Wong Mei Sheong & Jimmy Ong: Transfiguring

Introduction

The Private Museum is proud to present a ‘special edition’ exhibition that charts the course of artistic development for two artists who had, by chance, exhibited their works with the same gallery in 1987. Two decades later, their paths converge again – leading to revelations of shared experiences that have shaped their artistic identities over the years. Part One features a selection of works and writings from the late 1980s which embody the spirit of those times as “the body” began to be radically redefined by a new generation of artists. The figurative genre, dominated by traditions of the studio nude and ‘life-drawing’ began to be infiltrated with ideas of alternative sexual orientations and urban mythology.

Part Two shifts the focus to the current prints and paintings of Wong Mei Sheong and Jimmy Ong. Whilst Part One introduced works by both artists during the 1980s – a momentous period for contemporary art in Singapore – Part Two tracks their artistic development as they ventured overseas. Residing and working outside Singapore, their ‘outsider’ status is compounded by temporary ‘returns’ and re-orientations.

Exhibition View

Artist

Artist Biography

Wong Mei Sheong (b. 1959, Singapore)

Wong Mei Sheonggraduated from the University of Western Australia (1980), majoring in literature and philosophy. In 1981‐86, she studied fine art at l’EcoleNationaleSuperieure des Beaux Arts, Paris. She completed a Master of Arts in Environmental Studies (1995), University of Adelaide. From 1995, she resumed visual art studies at Adelaide Central School of Art; the Centre for Creative Photography, 2003‐4; and majored in printmaking at Adelaide College of the Arts, 2006‐10.

Jimmy Ong (b. 1964, Singapore)

Jimmy Ongstudied at the Center for Creative Studies in Detrioit, Michigan (1984), where he was awarded an Alliance of Independent Colleges of Arts Scholarship. In the same year, he held his first solo exhibition, ‘The Drawings of Jimmy Ong’ at Alliance Française in Singapore. In 1988, he continued his studies at Studio Art Center International in Florence, Italy, where he awarded his second scholarship, the Anna K Meredith Scholarship. From 1989 – 1992, he finished his studies at the Pennyslyvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia.