Art Stage Singapore and Singapore Biennale

Singapore, the beautiful asian city will be very busy welcoming collectors and artists.

Back for its fourth edition, this year’s Singapore Biennale will feature a grand line-up of works by 82 artists and artist collectives from not only the region, but from other parts of the world as well. Some highlights include performance works by artists such as Sharon Chin (Malaysia) and Lee Wen (Singapore); paintings by artists Tan Wei Kheng (Malaysia) and Leslie de Chavez (Philippines); video works by Manny Montelibano (Philippines), Nguyen Trinh Thi (Vietnam) and Khvay Samnang (Cambodia); sculptures by Nguyen Tran Nam (Vietnam); and installation works by Shieko Reto (Malaysia), Nge Lay (Myanmar), Joo Choon Lin (Singapore), Leroy Sofyan (Singapore) and Oscar Villamiel (Philippines). The full list of participating artists is available on www.singaporebiennale.org.

Art Stage Singapore presents art in context with its country and regional Platforms at its 2014 edition of the fair. Seven country and regional Platforms – Southeast Asia, India, China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and Australia – will feature artists’ works curated to fit into the contemporary art landscapes of each country or region.

These curated sales exhibitions are a new component of Art Stage Singapore 2014, in addition to its general fair booths. The Platforms also offer art collectors and enthusiasts the opportunity to discover tomorrow’s leading lights.

The Southeast Asia Platform is the largest of the Platforms and will showcase a series of new projects demonstrating Art Stage Singapore’s support of art from the region. These projects include site-specific works, interactive installations and innovative conceptually driven works, meant to discuss important topics that address the contemporary society.

Hailing from Myanmar, Soe Naing (b. 1961) will present an installation piece titled Intermission on Stage. Represented by Yone Arts, Soe Naing is known to be a pioneering abstract expressionist in the Myanmar art scene. Having kept vigil throughout decades of censorship and isolationism during Myanmar’s military regime, he has produced nearly ten thousand daily “diary sketches.” In this installation, Soe Naing’s sketches will line the interior walls of a large, enclosed, blacked-out box approximately the size of a shipping container. Over four days in Art Stage Singapore 2014, Soe Naing will create a series of reverse paintings from within the box on the walls, dissolving the black paint and revealing his diary sketches for the first time to the public.