Issue 15

Kuala Lumpur art dealer Valentine Willie is the latest addition to Singapore’s expanding roster of fine-art professionals. Willie, who operates Valentine Willie Fine Art (VWFA), a gallery specialising in contemporary South-East Asian art, has recently opened a 3,500 sq ft white-cube exhibition right here in Singapore. Situated in a Tanjong Pagar warehouse opposite the iconic Malaysian railway station, the new venue’s location seems unorthodox. 

‘A great deal of space is needed for contemporary art,’ explains Willie of the location. ‘Canvases are often huge and installation pieces can be room-sized. Since we are selling art from around the region to international as well as local collectors, we feel this move makes sense.’ 

Willie’s inaugural Singapore retrospective, ‘The Scale of Black’ (until 11 May), features drawings by 15 South-East Asian practitioners, several of whom – such as artists Jimmy Ong and Tang Da Wu, and Indonesia’s Agus Suwage – are among the region’s most distinguished and sought-after artists. The muted language of charcoal, pen and graphite on paper or canvas is not an obvious choice for a first exhibition, but drawing is the foundation on which artistic expression is built. 

Some artists took advantage of the gallery’s warehouse proportions – the ceilings are 5.5m high – and created impressively large drawings for this show that break away from the medium’s conventional scale. Suwage’s surreal vision of headless men rowing to nowhere is psychologically dark, suggesting alienation as well as a critique of Indonesian society adrift. Filipino painter Jose Legaspi’s upside-down crucifi xion is visually startling, too. Malaysia’s Ahmad Zakii Anwar presents a naturalistic portrait of a pig that, in its technical virtuosity, evokes Renaissance Italy. Dare we interpret the drawing within a Muslim context, where pigs are considered the lowest and dirtiest of all creatures? Is Zakii’s ennobling of the swine intended as veiled social commentary? The artist leaves the question open. 

Other artists participating in ‘The Scale of Black’ include Agung Kurniawan, Anusapati, Aridhitya Pramuhendra, Jailani Abu Hassan, Kiko Escora, Nadia Bamadhaj, Nitti Wattuya and Tisna Sanjaya. An aesthetically as well as thematically broad show, this shouldn’t be missed for its celebration of drawing, one of the art world’s most powerful yet under-rated media. 

The Scale of Black runs until 12 May at the VWFA Singapore, 39 Keppel Rd, Tanjong Pagar Distripark #02-04. For more info, go to www.vwfa.net.