September Round-Up

Mizuma Gallery, Haridas Contemporary, Bangkok CityCity Gallery, Metropolitan Museum of Manila, STPI Gallery, Singapore Gallery Month, Warin Lab Contemporary, and ArtScience Museum
By Alana Malika

Kemalezedine; Epigraphic Landscape of Balinese Painting

Kemalezedine, ‘Dawn’ (detail image), 2024, acrylic and oil on canvas, 140 × 540 × 5 cm (triptych, 140 × 180 × 5 cm each). Image courtesy of the artist and Mizuma Gallery.

Curated by Hermanto Soerjanto, the solo exhibition featuring Kemalezedine highlights how the artist has assimilated his meticulous study of Balinese painting and drawing into his art practice. Originally from Yogyakarta, Kemalezedine moved to Bali to pursue a career as a full-time artist. Since then, his work has adopted elements of Balinese art while retaining his own contemporary style as shown in his landscape painting. While reminiscent of Kamasan styles through his use of colours and composition, the artist’s use of oil paints at the top layer of his paintings shows his incorporation of Western influences in his practice.

‘Kemalezedine; Epigraphic Landscape of Balinese Painting’ is on view from 7 September to 13 October 2024 at Mizuma Gallery, Singapore. More information here.

PULSE: A Group Show

Installation view of ‘PULSE: A Group Show.’ Image courtesy of Haridas Contemporary.

‘PULSE’ is an annual exhibition by Haridas Contemporary that aims to take an incisive look into the artistic currents that are rippling through Southeast Asia’s art ecosystem. Its inaugural exhibition features canvas paintings by John Marie Andrada (Philippines/Singapore), Liew Kwai Fei (Malaysia), Lucas Tan (Singapore), S. Urubingwaru (Indonesia) and Oscar Xyh (Singapore). With five artists hailing from different sociocultural contexts, the exhibition peers into the ways artists process the outer influences of their surroundings into the inner workings of their practice.

‘PULSE: A Group Show’ is on view from 31 August to 6 October 2024 at Haridas Contemporary, Singapore. More information here.

Tears I’ve Never Cried

Dhanut Tungsuwan, ‘Waiting Game,’ 2024. Photo by Akkarawin Krairiksh. Image courtesy of Bangkok CityCity Gallery.

‘Tears I’ve Never Cried’ is the second solo exhibition by Thai artist Dhanut Tungsuwan at Bangkok CityCity Gallery. The collection consists of large-scale paintings that depict what Tungsuwan describes as ‘a good lonely.’ By simultaneously drawing inspiration from his personal memories and found images from nostalgic popular media, Tungsuwan lends a touch of intimacy to his paintings that truthfully portrays his own personal journey while also inviting others to project their diverse experiences and emotions.

‘Tears I’ve Never Cried’ is on view from 17 August to 14 September 2024 at Bangkok CityCity Gallery, Bangkok. More information here.

Chances of Contact: Contemporary Prints from the Philippines and Singapore

Anita Magsaysay-Ho, ‘Edition I’, 2007. Image courtesy of STPI Gallery.

The Metropolitan Museum of Manila and STPI Gallery presents ‘Chances of Contact: Contemporary Prints from the Philippines and Singapore.’ Curated by Patrick Flores, the exhibition features a collection of works from 16 Philippine and Singapore artists that have completed residencies at STPI Gallery, in celebration of 55 years of bilateral relations between the two Southeast Asian countries. A few artists featured in the ongoing exhibition are Amanda Heng, Chua Ek Kay, Genevieve Chua, and Heman Chong from Singapore as well as Alfredo & Isabel Aquilizan, Benedicto “BenCab” Cabrera, Geraldine Javier, and Pacita Abad from the Philippines. Printmaking is a focal point of the exhibition, exploring how the medium has allowed different cultures, eras, and aesthetics to interact.

‘Chances of Contact: Contemporary Prints from the Philippines and Singapore’ is on view from 24 August to 26 October at the Metropolitan Museum of Manila, Philippines. More information here.

Under the Dark Sun

Imhathai Suwatthanasilp, ‘Dark Moon’, 2021, mixed media (light box, termite wings), 120 x 120 x 16 cm. Image courtesy of Warin Lab Contemporary.

A solo exhibition by Thai artist Imhathai Suwatthanasilp, ‘Under the Dark Sun’, explores a future world where nature has become inhospitable to human life. The series of mixed-media installations prompts viewers to think about anthropogenic destruction by underscoring the power of natural cycles to give and take away life, especially when it is thrown off balance. The space at Warin Lab Contemporary was thoughtfully designed to evoke a sense of displacement and disarray to reflect ecosystems that have become disrupted. For instance, ‘Dark Moon’ was inspired by the termites shed their wings and fly towards light sources at the end of a season. As climate change shortens and lengthens the duration of seasons, what is to happen to the life cycle of termites?

‘Under the Dark Sun’ is on view from 3 August to 28 September 2024 at Warin Lab Contemporary, Bangkok. More information here.

In the Ether: A Festival of Technology and Innovation

Niceaunties, 'Auntiedote: Aioli Times', 2024. Image courtesy of Marina Bay Sands.

This September, the ArtScience Museum presents ‘In the Ether: A Festival of Technology and Innovation.’ The exhibition invites new media artists such as Ouchhh Studio, Liam Young, and Ian Cheng to showcase the power of computing and data in expanding artistic practices. For instance, Singaporean artist Niceaunties employs artificial intelligence as a world building tool to create the ‘Auntieverse,’ a fictional world where ‘auntie culture’ reigns supreme. As viewers are able to peruse the ‘Auntieverse,’ they can imagine a world where eccentricism becomes the norm and begin to reflect on the patriarchal standards that have limited women’s freedoms.

‘In the Ether: A Festival of Technology and Innovation’ is on view from 1 to 30 September at ArtScience Museum, Singapore. More information here.