The perennial complaint we hear is that Singaporeans are not buying art of Singapore Artists especially the young ones.
The older artists have no problem selling like your Lim Tze Peng, Ang Ah Tee, Tan Choh Tee et al. Has to do with their cultural medallions and investment potential, especially if they are in their golden years and prices go up after they unable to produce any more.
Middle aged artists are having it tough as their works are now more expensive and the investors won't consider their works unless they are superstars like Jane Lee. So at this stage they find it tough and hence there are very few full time artists, most have a second stable career.
Young artists usually sell well in their first few shows as the collectors like to support them and also lay claim of spotting the artist first and to affirm their good taste if the artist becomes very successful. (But a lot of friends support the artist's first show and buy their works, so it's not sustainable unless the friends are hard core collectors). Because of this 'success', the young artists tend to price themselves a bit high. I have noticed this trend in the past two years - the price of young artists' works have risen a lot. When I say young artists, I mean fresh spring chickens within 3-5 years of graduation, and thus they don't have any track record or we don't even know their staying power.
In the past two years, we have felt the price of the young artists' work creeping up which is counter intuitive with this poor global economic outlook. Thus whenever we attend a young artist's exhibition we are a bit put off by the price. Often we find ourselves thinking, at this price we can buy two pieces or at least a bigger work from a more famous Malaysian/ Indonesian. We can just top up a few grand and get works from more prominent mid-career/ established artists. And I don't think we are the only people thinking that way.
Also, the young artists tend to jump ship and show at multiple galleries at various prices. Thus this is killing the galleries and I am sure that's why some of the galleries selling mainly Singapore artists have to source artists from other markets. Also it is extremely confusing and frustrating for collectors.
Think in Singapore, only FOST and ChanHampe do many young Singaporean artists. Occasionally Ipreciation, Mizuma and Taksu do a show with locals. Art-2 does some younger Singapore artists but they rarely do shows/ monologues. Some of the other Gillman Barracks galleries do show young Singapore artists as part of a group show. For the older artists most galleries are clamouring to sell their works and you can find their works at most galleries, especially those that do not promote the artists or do exhibitions.
So my advice to young artists is please do not price yourselves too high. If not you will find your shows largely unsold, which is opposite to what everybody wants which is a sold out show. And collectors will be put off by the bad press. And please don't follow your lecturers, some of them price their works really high. And that doesn't mean they sell as they don't need to sell as they have a regular income, and they raise the price to give themselves prestige - "my works sell for 15K". Have seen some older artists pricing high and not sure if they are selling, maybe one or two only. Like that the artist won't be able to survive without his day job. Don't be fooled.
Interesting exhibitions which we attend. Mainly paintings but everything Art in Singapore with hot collector tips.
Saturday, 27 August 2016
Departure 2 - Ezekiel Wong, Betty Susiarjo, Ashley Yeo, Jon Chan and Milenko Prvacki
This exhibition is held from 12th to 27th August 2016 at Ipreciation.
This is similar to Departure 1 (2014) where Milenko chose some of his better students to have a show with him.
We are all familiar with Milenko's works so I will mainly talk about the rest.
Ashley Yeo - this time she showed some drawings and paper cuts. Really love her paper cuts and the 3 pieces on show were excellent and am not surprised all 3 were sold on opening night.
Jon Chan did some paintings. I think he presented 5 paintings 3 of which were sold. Only one of the pieces was excellent. If it wasn't sold, I would have bought it. That piece was the one with the glamorous woman sitting in the MRT with every day people. The rest were so-so.
Betty Susiarjo: what she did was paintings with embroidery on it. Interesting and she is trying something new. Don't think any were sold, but it was interesting work.
Ezekiel Wong did some drawings, animated Gifs and a sculpture which he made himself. His drawings are good. The Gifs are humourous and along the lines of the works which he showed at Mizuma. But the sculpture which he did of the legs and pants much like the Lion Dance one at Mizuma but on a smaller scale (70cm in diameter), was excellent. Not surprised that it was sold also.
Points for collectors: Ezekiel strong buy. He is doing good work. Attracting attention because he is being shown by the bigger galleries. Ashley - strong buy for her paper cuts. Her drawings are also good so buy rating for her drawings. Jon Chan - neutral because only one was good. But definitely improving as compared to the Grey Projects exhibition. Betty Susiarjo is getting attention and has shown at other important galleries like Ota. Neutral to her works. But one to watch.
Ps. no pictures because Ipreciation put up some no-photography signs. :(
This is similar to Departure 1 (2014) where Milenko chose some of his better students to have a show with him.
We are all familiar with Milenko's works so I will mainly talk about the rest.
Ashley Yeo - this time she showed some drawings and paper cuts. Really love her paper cuts and the 3 pieces on show were excellent and am not surprised all 3 were sold on opening night.
Jon Chan did some paintings. I think he presented 5 paintings 3 of which were sold. Only one of the pieces was excellent. If it wasn't sold, I would have bought it. That piece was the one with the glamorous woman sitting in the MRT with every day people. The rest were so-so.
Betty Susiarjo: what she did was paintings with embroidery on it. Interesting and she is trying something new. Don't think any were sold, but it was interesting work.
Ezekiel Wong did some drawings, animated Gifs and a sculpture which he made himself. His drawings are good. The Gifs are humourous and along the lines of the works which he showed at Mizuma. But the sculpture which he did of the legs and pants much like the Lion Dance one at Mizuma but on a smaller scale (70cm in diameter), was excellent. Not surprised that it was sold also.
Points for collectors: Ezekiel strong buy. He is doing good work. Attracting attention because he is being shown by the bigger galleries. Ashley - strong buy for her paper cuts. Her drawings are also good so buy rating for her drawings. Jon Chan - neutral because only one was good. But definitely improving as compared to the Grey Projects exhibition. Betty Susiarjo is getting attention and has shown at other important galleries like Ota. Neutral to her works. But one to watch.
Ps. no pictures because Ipreciation put up some no-photography signs. :(
Sunday, 7 August 2016
Liminal State - Ezekiel Wong, Lavender Chang, Stephanie Burt, Leonard Yang and Eunice Lim
This exhibition is held from 30th July to 31st August 2016 at Mizuma Gallery at Gillman Barracks.
This exhibition is another offering of local artists by Mizuma, last year was Michael Lee's show. This time the exhibition I heard was put together by Jane Koh, one of the gallerists at Mizuma, before she leaves to further her art studies. Anyway it was a good show and a nice mix of local artists.
Ezekiel Wong showed the works which he did for the AAF young talent programme. The legs covered by the lion dance fabric and the animated GIFs.
Eunice Lim did a paper cut which has to do about land reclamation and the space between Johor and Singapore. Like this work. The end result is a nice simple and aesthetically pleasing work.
Lavender Chang did photographs which were long exposure works of people in their own spaces sleeping. Interesting works too.
Leonard Yang did more of his paintings on photographs. This time the work was nicer, the colour palette was better and overall works were much better. He used nature photographs of Punggol as backdrops and painted in buildings, old European buildings with Roman columns or new buildings like the Marina Bay Sands. The work has to do with trees taking over cities, like at the end of the world or Dystopia/ dystopian society.
Stephanie did her installations of objects, some found, some bought and some made. Interesting works.
Points for collectors: All five of them are talented. Ezekiel is working hard and has another showing with Ipreciation later this month. Eunice has just returned from her residency in Australia and had shown recently at Instinc@Soho. Leonard Yang has improved very much after the VADA show. Lavender Chang does good photographs and Stephanie, good installation. Buy rating for all of them.
This exhibition is another offering of local artists by Mizuma, last year was Michael Lee's show. This time the exhibition I heard was put together by Jane Koh, one of the gallerists at Mizuma, before she leaves to further her art studies. Anyway it was a good show and a nice mix of local artists.
Ezekiel Wong showed the works which he did for the AAF young talent programme. The legs covered by the lion dance fabric and the animated GIFs.
Eunice Lim did a paper cut which has to do about land reclamation and the space between Johor and Singapore. Like this work. The end result is a nice simple and aesthetically pleasing work.
Lavender Chang did photographs which were long exposure works of people in their own spaces sleeping. Interesting works too.
Leonard Yang did more of his paintings on photographs. This time the work was nicer, the colour palette was better and overall works were much better. He used nature photographs of Punggol as backdrops and painted in buildings, old European buildings with Roman columns or new buildings like the Marina Bay Sands. The work has to do with trees taking over cities, like at the end of the world or Dystopia/ dystopian society.
Stephanie did her installations of objects, some found, some bought and some made. Interesting works.
Lavender Chang
Leonard Yang
Leonard Yang
Stephanie Burt
Ezekiel Wong
Eunice Lim
Points for collectors: All five of them are talented. Ezekiel is working hard and has another showing with Ipreciation later this month. Eunice has just returned from her residency in Australia and had shown recently at Instinc@Soho. Leonard Yang has improved very much after the VADA show. Lavender Chang does good photographs and Stephanie, good installation. Buy rating for all of them.
Art Stage Jakarta 2016
This is the first year for Art Stage Jakarta, and from the consumer's point of view, it was quite a good one. Held at the Sheraton Grand Grandaria in Jakarta from 5-7 August 2016, the art fair extended beyond the ballroom, and spread its feelers out into the attached shopping mall and right into collectors' homes.
It also helps that the owner of the hotel and mall is a collector so wherever you walk within the hotel, you will see pieces of art in the lobby, lift lobby, and corridors. Some are there permanently, while others were there only during the period of the fair. Similarly, when you stroll through the Grandaria City shopping mall, huge sculptures greet you with the strategically placed "Art Stage Jakarta" signs right next to them. Think they were installed specifically for the fair too. There were many moments where a piece of art stopped me in my tracks to stand and stare, while looking for a snack or cafe (and believe me, when I'm on a mission to look for something to eat, not many things can stop me in my tracks other than gorgeous shoes).
The fair itself had many familiar gallery names, with some showing works seen before in previous fairs. Quite a hefty participation of Singapore galleries too. But the reason that I was keen on visiting the fair, was to see a wider showcase of good Indonesian art. There was a special exhibition dedicated to Indonesian masters in separate function rooms, and I found this quite interesting. But the best works are already in the hands of collectors, so there were visits to Indonesian collectors' homes to see their vast collections. However, these visits were mostly limited to VVIPs so the average art enthusiast would not have had access to these visits.
Still, for someone who's not very familiar with Indonesian art, to some extent Art Stage Jakarta provided a good introduction to the top Indonesian artists and their range of works. Whether the art was displayed in the art fair itself or in the public areas, they were really eye-catching works that make you peer more closely to find out the artist's name, so that was a good thing.
I would have liked to see a wider range of young, emerging contemporary Indonesian artists though, so that one gets a sense of where Indonesian art is going in the years to come. There were some, but after a while, I got the sense that there was a concerted effort to show the 'brand' names of Indonesian art, and signature pieces associated with very established artists. Maybe that's the nature of the Indonesian art scene, where collectors rule and artists who are not yet in the radar of significant collectors are deemed too risky to show at an international art fair like Art Stage.
Buy ratings: yes, buy.
It also helps that the owner of the hotel and mall is a collector so wherever you walk within the hotel, you will see pieces of art in the lobby, lift lobby, and corridors. Some are there permanently, while others were there only during the period of the fair. Similarly, when you stroll through the Grandaria City shopping mall, huge sculptures greet you with the strategically placed "Art Stage Jakarta" signs right next to them. Think they were installed specifically for the fair too. There were many moments where a piece of art stopped me in my tracks to stand and stare, while looking for a snack or cafe (and believe me, when I'm on a mission to look for something to eat, not many things can stop me in my tracks other than gorgeous shoes).
The fair itself had many familiar gallery names, with some showing works seen before in previous fairs. Quite a hefty participation of Singapore galleries too. But the reason that I was keen on visiting the fair, was to see a wider showcase of good Indonesian art. There was a special exhibition dedicated to Indonesian masters in separate function rooms, and I found this quite interesting. But the best works are already in the hands of collectors, so there were visits to Indonesian collectors' homes to see their vast collections. However, these visits were mostly limited to VVIPs so the average art enthusiast would not have had access to these visits.
Still, for someone who's not very familiar with Indonesian art, to some extent Art Stage Jakarta provided a good introduction to the top Indonesian artists and their range of works. Whether the art was displayed in the art fair itself or in the public areas, they were really eye-catching works that make you peer more closely to find out the artist's name, so that was a good thing.
I would have liked to see a wider range of young, emerging contemporary Indonesian artists though, so that one gets a sense of where Indonesian art is going in the years to come. There were some, but after a while, I got the sense that there was a concerted effort to show the 'brand' names of Indonesian art, and signature pieces associated with very established artists. Maybe that's the nature of the Indonesian art scene, where collectors rule and artists who are not yet in the radar of significant collectors are deemed too risky to show at an international art fair like Art Stage.
"Di Kamar Hotel" by Handiwirman Saputra
"Conversation Unknown" by Aditya Novali
Some of Affandi's works at the Special Exhibition
"Promising Land #2" by Entang Wiharso
"Live for Life #2" by Erianto
"Gamber dari pemimpin yang" by Erizal As
Other works by Indonesian artists
A few of many works in common / public areas
Buy ratings: yes, buy.
Thursday, 4 August 2016
That's all there is - PG Lee and Yeo Tze Yang
This exhibition is held from 29th July to 7th August 2016 over at That Spare Room, which is The Fabulous Baker Boy cafe's spare room. And this cafe is located at Foothills at Fort Canning, a stone's throw from Cape of Good Hope Gallery.
This exhibition is a collaborative exhibition between the two artists. You can read about the concept behind the exhibition at their blog and other sites on the net. You could even purchase the exhibition book for $15. Nicely printed book.
Anyway back to what I have to say;
If you have been following my blog you would already have heard of Yeo Tze Yang's name and you would know he is a figurative painter. He has been actively painting and his keen. And from the works he presented, I am glad to say that he has definitely improved and his work is getting better. I like the colour palette and he has found another means to produce dynamism and good flow in the painting.
PG Lee presented more conceptual works. A photograph of a family member propped up against a wall, a wax box, a wax cubicle and 2 fishing rods. Nice works. But I felt there was a disconnect between his works when presented in the show. But I do like the fishing rods.
Not easy to pair a conceptual / installation artist and a painter, they tried their best I guess. The painting of the person by the ocean went well with the fishing rods.
Points for collectors: Yeo Tze Yang - buy rating. His skill has improved, now he has to go to art school. (The debate of whether an art education is necessary or not is a perennial one. But I feel an art education is necessary, at least a diploma. If one doesn't want to go down that route then one should go for residencies. But being a figurative painter, he should really go train in Italy or do a residency there. Not only to improve one's skill but also one's knowledge of the medium which one uses.) PG Lee - neutral rating. For me I think conceptual artists must do brilliant, provocative, fresh and edgy works, because the concept is what they are judged upon. So we have to see what other works he produces to push the limit. (PG Lee pushed a ball around for SCOUT, the Cambodian Svay Sareth dragged a steel ball around his country; wrt wax works, recently have seen another artist also using the paraffin wax in his works and propping up a photograph isn't groundbreaking either)
This exhibition is a collaborative exhibition between the two artists. You can read about the concept behind the exhibition at their blog and other sites on the net. You could even purchase the exhibition book for $15. Nicely printed book.
Anyway back to what I have to say;
If you have been following my blog you would already have heard of Yeo Tze Yang's name and you would know he is a figurative painter. He has been actively painting and his keen. And from the works he presented, I am glad to say that he has definitely improved and his work is getting better. I like the colour palette and he has found another means to produce dynamism and good flow in the painting.
PG Lee presented more conceptual works. A photograph of a family member propped up against a wall, a wax box, a wax cubicle and 2 fishing rods. Nice works. But I felt there was a disconnect between his works when presented in the show. But I do like the fishing rods.
Not easy to pair a conceptual / installation artist and a painter, they tried their best I guess. The painting of the person by the ocean went well with the fishing rods.
Points for collectors: Yeo Tze Yang - buy rating. His skill has improved, now he has to go to art school. (The debate of whether an art education is necessary or not is a perennial one. But I feel an art education is necessary, at least a diploma. If one doesn't want to go down that route then one should go for residencies. But being a figurative painter, he should really go train in Italy or do a residency there. Not only to improve one's skill but also one's knowledge of the medium which one uses.) PG Lee - neutral rating. For me I think conceptual artists must do brilliant, provocative, fresh and edgy works, because the concept is what they are judged upon. So we have to see what other works he produces to push the limit. (PG Lee pushed a ball around for SCOUT, the Cambodian Svay Sareth dragged a steel ball around his country; wrt wax works, recently have seen another artist also using the paraffin wax in his works and propping up a photograph isn't groundbreaking either)
Wednesday, 3 August 2016
Bilateral Bonds - Simon Ng, Allison Low, Aiman Hakim, Miguel Chew, Dzaki Safaruan
This exhibition is held from 28th July till the end of August 2016 over at Taksu Gallery at Chip Bee/ Holland Village.
It is a show of Malaysian and Singaporean artists to underline the Bilateral Bonds and thus is held over the National Days of both countries and a parallel show will also run in the KL gallery.
I will mainly focus on the local artists and leave out the Malaysian artists.
1. Allison Low - she showed her earlier works, I think maybe she will show newer ones at the KL show. So my earlier comments for her stand.
2. Aiman Hakim showed another piece from his Toy Story series. Looks better on screen, possibly because the software sharpened the image. In the flesh, didn't look too good.Was a bit flat and the objects weren't very sharp. But it was a big piece, 2.75m in length.
3. Simon Ng - Did some more works along the 'Mysterious skin' vein. It was a pair of paintings, one more impasto and the other with thinner paint layers/flatter brush strokes. They were good works. In fact the paintings work very well as a diptych. We feel that in these two paintings, he has solved quite a few of the problems that were evident in his works shown at 'Mysterious Skin'. Definitely a marked improvement.
4. Dzaki Safaruan - Showed more paper cuts, similar to the one in 'Locals Only' and AAF. Was ok. But still think the one at AAF was much better. Just have to see how he develops.
5. Miguel Chew - Did really nice work. Basically made 3 boxes and in the boxes were his screen printing on perspex. Aesthetically very nice work. However, the attention to detail wasn't there, i.e. the finish of the work, things that certain artists would have a fit over if the work were to be shown with this finish. Even if the artist says it is intentional, it still doesn't look intentional enough to the viewer.
Points for collectors: Simon Ng - Strong Buy. Aiman Hakim - neutral to hold off. Allison Low - Buy. Dzaki Safaruan - have to see how he goes, still very young. Miguel Chew - buy if the work didn't have quality issues. A problem with local artists is that they are asking for quite a high price. Compared to the Malaysian artists on show, the local art comes across as very steep. Think it has to do with forex and the cost of living. But I feel that the price gap between the young artists vs the mid career/establishing artists is narrow, and we often find ourselves thinking if I top up X dollars I could buy (insert more established local artist name here).
It is a show of Malaysian and Singaporean artists to underline the Bilateral Bonds and thus is held over the National Days of both countries and a parallel show will also run in the KL gallery.
I will mainly focus on the local artists and leave out the Malaysian artists.
1. Allison Low - she showed her earlier works, I think maybe she will show newer ones at the KL show. So my earlier comments for her stand.
2. Aiman Hakim showed another piece from his Toy Story series. Looks better on screen, possibly because the software sharpened the image. In the flesh, didn't look too good.Was a bit flat and the objects weren't very sharp. But it was a big piece, 2.75m in length.
3. Simon Ng - Did some more works along the 'Mysterious skin' vein. It was a pair of paintings, one more impasto and the other with thinner paint layers/flatter brush strokes. They were good works. In fact the paintings work very well as a diptych. We feel that in these two paintings, he has solved quite a few of the problems that were evident in his works shown at 'Mysterious Skin'. Definitely a marked improvement.
4. Dzaki Safaruan - Showed more paper cuts, similar to the one in 'Locals Only' and AAF. Was ok. But still think the one at AAF was much better. Just have to see how he develops.
5. Miguel Chew - Did really nice work. Basically made 3 boxes and in the boxes were his screen printing on perspex. Aesthetically very nice work. However, the attention to detail wasn't there, i.e. the finish of the work, things that certain artists would have a fit over if the work were to be shown with this finish. Even if the artist says it is intentional, it still doesn't look intentional enough to the viewer.
Miguel Chew
Dzaki Safaruan
Simon Ng
Aiman Hakim
Allison Low
Points for collectors: Simon Ng - Strong Buy. Aiman Hakim - neutral to hold off. Allison Low - Buy. Dzaki Safaruan - have to see how he goes, still very young. Miguel Chew - buy if the work didn't have quality issues. A problem with local artists is that they are asking for quite a high price. Compared to the Malaysian artists on show, the local art comes across as very steep. Think it has to do with forex and the cost of living. But I feel that the price gap between the young artists vs the mid career/establishing artists is narrow, and we often find ourselves thinking if I top up X dollars I could buy (insert more established local artist name here).
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