Artists to Watch out for in 2019

From the mediums of painting to net-art, here are the artists we think will make waves in 2019 and why we're keeping our eyes peeled for them: 

Shu Lea Cheang

Taiwan’s representative at this year’s Venice Biennale, Shu’s net-based installations hardly need an introduction; renowned institutions such as the Guggenheim collect her works – ‘BRANDON’ was the first web art commissioned and collected by them. What makes Shu one to look out for is the collaborative effort that will be brought to Taiwan’s Pavillion. Together with curator Paul B. Preciado, Shu’s site-specific work for the 58th Venice Art Biennale is titled ‘3×3×6’, referring to the architectural model typically adopted by industrial prisons around the world today. Taking ten historical and contemporary imprisonment cases with themes pertaining to gender, sexual and racial nonconformity, Shu seeks to create a multimedia installation that is surrounded by confinement and liberation all through digital technologies.

Charles Lim 

A former sailor who represented Singapore in the 1996 Olympics, Charles Lim completed his degree Fine Art at Central Saint Martins in London. Lim also co-founded the seminal net-art collective tsunamii.net.  Currently exhibiting at Wei-Ling Gallery in an exhibition entitled  ‘Paralogical Machines: When Images Meet Us in Space and Time’, the show looks at paintings and photographs as if we are looking out the window to another world different from ours. For 2019, we patiently await his commission set to open at the National Gallery Singapore's Ng Teng Fong Roof Garden. 

To find out more about ‘Paralogical Machines’, click here.

Dawn Ng

Dawn Ng is no stranger to the Asian arts scene, consistently making works that question notions of home, perspective, time, memory, identity and space. Through recognising Ng as a multi-hyphenate visual artist whose works spans a breadth of mediums can we appreciate the next project set to put her and her work in the spotlight. Set to happen at Telok Ayer Art Club, ‘11’ will transform the location into a black box performance space as each night sees 11 pairs of strangers, immerse themselves in 11 intriguing storylines of city-life – each depicting interactions shot through with truth, hope, humour, vulnerability, loss and longing.

To find out more about ‘11’, click here.

Ai Weiwei

It doesn’t take much information to place Ai Weiwei in the headlines of art publications. In March 2018, all he had to do was cite himself as a “high-end refugee”, referencing his exile and work ‘Human Flow(2017)’. His ongoing show at Marciano Art Foundation in Los Angeles seeks to highlight his response to the global refugee crisis, which used inflatable, black PVC rubber to depict the makeshift boats used to reach Europe. This work, entitled ‘Life Cycle (2018)’, is on view for the first time, and has been cited as his most noteworthy piece yet.

To find out more about ‘Life Cycle’ at the Marciano Art Foundation, click here. 

Ang Song Ming

Ang is Singapore’s 2019 representative at the Venice Biennale, set to take place in Italy this May. Having exhibited internationally, Ang’s inclusion will constitute Singapore’s ninth participation in the Biennale sine 2001. ‘Music for Everyone: Variations on a Theme’ is derived from a series of concerts in Singapore from the 1970s to 80s, with his presentation spanning various media including drawing to experimental music practices. Having made works in the past that constitute experiemental practices and a certain air of amateurism, we’re excited to see what Ang will bring to the international stage.

Zhang Xiaogang

Zhang is no stranger to the Asian art market, with works selling in the millions at auction houses such as Christie’s and Sotheby’s. What puts him on our list is the ongoing exhibition at the Hubei Museum of Art that traces his oeuvre. He deconstructs the ‘Chinese face’, highlighting their dreamy temperaments and alienated roles in a presentation of life. His biggest solo show yet and indubitably well received, we’re keen to see if this rise in popularity of his works will affect his position in the art market.

Shubigi Rao 

Artist and writer Shubigi Rao makes layered installations of books, etchings, drawings, pseudo-scientific machines, metaphysical puzzles, video, ideological board games, garbage and archives, with works exhibited and collected in Singapore and internationally. She was also a finalist in the 2018 APB Signature Art Prize 2018. Having exhibited at the 10^th Taipei Biennial, the Singapore Biennale, and more recently alongside Lucy Liu at the National Museum Singapore, we’re excited to see what’s in store in Rao’s oeuvre that is no doubt setting her in a comfortable place on the international platform.

Wong Ping 

Having won the Camden Arts Centre Emerging Arts Prize in 2018 certainly put Hong Kong artist on the world map. Born in 2984, Wong Ping is a self-proclaimed comedian who consistently explores taboos, sexuality and personal sentiments through his tongue in cheek yet dramatic animations. This was presented by Hong Kong-based Edouard Malingue Gallery as part of the “Focus” section at the 2018 Frieze London. As he conquers the international stage, we wait patiently to see what else Wong Ping has in the works. 

To check out more of Wong Ping’s works, click here.

Mulyana Mogus

With ARTJOG as his stage, Mulyana Mogus presented his largest installation piece yet. Entitled ‘Sea Remembers’, Mulyana concocted in his imagination a colourful underwater habitat that he then brought to real life. Having been a crowd favourite at art fairs across the region, it was no surprise that ARTJOG saw further success. He aimed to elaborate on “strangeness” as a miraculous experience rather than negating it. His keenness to include members of the public in the construction of his works causes us to question where his practice will take him next, and keeps us excited to see what he has in store. 

Norris Yim 

Yim’s portraits have always spoken for themselves. We witness his prominent understanding of space, his eloquent brushstrokes, as well as his enigmatic silhouettes. We meet Yim at the crossroads of abstract expressionism and portraiture, where his works feature anonymous busts to iconic ones such as Andy Warhol and Van Gogh. We cannot dispute Yim’s flawless execution in his works, but they do leave us wondering where his practice will take him in 2019

To check out more of Norris Yim’s works, click here.