It was an interesting exhibition trying to tell the entire story in 3 Galleries. Starting from the late 1800s till present. Felt it did a good job without trying to pack in too much, remember Star Wars Episode I-III, where too much was packed into 3 episodes and it failed.
There was some criticism from friends that it was a bit too Nanyang-Centric, with many of Chen Wen Hsi, Cheong Soo Pieng and Georgette Chen's on show. But I thought it was ok, as most people want to see the best artists when you go to a museum and their works are better than others and thus they hold a great place in history and thus should be allocated more air-time.
There was also enough Chinese ink on show to show the parallel development of the traditional ink and the 'Singapore' ink style. Though I didn't spot the Indian Artists, the Malay artists were also represented. The 'Sunday Group (Watercolourists)' of Lim Cheng Hoe and Chen Chong Swee (think Cheong Soo Pieng can also be counted as an occasional member) was represented, along with the 2nd generation artists like Gog Sing Hooi and Ong Kim Seng.
The works then progressed on to more 2nd generation artists some of whom are still alive, so the history of this period was quite well presented. Represented was the Equator Art Society with its 2nd generation artists including Ong Kim Seng, Koeh Sia Yong, Chua Mia Tee, Lee Boon Wang and Lim Yew Kuan; and the Modern Art Society's Ho Ho Ying. Then it goes on to the the Artists Village, mainly Tang Da Wu. And more familiar commercial gallery names like Ang Ah Tee, Tan Choh Tee, Thomas Yeo, Yeo Siak Goon, Anthony Poon and this chapter which is housed in Gallery 2 ends with Milenko Prvacki and an early Ian Woo piece.
However, the shift (in Gallery 3) from after the 90s to current was a bit abrupt, but that was the time when art in Singapore expanded out of paintings and sculptures. So I guess since this period isn't supposed to be NGS's expertise, but rather SAM's, so they just put out a snippet of the current contemporary artists (those which have been shown in biennale's). To us, it wasn't sufficiently representative of the art scene from the 90s to present. The usual ones the Art Gods in Singapore love at the moment (no, Charles Lim and Robert Zhao weren't there, but Ho Tzu Nyen was). But excellent pieces on show. installations, painting, videos... I pity Cheo Chai Hiang's rehash of 5x5 (Singapore River). Previously it was meant to be a drawing and I think last year or 2 years ago, it was shown at Sculpture Square as a projection. This time it was rehashed as 5'x5' (Inched Deep) and he had the pleasure of sawing into the wall and floor, must have been great fun for him. When I was there, only two boys noticed it and everybody else walked past or over/on it. But I thought that was interesting. (You can obviously tell we are biased towards contemporary art.)
Oh yes, I like the fact that they featured early photographs, but don't think at that time it would have been considered art. But the few post war photos (which I think can qualify as art) which they showed were good. Was a bit too crowded for me to take photos and name them. But just go and look at them, you will know.
Sculptures were also featured, but most weren't really impressive and most people walked by them with the eyes glued to the paintings mainly.
Didn't list down everything, just go and see for yourself. Think about the Curatorial aspect and how it answers the title. And yes for the individual works, please look at the art before reading the label if you have the time.
Overall a good job. Glad we have more art museums. Will go back on a weekday for more leisurely viewing. Still have the other galleries to write about and SAM's Time of Others and 5 Stars.
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