I attended the 2nd edition of Art Stage Singapore which took place from the 11th to the 15th of January at Marina Bay Sand in Singapore.
There were 133 galleries, about 600 artists and 31,000 visitors. This year there were more international galleries : white Cube, Victoria Miro, Lehmann Maupin...less Singapore based galleries but still a good blend of regional art dealers, artists and collectors.
Art Stage Singapore 2012 from STreething on Vimeo.
The sales are reported to have been slow however it varied from dealer to dealer some like Michael Schultz Gallery sold an “Abstraktes Bild (Abstract Painting)” by Gerhard Richter for US$1.52 million (S$2 million), Gajah Gallery sold two paintings by I Nyoman Masriadi for US$350,000 (S$453,000), Linda Gallery sold a work by Indonesian artist Srihardi Soedarsono for US$232,000 (S$300,000), De Sarthe Gallery sold a few sculptures by Bernar Venet for US$100,000 (S$130,000), Haunch of Venison sold a number of Gonkar Gyatso works including the “Dissected Buddha”, 2011, for US$200,000 (S$260,000) ...
overall the feedbacks were enthousiastic and Art Stage is establishing itself as the Regional Art Fair in Asia with Art HK (taken over by Art Basel) as the International Art Fair.
I was
moved in front of Yan Pei Ming portrait of Indonesian comfort women "forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military in Japanese-occupied territories during World War II. To Yan Pei-Ming, this art work talks about the memory of our “mothers” and about the violence against women."
YAN PEI MING (CHINA) “Indonesian Women”, 2010-2011, Watercolour on paper Polyptych composed of 18 sheets, 154 x 115 cm each, PRESENTED BY MASSIMO DE CARLO (MILAN, LONDON)
mesmerised by Taiwanese artist Yuan Goang-Ming video installation which deals with construction of memories, "the temporal and positional facets of memories" at TKG+ Gallery
Amused by Liu Bolin photographic's work
Seduced by Yang Yongliang beautiful landscape where old tradition and contemporary world are meeting...
Both artists were presented by Galerie Paris- Pekin
During the fair the Singapore authorities have announced the galleries which win the first round of space allocation for the Gilliam Barracks a colonial military compound - cum- gallery space slated to open on 13 may 2012. Singapore is definitely working hard to become a cultural and art hub in the region.
