painter to Indonesia’s Presidential Palace.

Souri, by Liu Kang, 1953

Souri shows a Balinese dancer kneeling theatrically in front of a carving of a Hindu god.  The patterns, details and colors of her costume are the highlight of this painting.  Liu Kang was born in China, studied at the Shanghai Academy of Fine Art, and then lived in Paris before coming to Singapore.

Epiphany, by Richard Walker, 1942

Walker’s (1896 – 1989) allegorical painting, Epiphany, depicts the Nativity scene of Jesus. Walker pained this when he was a prisoner-of-war under Japanese occupation in the Changi POW camp in Singapore. The Virgin Mary and other biblical figures are portrayed as Asians with modern hairstyles, and the wise men are dressed in Chinese garb. 

Various Photographs, credits not noted

There were some interesting photographs of people of Indian origin featured.  Captured just a couple of them as shown above in Various Photographs.

Wu Guangzhong gallery

There was an entire gallery dedicated to the works of Wu Guangzhong (1919 - 2010).  Wu is considered to be one of the greatest contemporary Chinese painters, and is widely recognized as a founder of modern Chinese painting.  His works included several paintings reminiscent of of the impressionist painters (oil), and then was part of the New Ink movement (ink), and then moved to Abstraction (abstract art). The gallery is named after the artist who gifted many of his works to Singapore, and is his largest holding of his works in a public collection.  Some of Wu's works are below:

A Sunflower, by Wu Guangzhong, 1975

A Sunflower -- Wu was intrigued with sunflowers, especially by how "their seeds are packed tightly in an arrangement that is complex yet orderly, its methodical criss-crosses more intricate than a bee hive". This painting was Wu's tribute to Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh who was well known for depicting sunflowers.

Pomegranates, by Wu Guangzhong, 1974

A riverside scene of Shaoxing, by Wu Guangzhong

Homage to Van Gogh, by Wu Guangzhong

A dream of Paris, by Wu Guangzhong

The Great Buddha of Le Mountain, by Wu Guangzhong, 1979

The Great Buddha of Le Mountain is a painting in ink of the Leshan Giant Buddha, which is carved out of a cliff in Sichuan province in China.  Wu scoped the area out and drew a pretty amazing perspective of the cliff carving as seen from near its feet.

In 1947, Wu traveled to Paris to study at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux Arts on the government scholarship. He visited all of the major museums within the first few days of his arrival having been a great fan of French and European art. Wu loved van Gogh the most because of van Gogh’s passion for art and the internal torment he endured.  

Wu returned to China in the summer of 1950 and taught there in a job he was assigned to by the new People’s Republic of China government.  In 1966, after the Cultural Revolution, the Red Guards from the very art school he had been teaching at raided his house and confiscated his possessions and forbade him to paint or write! He was heavily criticized for his work and condemned to 're-education' by being sent away to the countryside to toil in fields and force to study books by Chairman Mao. 

Beginning in 1972, when he found more leisure time he began to paint again and was allowed to go back home in 1973.

We wrapped up with the gallery housed in the former Supreme Court that housed more art from greater Southeast Asia.  Some of the interesting ones I saw are below.

Espana y Filipinas by Juan Luna, 1884

Espana y Filipinas is an allegorical painting describing the relationship between Spain and the Philippines.  It shows Spain guiding Philippines to a radiant dawn with the staircase being climbed indicating progress.

There were several paintings by Raden Saleh (1811- 1880) from Indonesia.  Raden is considered to be the first 'modern' artist from Indonesia (then the Dutch East Indies), and his paintings corresponded with nineteenth-century romanticism which was popular in Europe at the time.  He did learn art in the Netherlands and live in Europe for 20 years.

Merapi eruption, by Raden Saleh, 1866

Forest fire by Raden Saleh, 1849

The colossal Forest fire is impressively sized at 3m x 4m. The plight of animals at the edge of a cliff as a fire burns in the background is simply awesome.

In closing, the National Gallery houses some incredible art from the region.  Admission is free for citizens and PRs and is $15/$20 for concession/adult tickets.  This gallery is a treasure trove and also has an entire children's section called the Keppel Centre for Art Education.  Keppel offers an environment that is perfect for the curious child.  There is an Art Corridor, a children's museum, a Project Gallery for hands on activities and a brilliant decorated Art Playscape.  An example of art at the Keppel Center is show below.

The Project Gallery is perfect for a break for the kids from the Gallery and to indulge in art!