Dear Zhang Ayi,
I arrived in the Straits early in the week for Art Stage Singapore—hard to believe the art fair merry-go-round has started again. Although everyone was ready to self-immolate by the time of Miami only a month ago, it’s a new year and the art grasshoppers not skiing, are feeding in Singapore—yes indeed, skiing grasshoppers! So far things are going well. Here are some snapshots.
I went for a walk and came across the National Art Gallery construction site (the gallery reopens next year). The building behind it that looks like a spaceship is actually a spaceship from Planet North Korea. In front of the gallery is a cricket field. This is brilliant—Tate Modern, the Pompidou Centre and MoMA should also have sporting fields right out front. At least the National Gallery in London has Trafalgar, which is almost like a sports ground, at least during demos.
All the cranes in the picture are not actually for construction though but are symbolic. It is an installation by the government to show it is building a new-art-hub-for-South-East-Asia and it is very clear they intend to give Hong Kong a run for its money.*
Much love,
c
*”There is an error in Christopher Moore’s Art Stage Singapore – first postcard (to Ayi) article. It is stated that “All the cranes in the picture are not actually for construction though but are symbolic”. This is not true. The National Art Gallery, Singapore is indeed under construction and the cranes are functional. They are not part of an installation. Appreciate if you can rectify the error. Thank you.” -National Art Gallery representative. ( 
– Ed. )
I visited Singapore Art Museum to see the biennial show. And there was much to see, particularly the depth of Singaporean artists, which has definitely increased in recent years, and then also Filipino artists—the “new” emerging art scene in South East Asia.
Ng Joon Kiat “Lit Cities” 2013
Zulkifli Yusoff “Rukunegara 1: Belief in God” 2013
Kiri Dalena “Monument for a Present Future”, single-channel video and mixed-media installation, 2013—is one of the best works on show at the Singapore Biennial. Dalena (b.1975) lives and works in Quezon City, Philippines.
Nasirun “Between Worlds” 2013
After SAM, I ducked next door to Yavuz Fine Art to see the Pinaree Sanpitak’s exhibition pre-opening.
Pinaree Sanpitak solo exhibition “Cold Cuts” at Yavuz Fine Art opens this week—here’s a sneak preview.
And then Chan Hampe Galleries at Raffles Arcade to see Dawn Ng’s show of collections—more about this show later.
Dawn Ng “Windowshop” solo-show at Chan Hampe Galleries
Finally, I went to the Singapore Tyler Print Institute for the opening of Singapore-veteran artist Han Sai Por’s solo-show “Moving Forest”.
Han Sai Por at the opening of her “Moving Forest” show at STPI.
The most stylish people at Han Sai Por’s opening were the choreographers Hock & Wong.
Choreographers Hock & Wong at Han Sai Por “Moving Forest” exhibition, STPI
