A Guide to Singapore Art Week 2022
Image courtesy of Singapore Art Week
Singapore Art Week (SAW) is back for its milestone 10th edition from 14 – 23 January 2022 with a myriad of exciting exhibitions and events across the physical and digital realm. Presenting over 130 programmes across the island, SAW celebrates the vibrant and diverse art scene, inviting both local and international audiences to appreciate contemporary art from the Southeast Asian region and beyond.
SAW continues to be a launchpad for the artistic community in Singapore, showcasing the works and exhibitions of artists, organizations and other art platforms. This year, “Art Takes Over” the island into retail, industrial spaces, hawker centres, and more. Make your way across the island and marvel at the artworks and interactive installations.
The Artling has created a comprehensive guide to events and exhibitions happening during Singapore Art Week:
Tanjong Pagar Distripark
S.E.A Focus
Image courtesy of S.E.A Focus
When: 15 – 23 January 2022
Venue: #01-05, Blk 39 Tanjong Pagar Distripark, Singapore 089065
About: S.E.A. Focus, an initiative led by STPI is the leading showcase of Southeast Asian contemporary art and artists from the region. For Singapore Art Week 2022, STPI built the exhibition around the theme ‘chance…constellations'— an exploration of the shared histories, geographies and converging cultures that connect the artistic community in Southeast Asia.
Gajah Gallery – Reframing Roots
Untitled [RR01] by Ridho Rizki image courtesy of the artist and Gajah Gallery
When: 13 January – 6 February 2022
Venue: Gajah Gallery, 39 Keppel Road, Tanjong Pagar Distripark, #03-04, 089065
About: Gajah Gallery presents ‘Reframing Roots’. The exhibition gathers the works of 18 artists from Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, China, Malaysia, and the United States. As the whole world took a turn in the past 2 years and with drastic changes, artists face the fragility of their foundations: the places, communities, and traditions that once were the pillars of their identity. The artists featured in this exhibition have directly or subliminally confronted what it means to be rooted, whether turning towards their cultural heritage, the landscape or their hometowns or the complicated histories from which they came.
Singapore Art Museum – Korakrit Arunanondchai: A Machine Boosting Energy into the Universe
Image courtesy of Singapore Art Museum
When: 14 January – 3 May 2022
Venue: Gallery 2, SAM at Tanjong Pagar Distripark, 39 Keppel Road, #01-02, Singapore 089065
About: Singapore Art Museum presents the works of Korakrit Arunanondchai in ‘A Machine Boosting Energy into the Universe’ exploring the togetherness of humans, machines, and the supernatural in modern-day Bangkok, Thailand, a city where supernatural beliefs and advanced technologies co-exist. The exhibition invites visitors to enter an environment resembling a post-apocalyptic wasteland, with used electrical parts and remains from the realm of retail. The artist invites us to explore a world where humans can co-exist with machines and ghosts.
Gillman Barracks
Sundaram Tagore Gallery – A Room Of Her Own: Eight Women Reimagine The World Around Them
Image: Anila Quayyum Agha, Hidden Diamond - Saffron, 2019
Karen Knorr, A Faithful Companion, Samode Palace, 2020
When: 14 January – 19 March 2022
Venue: Sundaram Tagore Gallery, Gillman Barracks, 5 Lock Road, #01-05, Singapore 108933
About: For SAW 2022, Sundaram Tagore presents an exhibition of work by eight pioneering women whose paintings, installations and photography reimagine spaces both real and symbolic. The works range from an immersive large-scale light installation that transforms the surrounding environment to vibrant photographic imagery of staged narratives.
Mizuma Gallery – With Gratitude
Image: © Okuda Yuta, Abstract Flowers, courtesy of Mizuma Art Gallery.
When: 14 January – 20 February 2022
Venue: 22 Lock Road, #01-34 Gillman Barracks, Singapore 108939
About: ‘With Gratitude’ is a solo exhibition at Mizuma Gallery by artist Okuda Yuta. Yuta worked as a designer for the fashion brand TAKEO KIKUCHI prior to deciding to begin his own artistic career in 2016. In his earlier works, Yuta used to draw with fine details with calculated lines. His new ‘flower’ series marked a shift in his work process to embrace chance and serendipity. The flowers in his works remind us of works by Pop artists but as we get closer, we notice that each petal is delicately drawn. During the pandemic, Yuta realized that what he took for granted is actually extraordinary and began to draw flowers ‘with gratitude.’
Ota Fine Arts – Chen Wei: Jamais Vu
Image: New Station, 2020 © Chen Wei
When: 14 January – 5 March 2022
Venue: 7 Lock Road #02-13 Gillman Barracks, Singapore 108935
About: Ota Fine Arts presents ‘Chen Wei: Jamais Vu’ featuring Chen Wei’s latest photography series. The urban landscape in China has undergone drastic changes and every corner of its cities present a mixture of various urban scenes. As the name suggests, these familiar places can become unfamiliar with time which Chen Wei perfectly encapsulates as he observes the changes around him. Instead of deploying documentary photography to capture these scenes, Chen builds brand-new landscapes in his studio using models and reflects on his observation through this process. Viewers will ponder how the changes in society affect our perception and recognition of familiar scenes.
Sullivan+Strumpf – FOLDED PIERCED STRETCHED by Kanchana Gupta
Folded Pierced Stretched, Stacked #004: Yellow Green Pink Green Yellow Purple Pink Blue, 2021
When: 15 January – 20 February 2022
Venue: Gillman Barracks, 9 Lock Road 02-21, Singapore 108937
About: Sullivan + Strumpf presents the works of Kanchana Gupta whose practice combines materiality with the process. Her artistic process is strongly influenced by and reacts to urban spaces especially spaces of transition such as construction sites, industrial areas and temporary housings. Her latest series pays homage to the tarpaulin, a common material found in urban slums of India as well as in the gentrified skyscrapers seen where she lives now.
Richard Koh Fine Art – Bread Crumbs
Image Courtesy of Richard Koh Fine Art & Sarah Radzi
When: 14 – 29 January 2022
Venue: Blk 47 Malan Road, 01-26 Gillman Barracks, Singapore 109444
About: Richard Koh Fine Art presents a duo exhibition by Malaysian artists Joshua Kane Gomes and Sarah Radzi in Singapore. The exhibition entitled ‘Bread Crumbs’ explores the idea of memories. Our memories are hard to predict, some come and go abruptly yet some take us forever to conjure. As humans cope with our memories, we have adapted as the hermit crab has, learning to outgrow and manoeuvre our thoughts into new shells. What we leave behind when we move on are empty smaller shells. The artistic duo examines the lingering memory trails using installations and paintings to reflect our vulnerability. They present a vivid palette of past and present recollections in an unspecified time of limbo.
ShanghART Gallery – Ding Yi: Stars Crossed
Image courtesy of ShanghART Gallery
When: 14 January – 13 March 2022
Venue: 9 Lock Road #02-22 Gillman Barracks
About: ShanghART Singapore presents the solo exhibition of acclaimed abstract painter Ding Yi opening during SAW 2022. The exhibition provides viewers with the opportunity to witness large-scale paintings of the artist. ‘Stars Crossed’ features 2 headliner works made 16 years apart as well as other art pieces from the artist. The exhibition demonstrates the artist’s perseverance through the crosses that he has come to be known for and the evolution of his creative process.
Yeo Workshop – Fyerool Darma: l♠ndsc♠pes
Image courtesy of Fyerool Darma
When: 8 January – 20 February 2022
Venue: Yeo Workshop,47 Malan Rd, #01-25, Singapore 109444
About: Yeo Workshop presents ‘l♠ndsc♠pes’, a series of new works by Fyerool Darma. The works displayed draws inspiration from illusion and allusion, Fyerool weaves archival advertisement texts into slogans, alongside artefactual and artificial materials. The art pieces are objects and paintings translated into handphone cases, textiles, sculptures, and drawings to address our hyper-visual climate. The artist is often inspired by Pop culture, literature, and the internet which he sees as a pool of visual and textual datasets for his artistic process.
FOST Gallery – Somewhere Else: The Forest Reimagined by Donna Ong
Donna Ong, Chromatic Gradations: Surprised! (Henri Rousseau), 2021
When: 12 January – 5 March 2022
Venue: FOST Gallery, 1 Lock Road, #01-02, Singapore 108932
About: FOST Gallery presents an exhibition by Donna Ong who explores the often problematic images of the tropical forest produced by the travel industry, from exotic 17th-century lithographs to the glossy photographs found within travel magazines. These images have birthed a myriad of media and art products, influencing the way the tropics are visually represented as well as how others perceive and act towards tropical nature, culture and its people.
NTU CCA Singapore – Free Jazz IV. Geomancers
Image Courtesy the Rice Brewing Sisters Club.
When: 14 – 23 January 2022
Venue: NTU CCA Singapore, Block 37 & Block 38 Malan Road
About: For generations, the prophetic art of geomancy, “foresight by earth”, has been employed to decode signs of distress in the world. The artists in this exhibition at NTU CCA Singapore explore the modes of ‘environmental tuning’ to question homocentric ways of inhabiting the planet. The works range from virtual reality to film, performance, and sound that strives to understand the world, inviting us to think about our relationship with the planet.
AGAS-A World at Every Turn
Rembang Petang (Afternoon’s Zenith), 2021, clay on canvas, 125 x 245 x 7 cm, image courtesy of Gajah Gallery
When: 14 – 23 January 2022
Venue: 7 Lock Road #01-13 Singapore 108935
About: Art Galleries Association Singapore (AGAS) presents its latest Group Show featuring 15 of its member galleries. This year’s exhibition entitled ‘A World at Every Turn’ boasts the artworks of a single artist from each of the participating galleries basing their decisions on the significance of the artists’ artistic practice and their relevance to the contemporary context. The exhibition amalgamates themes and subject matters, demonstrating the evolving visual arts scene.
More Exhibitions
Mulan Gallery – Ceramic Expressions (5th Edition): Celebrating Women Artists
Image courtesy of Mulan Gallery
When: 14 January – 12 February 2022
Venue: Japan Creative Centre (JCC), 4 Nassim Rd, Singapore 258372
Mulan Gallery, 36 Armenian Street #01-07, Singapore 179934
About: Ceramic Expressions: Celebrating Women Artist is back for its 5th instalment. This exhibition features guest artists and 10 Singapore based ceramicists showcasing their works ranging from sculptural to monumental works. The Mulan Gallery aims to feature a diverse range of art pieces that utilize different approaches from wabi-sabi influenced pieces organically shaped by clay, to more assertive, statement pieces. Ceramic Expressions: Celebrating Women Artists sets out to celebrate the diversity of work by women artists.
Kult Studio and Gallery – Joystick & Rage Quits!
Image courtesy of Kult Studio and Gallery
When: 14 – 30 January 2022
Venue: Kult Studio & Gallery Pte Ltd| 409 Race Course Road 03-01A S218657
About: Inspired by the popular quarantine activity; gaming, Kult Studio and Gallery have invited a variety of artists to be inspired by the genre and translate that into art. The narrative, graphics, fashion, fantasy, and technology draw us into this realm. The exhibition will feature an interactive and immersive experience with artworks and 3D installations inspired by the gaming universe from the past, present, and future; presented on several platforms.
Hatch Art Project – Networked Machines
Image Courtesy of Jake Tan and Ernest Wu, BIOS- Living NFTs
When: 14 January – 12 February 2022
Venue: 7 Yong Siak St, Singapore 168644
About: This group exhibition featuring 3 Singaporean artists speculates on 2 distinct futures of how plant life could exist. Sue Oh, Director of Hatch Art Project says, “The exhibition is designed to address the phenomena of fast-moving technologies in intelligent machines modified nature, and even virtual reality place, and to question the taken for the granted assumption about what it means to be human and how we shall consider this other non-humanness in a symbiotic status.” Hatch Art Project presents a series of artworks from the real world to the blockchain questioning the future of humankind and nature.
So-far, AORA and Metis Art – HORIZONS
Image courtesy of So-far, AORA and Metis Art
When: 22 – 23 January 2022
Venue: Online
About: HORIZONS by so-far, AORA and Metis art offers the stimulating opportunity to travel the world in 24 hours and engage with forward-thinking visions. Visitors will tune into an interactive experience with global experts across art, business, technology, creative ventures, wellness and more. HORIZONS offers viewers meaningful and memorable physical meet digital moments, allowing visitors to visit Singapore, Guatemala, Istanbul, Seoul, London and beyond.
STPI – Charles Lim: Staggered Observations of a Coast
Image: SEASTATE 8 : the grid, whatever wherever whenever, 2021
When: 17 December 2021 – 30 January 2022
Venue: STPI – Creative Workshop & Gallery, 41 Robertson Quay, Singapore 238236
About: STPI presents Charles Lim’s ongoing project ‘SEA STATE’ which examines the biophysical, political, and psychic contours of Singapore through the visible and invisible lenses of the sea. The artistic endeavour opens a dialogue that scrutinises the man-made systems, opening new perspectives on everyday surroundings of the unseen landscapes and disappearing islands to the imaginary boundaries of a future landmass. This exhibition further questions the sea space while implying 2 realities from his observations: the ongoing project of land reclamation as being the ‘sea state’, and the rest of Singapore being the official ‘nation-state.’ Through his works, the artist brings to light the malleability and historical gap of sea spaces.
DECK – Time Present Time Past
Image courtesy of Lai Yu Tong
When: 11 – 28 January 2022
Venue: DECK, 120A Prinsep Street, (S)187937
About: For SAW 2022, DECK brings to you Time Present Time Past, situated on a temporal space at Prinsep Street. The exhibition is a time portal in the form of a traditional Chinese street opera stage presenting new works by 5 artists who explore traditional performance art and its relevance to contemporary society. The installation presents 150 photographs and video footage drawn from Ken Cheong’s personal documentary on Chinese street opera. The artists participating in the installation encourage visitors to trace the origins of Chinese opera and its presence in the public space back to its roots through art pieces.Art Agenda – We’re Young Once
Art Agenda – We’re Young Once
Image courtesy of Art Agenda
When: 8 – 30 January 2022
Venue: Art Agenda @ 63 Spottiswoode
About: ‘We’re Young Once’ gathers significant early works by Singaporean artists that capture the essence of being a youth. The theme is explored through representation and the use of symbols as well as a reflection of the youthful spirit of experimentation and mistakes. Each artwork can be seen as a time capsule, inviting the viewer to enter the world of the artist full of aspirations and anxieties at the early stages of their careers.
ARTWALK 2022 – Looking Back, Going Forward
Jalan Jalan by JABA. Image courtesy of LASALLE College of the Arts
When: 14 – 22 January 2022
Venue: Little India and Katong Joo Chiat
About: ARTWALK 2022 is back for its annual multidisciplinary public art project set in Little India and has now expanded its borders to the neighbourhood of Katong/Joo Chiat. Explore the murals, workshops and performances and watch artists bring to life the rich history and traditions of these multi-cultural communities. ARTWALK is brought to you by LASALLE College of the Arts and the Singapore Tourism Board with the support of Little India Shopkeepers and Heritage Association.
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