The Artling's Wishlist for this Holiday Season!

‘Tis the season! As the festive season fast approaches, us at The Artling rounded up our favourite items from our gallery. Here on the Artzine, we bring you what our staff members have picked out for their holiday wish list! From painting to photography, embroidery to furniture, take a look at our team and their picks: 

Talenia Phua Gajardo, CEO and Founder

Talenia Phua Gajardo, CEO and Founder picks Flint Hourglass by Joyce Wang Studio. Having founded The Artling and additionally launching its DESIGN category that seeks to feature both established and emerging contemporary designers from Asia, it's no wonder Talenia's eye for aesthetics has led her to pick this work. Highlighting how it's "important to live with well-designed pieces at home", Talenia also cites Joyce Wang Studios as one of her favourite designers. 

Joyce Wang Studios creates works that take on unique approaches in pushing the possibilities of form, exploring different techniques to challenge what exists, and finding new ways of expressing ideas in space. They have also spearheaded notable interior design projects, including spaces in Hong Kong, Canada, and London. The Flint Collection investigates and plays with the versatility of the composite material of terrazzo through use in the expected and the unexpected.

To find out more about Talenia's pick, click here. 

Kim Tay, Gallery Director 

On Kim's wishlist is Fabric Formula 1 - Milk Jug by Zhekai Zhang. As The Artling's Gallery Director, she keeps an eye on both art and design sectors, leading to this choice of hers that amalgamates both aesthetics and purpose. Kim adds how she "loves the way the designer plays with textures, to create an interesting design object that is also functional". Zhang is a China-born designer who is currently based in London. His 'Fabric Formula' series is motivated by wanting to showcase the unique beauty exemplified by textiles in mass production.

'Fabric Formula 1- Milk Jug' is a set of ceramic tea sets that changed the traditional making process of slip casting. Half of the ceramic after the moulding is like being elegantly wrapped by the fabric, resulting in an interesting contrast with the smooth, natural surface pattern coming out of traditional moulding. Zhang states how, through this collection, that he explored the possibility of different roles of general fabrics in mould production, and that "the uncertainty caused by artificial factors is thereby transformed into the unique beauty of the product itself. 

To find out more about Kim's pick, click here. 

Hannah Chin, Sales Director 

Hannah's pick includes photography piece Telok Blangah by Jing Wen Tham. Having worked in the art industry for close to 10 years, Hannah's keen eye for detail attributes towards her choice for this wishlist. She states how she "loves the work by this Singaporean photographer artist and how he transforms the common sights (and often places that people don’t pay attention to) of Singapore into such artistic expressions through his photography". 

A Singapore-based photographer who began shooting in 2009, Tham's works explore the complexity of urban environments and capture what is seemingly mundane but yet serendipitously interesting at the same time. He has consistently exhibited across Asia in both group and solo exhibitions and has previously been published in Der Greif and +50. 

To find out more about Hannah's pick, click here. 

Sarah Ang, Admin Liaison 

An active mum of two toddlers 2 and a half and 5 years of age, Sarah chose Book of Secrets (Jewellery Box) by Olivia Lee for Bynd Artisan saying that it's "the perfect gift for any mother, because every mum needs a secret hiding place from those curious pesky toddler fingers". This Book of Secrets is also one for containing both precious items and sentiment, and has drawn Sarah in with its stunning craftsmanship. 

Olivia Lee is a multidisciplinary studio grounded by an industrial design approach, and Bynd Artisan a bookbinding company with master craftsmen that spans a period of over 70 years. Together, this collaboration highlights the best of both worlds. Made with 100% cowhide leather and faux suede inner lining, this Book of Secrets contains 2 main compartments to store bracelets and necklaces, 8 ring partitions to store small items like rings and earrings, and is secured with a gold round metal closure. 

To find out more about Sarah's pick, click here. 
 

Kate Ng, Gallery Liaison 

Kate chose the Zen Stone (Set) by APIWAT CHITAPANYA. As someone who loves being in the presence of others and actively engages with clients everyday, Kate reckons these chairs are "made for great conversations". Made of brass using a 'lost-wax' casting method, this furniture piece was inspired by stones in Zen stone garden where stones are considered as the soul of the garden. 

Apiwat Chitapanya's main concept of furniture design is "furniture beyond functional". By blending art and design together, he not only considers their function but additionally works towards merging beauty and artistic aesthetics into his designs. He enjoys the use of stainless steel, iron, brass and wood so as to depict his inspiration from nature. He states how "combining the production process done by skilled craftsmen who have inherited the original process and made it piece-by-piece, makes the furniture to be more valuable like a piece of art rather than just functional furniture." 

To find out more about Kate's pick, click here. 

Tina Rim, Designer

On Tina's wishlist is the Easy Chair by Neil Nenner. Working actively on designs from web graphics to rendering artworks for proposals, it's no wonder she's picked this furniture piece by Nenner, stating how she enjoys their minimal nature. In her opinion, this collection is the "prettiest thing The Artling has to offer". 

Nenner's works "challenge utilization and the morphological aspects of furniture by reducing useful surfaces to a minimum, where a chair appears and disappears by the smallest changes on design." He questions the point in which an object stops being functional and becomes something else. All works in this project are also handmade by Nenner himself, with this collection winning the minister of culture design award of 2015. 

To find out more about Tina's pick, click here. 

Madi Amin, Gallery Assistant 

Madi picked out World Clock by Masafumi Ishikawa. As someone who spent time in Dubai and studied in the UK, Madi's friends span the world. This design item allows her to stay connected through time with her loved ones in different time zones. By simply rotating the clock to the desired city, the hour hand will automatically set to the correct position for that city's time zone. 'World Clock' by Masafumi Ishikawa was also the 2013 winner of the Lexus Design Award for its creative interpretation of time and motion, combined with its simple and sleek analogue design. 

Ishikawa is a product designer whose designs highlight the relationship between people and objects, allowing lives to be more fluid through his works. His field of work also extends to that of business and engineering, allowing him to accurately gauge environments for appropriate inspirations that might enable a seamlessness between humans and objects. 

To find out more about Madi's pick, click here. 

Grace Ignacia See, Content Liaison 

"It's a fun work that's easy to look at, and captures a lightness present in abstract impressionism and expressionism", says Grace, who chose Komorebi XXIX by Ruwan Prasanna. A lover of contemporary painting, this work for Grace wholly encapsulates the medium and genre that interests her most. Haptic texture patterns evolve on the surface of the canvas by the artist’s seemingly spontaneous hand of gestural brush strokes. By capturing the play of natural light with the essence of nature using certain colour combinations, he exaggerates his own style as a painter by continuously playing with different thickness of strokes and colours. 

Ruwan Prasanna holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Kelaniya in Sri Lanka and consistently exhibits in both group and solo shows there. His works showcase a visual ephemerality that is complimented with the aforementioned colour combinations, highlighting a deep understanding of colours and how they compliment and contrast each other within a spectrum.

For more information on Grace's pick, click here. 

Martin Brochhaus, Chief Technology Officer 

Our CTO Martin enjoys both comfort and simplicity in his home, and has thus picked the limited edition Hexagon Cushion by NAZANIN KAMALI. "I like the colours and it looks quite sturdy", he says, "I also like the texture and like its geometric pattern". This collection also includes other embroidered cushions including designs of Chicken, Shrimp and Chrysanthemum, with appliquéd Crane, and two Snowflake designs completing it. 

Nazanin Kamali graduated from the Royal College of Art in London where she studied furniture design. In the 90s, she established a multi-disciplined design collective called Non Specific Creativity that worked on design projects from restaurants to art installations. 

To find out more about Martin's pick, click here. 

Poh Peng Yu, Web Developer

Peng Yu has chosen ART BOX SET by Dawn Ng, stating how it's a "very versatile piece" that allows him to display in a wide variety of ways, according to his whims. ART BOX SET by Dawn Ng includes 61 artworks at 39 x 29 cm each, and would truly allow Peng Yu to find pieces to suit his moods whenever he fancies. 

Dawn Ng is a Singaporean artist who has had exceptionable reception across Asia. Having graduated from both Georgetown University and UCL Slade School of Fine Art, Ng's career in art, design and advertising has additionally spanned Paris and New York. Her breadth of mediums in her practice also undoubtedly translates in their versatility over to its products, as witnessed in ART BOX SET. 

To find out more about Peng Yu's pick, click here. 

Siow Yisheng, Full Stack Engineer 

"I love oil paintings and this one is particularly relaxing and beautiful", says Yisheng, who picks out 1729 1021 2012 Lights by Nobuto Fukutsu. He further comments on "the play of the lighting" and how "the teasing of the faces within the flowers" draws him into this piece. Whilst Yisheng works with our tech development team, he enjoys looking at art and feeling whatever emotions the art evokes in him. 

Nobuto Fukusu is a Tokyo-based artist whose oeuvre involves creating figurative images through abstraction. He seeks to blend these figurative images and abstract patterns to produce a sense of movement, successfully drawing viewers such as Yisheng in towards its painted surface. 

To find out more about Yisheng's pick, click here. 

Foo Shirong, Front End Engineer 

Shirong's picks out Reaching for Equilibrium #3 by Izziyana Suhaimi due to its medium's interesting nature, saying how "Embroidery on paper is really unique, and it reminds me of the sun!". This work comes with intricacies that involve the evidence of the hand and of time, as the artist explores the medium of embroidery as both a medium as well as acknowledges its active movements of stabbing, cutting, cover, building, repairing, and taking apart. 

Suhaimi describes stitching as quiet and still act, acknowledging a stitch as a moment passed, and the build-up of stitches as a representation of time past. Based in Singapore, she's been practising since 2008. She achieved her dream of mounting her first solo show before 30 in 2015 (29!) and has been imagining great new works ever since.

To find out more about Shirong's pick, click here.