Looking for a spark of inspiration or need a mental break to refocus? These five exhibitions feature intriguing works that may just spark the inspiration you need and kick-start your creative flow.
Antony Gormley
National Gallery Singapore
Till 30 October
Free admission for Singaporeans and PRs
www.nationalgallery.sg/exhibition/antony-gormley
Get up close to four large-scale installations by renowned British sculptor Antony Gormley, placed at key locations around the Gallery. Gormley is known for his sculptures, installations and public artworks that explore the relationship between the human body and space.
Walk through his new commission, Horizon Field Singapore (2021), a vast matrix of intersecting aluminium rings, at Ng Teng Fong Roof Garden Gallery. Standing at almost 5m tall, the installation lets you co-create the experience when you step through the rings.
To complement and provide a wider context for the new commission are three of Gormley’s earlier sculptures, where your body becomes part of the work and you can reimagine your relationship with the environment.
Cast from the artist’s body, the life-sized solid iron sculpture Close V (1998) greets you as you enter the Gallery from Coleman Street. Sprawled face down on the floor, the piece encourages you to navigate around it, and reflect on ideas such as stillness and movement, lightness and gravity, and permanence and change.
Photo: Stephen White
Over at Level 3 of the Supreme Court Wing, Southeast Asia Gallery, is Sense (1991). The cube sculpture contains the artist’s body in a crouching position. Cast in a lost-wax process that creates a human-shaped void within the block, the work suggests the continuity between our consciousness and the space around us, the cosmos.
Hanging above the Imperial staircase of the Supreme Court Foyer is Ferment (2007), a life-sized figure captured in mid-motion, described by a mass of irregular geometric polygonal shapes. Inspired by frothing bubbles, the figure appears to be either emerging from or disappearing into this matrix.
Dance: A Tribute To Rudolph Nureyev
Alliance Française de Singapour, Gallery
Till 15 September
Free admission
alliancefrancaise.org.sg/dance#
Learn more about the extraordinary life and legacy of Soviet-born ballet dancer Rudolph Nureyev, regarded as one of the greatest male dancers in the history of classical ballet, at this exhibition.
One of the first dancers to bring ballet performances to television, he was known for his suspended leaps and seemingly impossible fast turns, as well as for frequently mixing traditional ballet with contemporary dance.
On display are 49 unpublished photographs from some of Nureyev’s legendary performances, as well 14 costumes which he wore when he performed in Swan Lake, La Bayadère, Giselle and other world-famous performances. The costumes are part of the private collection of Charles Jude, Nureyev’s protégé.
Hall Of Fame @ Kampong Glam
Bali Lane & Ophir Road
hof.visitkamponggelam.com.sg
Adding more colour and character to the vibrant neighbourhood of Kampong Glam is the Hall of Fame, Singapore’s largest open-air gallery and Southeast Asia’s first official graffiti Hall of Fame.
Check out the eye-catching artworks of 17 Singapore-based artists including Didier ‘Jaba’ Mathieu, Salcsatu, ZERO, Antz, KILAS, Dem, Studio Moonchild, Jojie Atomick and SPAZ, on 5m tall walls over a 230m stretch along Bali Lane and Ophir Road.
by Slacsatu
Photo: Hall of Fame
Go on a self-guided audio tour or hop on a sidecar to see the murals in style. Art enthusiasts can try their hand at graffiti at a street walk and spray painting workshop conducted by one of the Hall of Fame artists, while Polaroid fans can sign up for the Polaroid Walking Tour to learn how to capture the best shots using a Polaroid camera from a pro.
Orchestral Manoeuvres: See Sound. Feel Sound. Be Sound
ArtScience Museum
28 August – 2 January
www.marinabaysands.com/museum/exhibitions/orchestral-manoeuvres.html
Explore sound through sound art projects, early music notation, experimental scores, noise-making sculptures, video installations and contemporary artworks by 32 artists and composers from eight countries at this unique exhibition.
Go on an auditory and visual journey through nine galleries to expand how you think about, experience and understand sound. You’ll encounter artists who explore silence, singers who don’t sing and a choir of people you can’t see. Keep your eyes peeled for a piano that plays itself and instruments you’ve never seen or heard before.
Collection of Pamela and Richard Kramlich
Fractional and Promised Gift to The American Fund for the Tate Gallery
Installation view
Musée d’Art Contemporain, Montreal 2002
Courtesy of the artist and Luhring Augustine, New York
There’s also a chance to try your hand at composing and perhaps, take inspiration from a famous composer who suggests you throw your music around before you try to play it.
A landmark artwork to check out is The Forty Part Motet by Canadian artist Janet Cardiff, an extraordinary feat of artistic innovation which offers a deeply moving 40-part surround-sound experience of a classical choral performance.
Through The Eyes Of A Child: Art By Quek Hong Shin
Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre
Till 31 August
Free admission
singaporeccc.org.sg/events/through-the-eyes-of-a-child-art-by-quek-hong-shin
Journey back in time and revisit scenes of a bygone era in Singapore through local illustrator and children’s book author Quek Hong Shin’s exhibition, Through The Eyes Of A Child: Art By Quek Hong Shin.
Witness the vanishing collective memories – from a time when coconut trees towered over attap houses, and children played in the busy back alleys of old Chinatown – come back to life. There are also scenes of people and places that inspired Quek while he was growing up in the 1980s.
Look out also for 14 artworks from his popular book series The Amazing Sarong, The Incredible Basket, The Brilliant Oil Lamp and The Marvellous Sugee Cake, along with new illustrations created specially for this showcase.
