Baroda, India Art Fair, Kuala Lumpur

Two Positions presents works by Hetal Chudasama and Ramesh Pithiya, two emerging conceptual artists based in Baroda, India. 

Chudasama works primarily with performance and installation while Pithiya has moved from drawing into photography.

Confronting issues of the physical body in social space, both artists explore individual and social consciousness in relation to the world around them. Although vastly different in terms of their material and aesthetic choices, Chudasama and Pithiya similarly construct apparently minimal scenes and scenarios, employing a rich vocabulary of references and symbolism to create dense, abstract, pictorial narratives.

Amin Gulgee Four quarter chapatis

41cm x41cm x 58.4cm Copper

Cosmic Mambo shows the largest volume of Amin Gulgee's work outside Pakistan. Amin Gulgee (Karachi, Pakinstan), son of legendary Pakistani artist Ismail Gulgee, is  one of the most prominent artists of Pakistan. He has exhibited in the USA, UK, UAE, Portugal, Turkey, and Japan. He will be holding his fourth exhibition entitled Cosmic Mambo in Malaysia, and from December 9 to 12 in Singapore, presented by Wei-Ling Contemporary (Kuala Lumpur).

Koes Komo

Indonesian Artist Koes Komo, now living and working in Amsterdam, announces his first solo show in Europe. Playful drawings and paintings from emerging artist.

Nyoman Sujana Kenyem

The Bicycle Diaries

Nyoman Sujana Kenyem

 Solo exhibition at Komaneka Gallery, Ubud, Bali. Opening December 18 2011

Xue Mu

spotted at Rijksacademie Amsterdam:

Xue Mu, young artist from Nanjing, China, now working & living in The Netherlands

Her artist statement:

 "I want to find new qualities in things that can not be fully understood, those that cannot be defined, and can not be denied. 

On the picture Contemplation
a project built at fort Ruigenhoek, a 19c monumental architecture, 2008. see

http://xuemu.nl/acn/contemplation/

Cool Tokyo at Singapore

Cool Tokyo, exhibition at SAM Singapore Art Museum foto Wanya F. Kruyer 
 

David Lachapelle

One of the highlights Art Stage, was the lecture of acclaimed American glamour photographer David Lachapelle. 
For over ninety minutes Lachapelle silenced the packed lecture room at Marina Bay Sands convention centre, with his talk on his work, life and philosophy of life. 

"I use beauty to share my vision", he said, stating beauty is his tool, not his mission. A tool he learned thoroughly as a photographer for glossy magazines.

"People blamed me using the Katrina catastrophe in New Orleans", he said, showing 
slides of his famous pictures of fashion models in front of ruined houses. Those images were  made, he told the audience, months before the disaster. The magazine however, was published days after the disaster, suggesting David 'uswed' the disaster for his images. 
However, he didn't and couldn't have used the disaster, on the contrary, he tried to show the contrast between the glamorous world of fashion and the deterioated houses of the world's poor.

At Art Stage David Lachapelle stole many hearts with his open, and honest presentation. A few years ago, he said, he had enough of the glamourous but pressing and demanding world of fashion magazines, and he decided to move to the countryside. Slowly he's finding his way into the visual art world with his photography. It takes often months to make one image, he said, and: "as long as I can pay my bills, I'm happy with my descion having left the often crazy and stressed glamourworld". 

His many Asian fans lined up after the lecture, to have his photobooks autographed. 

Photo's Art Stage Singapore

An impression of the art, the artists, galerists, and visitors of the first Art Stage Singapore:

http://picasaweb.google.com/wanyafk

Photo's Art Stage

 visitor examens Ling Jian's work at Art Stage Singapore 2011 photo Wanya F. Kruyer

more photographer's impression of art, artists, and visitors from the first Art Stage Singapore

 http://picasaweb.google.com/wanyafk

T.Venkannan faces censorship

Performance T. Venkannan

T.Venkannan protests against censorship of his performance at Art Stage Singapore 2011 photo Wanya F. Kruyer

Censorship at Art Stage 

 

Artwork/performance of Indian artist T. Venkanna was censored after Chinese protests.

The performance of Venkanna, sitting naked in front of a copy of Frida Kahlo's The Two Frida's (1939), inviting visitors of his booth to sit next to him,has been stopped after serious threats to the artist.

An official of Art Stage Singapore asked Verkanna to stop his act, after tabloids in China has focused on Verkanna on their report of Art Stage, calling the artist an exhibitionist, and questioning if the performance has to be considered as art.

Mr. Abhay Maskara, owner of Gallery Maskara, didn't want to tell who advised him to stop the show. A lawyer was quoted saying the show could be against Singapore's law as an offense to appear naked in public.

Verkanna responded as an artist, by drawing his feelings into the gallery booth, which, was darkened and closed to visitors below age 21.

The vulnerable Venkanna was deeply moved by the questioning of his integrity as an artist. However, he said he wants to return next year to Singapore to confront again the audience with his performance art.

T. Venkanna is an acclaimed artist, living in Baroda, India who's works are in major collections including Saatchi, London, Burger, Switzerland, and Swagemakers, Netherlands.

Naoito at Art Stage

Naoito at Art Stage Singapore 2011 photo Wanya F. Kruyer

YATAI at Art Stage Singapore photo Wanya F. Kruyer

Highlight on Art Stage: the informal concert of singer/guitarist Naoito from Japan on Sunday Jan 16, YATAI Tour.

Naoito's music is full of influences from music around the world, Asian, African, and Western singer/songwriter's, however recognisable his very own style.

The performance was called YATAI trip project, an hommage to the typical Asian food stall. Naoito and crew brought to Singapore a real Yatai, movable but instable balancing on a wheelbarrow, serving as an folding table on which the audience was invited to have a drink. Only accompaynied by a musician on hand organ, singer and guitar player Naoito left a lasting impression with his intense and touching performance. He musicality reminded me of Jeff Buckley, the American singer/guitarist with his intense voice, who died way too young. Buckley, like Naoito, was during his short career searching through classic and contemporary music, aware of this issues of his time. Naoito's shopping, a critical musical comment of consumerism, confronted the audience art Art Stage with the world around them at Singapore's new shopping wahallah - with all that luxious Western brands - at the Marina Bay Sands, the venue of Art Stage.

see more on Naoito http://www.groundriddim.com/naoito/

Cool Tokyo Singapore Art Museum Jan. 2011

Impressions Art Stage SIN

Impressions Art Stage Singapore 2010