In celebration of Singapore’s 60th year of independence, The Private Museum is proud to present The Art of Lee Boon Ngan: Celebrating 60 Years of Singapore through the Love of Chua Mia Tee & Lee Boon Ngan, a landmark exhibition honouring the love and legacy of two Singaporeans who have dedicated their lives to art and nation.
While her husband, Cultural Medallion recipient Chua Mia Tee, is widely recognised for his contributions to Singapore’s national visual identity through his realist paintings, Lee remained the steadfast and quiet strength of the family as a wife and mother—while continuing to pursue her practice, and secured her spot alongside Chua as an artist in her own right. This exhibition centres her story, highlighting her unwavering commitment to her practice across decades, a profound devotion to artistic expression and excellence while finding fulfilment in her role meeting needs and nurturing familial bonds.
This exhibition is a poignant tribute to dedication and resilience, featuring rarely seen portraits of their children and grandchildren, offering a unique biographical window into the private world of a family bound by art. Alongside a selection of Chua’s renowned landscape paintings and portraits of public figures, the exhibition presents a series of Lee’s exquisite flower paintings she was widely lauded for—a visual realisation of their shared sensibilities, rooted in their passion for realist art, and a quiet reverence for our country.
From glimpses of their shared studio space to works that speak of everyday affection, this presentation harmonises two monumental figures and foregrounds the often invisible labour of love behind art. As Singapore reflects on 60 years of independence, this exhibition reminds us that nation-building is not only about grand gestures, but also the tender, often uncelebrated choices that shape lives and legacies.
This exhibition marks the third instalment in The Private Museum’s exciting lineup of programmes for 2025.
The exhibition will run from 10 July to 21 September 2025.
The Private Museum is delighted to present Love Connects: My Life in Dance by Goh Soo Khim, a book launch accompanied by a special exhibition that offers a glimpse into her journey in dance, her artistic influences, and her enduring legacy in the cultural landscape in Singapore.
Cultural Medallion recipient Goh Soo Khim is a pioneering figure whose influence extends far beyond the stage. As co-founder of the Singapore Dance Theatre (SDT), now known as Singapore Ballet, the doyenne has shaped the landscape of dance in Singapore, nurturing generations of dancers.
Her memoir, as told by Phan Ming Yen, traces a life in motion—chronicling the triumphs, sacrifices, and the devotion that have defined her life in dance and beyond. In dialogue with the book, the exhibition explores vignettes of life-long relationships forged through art and poignant moments from her time with SDT.
The exhibition presents a series of photographs by Robin PE Chee and Tan Ngiap Heng, long-time photographers who have documented SDT’s performances for decades—alongside an intimate selection of works from her private collection, featuring renowned and established artists whose works resonate with her journey. Through the lens of photography and the visual arts, it highlights the artistic collaborations, shared influences, and her enduring love for the arts.
At the heart of both the book and the exhibition is a singular theme—love. Love, in its purest form, is the driving force behind all that Goh Soo Khim has built: the communities she has nurtured, the dancers she has inspired, and the legacy she continues to shape.
The exhibition will run from 21 March to 13 April 2025.
About the Author
Co-founder and Artistic Director of Singapore’s first professional dance company, Singapore Dance Theatre, Goh Soo Khim (b.1944, Singapore) is a highly respected figure in Singapore’s dance scene and has been closely associated with the development of ballet in Singapore. Hailing from a family of well-known dancers, teachers and choreographers, Goh first trained at the Singapore Ballet Academy (SBA) before becoming the first Asian to be admitted to the Australian Ballet School in 1964. She assumed leadership of SBA in 1971 and was actively involved in the dance scene as educator, dancer and choreographer throughout the 1970s and 1980s culminating in the founding of the Singapore Dance Theatre in 1988. Goh was awarded the Cultural Medallion in 1981 and the National Day Public Service Medal in 1989 for her contributions to dance. She was also named Her World magazine’s Woman of the Year in 2008. Goh was inducted to the Singapore Women’s Hall of Fame in 2014.
In conjunction with Singapore Art Week 2025, The Private Museum is proud to present Of Dreams and Contemplation: I am All but a Story – Selections from the Collection of Richard Koh. This exhibition marks the second showcase of Richard Koh’s evolving journey as a collector and gallerist, showcasing over 50 works from his personal collection. This new selection of works reflects an evolving journey that continues to resonate with new meanings in The Private Museum’s expansive space at the Osborne House.
Building upon the narrative of the first instalment in 2019—held at the museum’s former home at 51 Waterloo Street—the second instalment expands the scope of Koh’s deeply personal collection. The first showcase offered an intimate glimpse into Koh’s collection—emphasising monochromatic, abstract, and landscape works that reflected quiet introspection. Now, Of Dreams and Contemplation: I am All but a Story continues to unfold a collection rich in personal meaning—presenting works that trace Koh’s decades-long interactions with art and the artists he admires.
Collected with a focus on memory and emotion, Koh’s private collection spans Southeast Asia and beyond, blending local, regional, and global perspectives. This exhibition deepens the dialogue between art and life, revealing Koh’s ongoing exploration of what he calls a “visual diary”—works that evoke deeply personal moments and emotions.
As both a collector and the founder of Richard Koh Fine Art, Richard Koh has played a pivotal role in shaping and contributing towards the art ecology in Southeast Asia. This collaboration with Richard Koh underscores the collective effort and dedication towards fostering meaningful exchanges between artists, collectors, the arts communities, and audiences from all walks of life.
Kickstarting the Museum’s 2025 programme, Of Dreams and Contemplation: I am All but a Story invites all to explore the richness of art and discover how collections can tell deeply personal stories. As Richard Koh aptly states, “Art, in any collection, should have its own story,” inspiring audiences to embark on their own journey of collecting and storytelling through art.
The exhibition will be run from 9 January to 9 March 2025.
Download our exhibition leaflet for more information here.
Download our exhibition press release here.
The Private Museum Singapore is pleased to present Déjà Vu: When the Sun Rises in the West, an evocative exhibition featuring the works of renowned Thai artist Natee Utarit. In continuation of the first exhibition at Silpakorn University in 2022 commemorating the artist’s return to his alma mater, this historic exhibition now journeys to Singapore, bringing with it a new myriad of selections from local and regional private collections.
Initiated in 2019, the Déjà Vu series proposes an alternative interpretation of history by reframing Western classical knowledge alongside Eastern and Buddhist concepts. This exhibition presents a hypothesis of a reimagined space and time, encouraging the audience to consider scenarios of “what if”—how different historical events might have altered our socio-cultural present. The Déjà Vu series draws inspiration from the artist’s experience in Naples, where a chance encounter with a marble sculpture at the Museo Archeologico sparked a profound connection. This moment of Déjà vu merged memories of Thailand’s Walking Buddha with the classical Western figure, leading the artist to probe further into the intersections between Eastern and Western cultures.
Natee Utarit’s exploration through the series is deeply personal, yet it resonates with universal themes of memory, identity, and culture. Through a diverse array of mediums—including painting, sculpture, embroidery, stained glass, and woodcut—the works serve as a reminder that history is not linear, but cyclical; that the past, present, and future are constantly intertwined in ways that shape our perceptions of the world. By challenging the boundaries of historical plausibility, the exhibition offers viewers a space to consider the possibilities that emerge when traditional narratives are turned on their heads, symbolically represented by the paradoxical notion of the sun rising in the west.
Déjà vu: When the Sun Rises in the West is the final instalment of The Private Museum’s 2024 programming—offering a fitting closure to a year of diverse artistic and cultural exploration. The exhibition is presented in collaboration with Richard Koh Fine Art.
The exhibition will be run from 18 October to 8 December 2024.
Download our exhibition leaflet for more information here.
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The Private Museum is pleased to present As One Thing Flows To Another, curated by guest curator Ng Hui Hsien. The exhibition reimagines culture, heritage, and traditions in contemporary contexts—connecting an expansive range of artistic forms through multidisciplinary collaborations. It explores the works of eight visual artists, and features special collaborations with leading Singaporean music charity, The TENG Company as well as Photographer and Author, Dr Chua Yang, daughter of Cultural Medallion recipient Chua Mia Tee. The exhibition celebrates the 20th anniversary of The TENG Company and the launch of the second book in the Women Inspiring Women series by Dr Chua Yang.
As One Thing Flows To Another explores the eight graces within Chinese culture: music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, wine, flowers, and tea. Each of these elements carries a long history and profound philosophies in Chinese culture, evoking images of leisure, serenity, and refinement. Historically, they served as cultural capital, conferring status on practitioners within the realm of the literati. During ancient China, the term “six arts” developed to encapsulate some of these elements, and later, the term “four arts” emerged. In more recent times, the umbrella term “eight graces” is used.
Such observations highlight the creative evolution of language and culture. Embracing the idea of change and departing from a historical understanding, As One Thing Flows To Another reimagines the eight graces in our contemporary context, drawing inspiration from their modern associations. In this exhibition, artworks intertwine and diverge in their characteristics, forming loose and free connections that weave together broad themes of nature, everyday life, and nationhood in contemporary times.
As One Thing Flows To Another invites visitors to experience moments of inspiration, humour, and contemplation, aiming to foster a renewed appreciation for the fluidity of cultural elements and the bending of conventions that shape our world.
The exhibition will be run from 10 August to 22 September 2024.
Download our exhibition leaflet for more information here.
Download our exhibition press release here.
In celebration of the museum’s first anniversary at the Osborne House, The Private Museum is proud to present Strange Connections: Art and Architecture by Richard Hassell. Renowned as the founding director of WOHA Architects, Richard Hassell played a pivotal role in shaping the museum’s new chapter within the historic building.
In May 2023, The Private Museum officially received the keys to the Osborne House, situated atop the hill at 11 Upper Wilkie Road. The century-old house has endured the passage of time, its walls echoing stories. From its colonial-era beginnings as a residence to hosting a myriad of occupants from different historical periods, and now a haven for the arts, the house is a vessel that encapsulates countless narratives.
The exhibition explores the intricate relationship between art and architecture, delving into the historical narratives of Osborne House dating back to the 1830s. As part of research for the museum’s reimagining, Hassell discovered strange connections between the building’s history and his own. The showcase reflects his ongoing investigation into emergent phenomena through playful visual constructions, encouraging contemplation of the interplay between the physical and the abstract, and the historical and the contemporary.
Hassell’s explorations in art began in his childhood, with his practice now spanning drawing, painting, and sculpture. His passion for the scientific, philosophical, and cultural elements of patterns, systems, and networks manifests in both his architecture and art. In particular, his exploration of complex tiling, made public in 2016, had led to exhibitions in Singapore, Taiwan, Europe and the USA.
Strange Connections invites visitors to an exhibition of art and architecture that delves into history, science, and the web of connections that link us all.
The exhibition will be run from 30 May to 28 July 2024.
Download our exhibition leaflet for more information here.
Download our exhibition press release here.
As part of Singapore Art Week 2024, The Private Museum Singapore is delighted to present Chronic Compulsions: Selected Works from Art Addicts Anonymous, an exhibition showcasing the groundbreaking collaboration between a local private museum, private collectors and seasoned curators.
This unique exhibition marks the 10th anniversary of the formation of Art Addicts Anonymous—a collectors’ circle that has evolved from a casual gathering of art lovers into a strong community of collectors who want to share their passion for art with society at large.
Chronic Compulsions unveils a remarkable selection of over 40 modern and contemporary works from 15 participating collections from Singapore, each piece bearing a personal connection to its collector.
As we celebrate a decade of passion and purpose, this exhibition is testament to the timeless nature of art and its transformative power. It represents the synergies between The Private Museum, Art Addicts Anonymous, and the arts community, injecting value and vibrancy into the Singapore art scene.
The exhibition will be run from 11 January to 24 March 2024.
Download our exhibition leaflet for more information here.
Download our exhibition press release here.
The Private Museum (TPM) Singapore is delighted to present Rhythmic Resonance: A Collaboration Beyond Boundaries By Andy Yang & Ian de Souza showcasing works from Australian artist Ian de Souza and Singaporean artist Andy Yang.
This exhibition explores themes of collaboration, cultural exchange, and artistic cross-pollination, drawing from de Souza and Yang’s respective practices. Notably, their collaboration began during the pandemic when they exchanged and worked on a series of shared canvases between Singapore and Australia, forging an artistic connection without ever meeting in person. Upon the reopening of borders after the pandemic, Andy Yang’s visits to Fremantle in Perth, where Ian de Souza resides, marked significant turning points in their collaboration.
Their backgrounds in the world of music allowed them to appreciate the intricate interplay of rhythm and harmony. This musical connection echoed in their collaborative artistic process, where they approached their canvases like a dynamic composition, blending colours and brushstrokes like notes in a harmonious symphony.
Beyond their shared artistic interests, the two artists discovered an even deeper connection rooted in their common origins. Both Ian and Andy were born in Malaysia, which provided a profound sense of shared cultural heritage and identity.
Alongside the showcase of their respective artworks, the exhibition also features a series of unique collaborative artworks jointly created by both artists. Experience how meaningful exchanges can transform artistic practice, and be inspired by de Souza and Yang’s journey of collaboration, partnership, and creative growth.
The exhibition will be run from 2 November to 10 December 2023.
Download our exhibition leaflet for more information here.
Download our exhibition press release here.
The Private Museum (TPM) Singapore is pleased to present Dancing with the Cosmos: Three Decades of Work from Kumari Nahappan, a solo exhibition surveying prominent Singaporean artist Kumari Nahappan’s three-decade-long artistic practice, curated by John Z.W. Tung. This showcase will be the first of the museum’s upcoming line-up of programmes at its new premise, featuring over 50 works which include Nahappan’s monumental site-specific installations, paintings and sculptures, some of which are re-creations of past iterations that have not been seen by the public since the mid-1990s.
Inspired by the Hindu cosmological notion of cyclical time, Dancing with the Cosmos organises the artworks not chronologically but by colour, allowing visitors to witness the diverse yet interconnected nature of Nahappan’s practice. Nature, rituals, time and space are themes that have long been part of Nahappan’s works and are also encapsulated throughout the exhibition. Each intimate space reflects specific colours that take prominence at various periods of Nahappan’s practice, representative of a diversity of themes and a recurrence of Nahappan’s interests over an expanse of time.
Characterised by constant evolution, Nahappan’s varied employment of materiality from organic matter to man-made structures and found objects breathes new life into her pieces, allowing them to transcend two-dimensional visuality and engage with the senses on multiple levels. Immersing in Nahappan’s fields of colour, Dancing with the Cosmos: Three Decades of Work from Kumari Nahappan allows visitors to contend with the existence of these countless universes and their cycles.
The exhibition will be run from 31 August to 22 October 2023.
Download our exhibition leaflet for more information here.
Download our exhibition press release here.
The Private Museum Singapore is pleased to present Make Yourself at Home: A Glimpse into All Welcoming Scenarios, an exhibition at a special interim location, a private residence, since it moved out of its previous home. Having been preparing for its relocation to 11 Upper Wilkie Road, it was also a time for introspection, ruminating on what it means to be ‘The Private Museum’.
The conceptualisation of the exhibition began in part as an existential query into the meaning behind why The Private Museum was founded, and continues to pose similar questions to the public through a multi-focal approach. The exhibition is carved into two parts that correspond to the disciplines of art and design, offering a glimpse of the museum’s upcoming programmes at its new home, which is projected for its inaugural launch in the second half of 2023, on top of its ongoing developments in design and branding.
Revisiting the museum’s key platforms, the exhibition features selected works and practices by artists from Singapore and the Asia Pacific such as Kumari Nahappan, Natee Utarit, Ian de Souza, Andy Yang, and independent curator John Tung. Within the design and branding presentation are an interactive and research-driven showcase presented in collaboration with local design studio Currency as well as a dollhouse model of the museum’s new home, designed by the award-winning WOHA Architects, and produced by Integrus Model.
Drawing from the philosopher Jacques Derrida’s ethics of hospitality, Make Yourself at Home is a double entendre that not only reflects the roots of the museum as a hosting ground for open collaboration with art practitioners and home for private collections, but also the ‘hospitality’ that is shown when a host welcomes guests into their living abode or art space. The locale of the exhibition being in a home is itself an enactment of one such welcoming scenario, serving as an apt reminder of the importance of patronage.
“In order to constitute the space of a habitable house and a home, you also need an opening, a door and windows… a passage to the outside world / to the stranger” says Derrida of hospitality. The exhibition invites viewers to embark on their journey of reflection—whether as a first-time visitor or a devoted museum-goer—to really consider what the words ‘The’ ‘Private’ ‘Museum’ put together as an entity in the arts eco-system could be for them.
This exhibition will run from 7 January to 26 March 2023.
Download our exhibition leaflet for more information here.
The Private Museum presents an exhibition which showcases the Catholic High School’s special collection of paintings by the late local artist, Chua Ek Kay, who is an old boy of the school. He is known for his combination of both Eastern and Western art techniques and theories in his works. A special selection from the Catholic High School will be featured in this exhibition with subject matters ranging from traditional Chinese paintings of birds and flowers, to old buildings and abstractions which reflects the evolution of Ek Kay’s artistic practice. The highlight of this exhibition will be the display of four Chinese ink paintings of the former Catholic High School campus at 222 Queens Street, now 51 Waterloo Street. Coincidentally, this is where The Private Museum is currently located. Ek Kay painted these works in 2005 with the sole purpose of donating them to the school and its new campus in Bishan. Ek Kay donated more works to the school subsequently, totaling to an impressive number of twenty-five Chinese ink paintings.
A primary essential element in calligraphy is time. What is time? I do not know. I only know eternity means that time no longer exists. Buddha is dead, Jesus is dead. Eventually all life form vanishes. Beings exist in the present, live and die between to be and not to be.
Fung Ming Chip, 2012
The Private Museum presents a special exhibition developed from the long-term relationship that began 15 years ago between Singapore-based collector, Christopher Franck, and Hong Kong-based artist, Fung Ming Chip. Franck’s collection of Fung’s works introduces the artist’s early experimentation with the medium of traditional Chinese calligraphy. The large-scale site-specific conceptual installation of his Chan & Heart Sutra Series is a development of Fung’s recurring theme of Heart Sutra in his earlier works. Fung’s latest work is a result of transforming an established art form into an entirely new style that challenges the values which shape human behavior and perception. In his continuous search of what calligraphy is, Fung pushes the boundaries of the medium and explores the element of time.
The Private Museum is proud to present The Loss Index: Perishables and other Miscellanea by Singaporean artist, Ye Shufang, following the success of her previous exhibition, The Happiness Index, here in 2011. Shufang has created a series of new watercolour drawings and will also re-present her internationally-renowned agar-agar installations for the last time.
With an ongoing research focus on the ephemeral and the ‘ready-made’ from her 17 years of art practice, Shufang’s current series of drawings are an attempt to measure, categorise and understand a miscellany of vast infinite items, from baking moulds to emotions, classified in a system using grids, circles and colour spectrums. In her past artworks, the study of and the attempt to measure and record the impermanent are manifested in installations that adopt basic processes, ephemeral materials and ready-mades. Aside from the 2 new presentations of her past agar-agar installations, Shufang will also be showing an agar-agar and rubber strips installation for the first time.
The Private Museum is proud to present HER IMAGE, a group exhibition that explores the representation of women in photography and video, to commemorate the International Women’s Day in March. Held in conjunction with the symposium Ways of Knowing: Asian and Middle Eastern Women in Photographs, the exhibition will explore themes on “Women, memory and history”, “Women in daily life”, and “Women artists and photo-journalists”. HER IMAGE adopts a cross-disciplinary approach in attempt to create a dialogue about woman condition in the contemporary world, with a rare focus on Asia and Middle East. The artworks portray experiences of women influenced by their particular historical, socioeconomical, and religious environments, in private and public spaces of non-Western countries.
Artists Amanda Heng (Singapore), Zann Huizhen Huang (Singapore), Noor Iskandar (Singapore), Oh Soon-Hwa (Korea & Singapore), Min Kim Park (USA), Shelly Silver (USA), and Jesvin Yeo (Singapore) will present color photographs and video works, styled from traditional photo-journalism, postmodern documentary photographs and narrative film. These artists possess backgrounds in different disciplines and use photographs or videos of women as a research method, presenting various perspectives in the social and human sciences as well as in the humanities.
For more information on the symposium, please visit www.womeninphotographsymposium.com
The Private Museum presents Khoo Sui Hoe: An Overview Part I – The Artist Collection from 1980s to Present, the first of a two-part major exhibition of the Malaysian painter, Khoo Sui Hoe. Known for his inimitable surrealistic stylisation of masks, figures and landscapes, this selection comprises of 25 paintings from the Artist’s private collection.
A former graduate from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in 1961, Khoo was under the tutelage of Cheong Soo Pieng and Georgette Chen. Following his move from Malaysia to the West in 1982, this collection portrays Khoo’s evolving artistic practice and development which spans Singapore, Malaysia and United States.
This exhibition will continue to Khoo Sui Hoe: An Overview Part II – The Patron, Datuk Seri Lim Chong Keat’s Collection which consists of Khoo’s earlier works from the 1960s to 1980s. Highlights include significant works presented from the Patron’s perspective, including Children of the Sun as collected by distinguished collector and lifelong friend.
The Private Museum is proud to present Hong Zhu An: Pure Heart – A Bali Purnati Foundation Artist Residency by internationally-renowned Singaporean artist, Hong Zhu An. The exhibition features a selection of 15 new works from a series inspired by Hong’s recent Artist Residency in Bali at the Yayasan Bali Purnati | The Bali Purnati Centre For The Arts. This residency marks his second and most significant visit to Bali since his first trip more than 10 years ago. Through this residency, Hong immersed in the tranquil nature and travelled through the rich textures of landscapes with road trips and site visits around the Northern, Southern and Eastern Bali.
Hong’s stay at the Bali Purnati – translated as Pure Heart, was a journey of self-awareness and introspection that led him to create this new series of inward and outward journey of Bali. The highlights of this exhibition are inspired by site visits to see Kokokan birds (herons) at Petulu Village, water palace at Taman Tirta Gangga, lotus ponds at Taman Saraswati Temple, cliffs at Uluwatu, walls on rock-cut shrines at Gunang Kawi, historical villages at Tenganan Village and temples such as Pura Besakih. This new body of works give insights to Hong’s experience in Bali that left an impact on him.
The Private Museum is proud to present LINES, a group exhibition which celebrates the museum’s new initiative, the emerging artist platform to support and encourage the development of emerging artistic talents in Singapore.
A manifestation of ongoing conversations between the 8 emerging artists and the curators, LINES features painting, print-making, photography, video art and installation. While exploring the idea of distinctions, the spoken exchanges probe into themes of cultural ideologies, social landscapes, identities and the human psyche. The exhibition encapsulates the nuances of the artists’ thoughts and processes through their works.
Featuring new works by Ben Yap, Brenn Tan, Izzy Tan, Jackson Kang, Odelia Tang, Quinn Lum, Rafi Abdullah and Tristan Lim.
In collaboration with
Mike Bode
Young-hae Chang Heavy Industries
Charles Lim Yi Yong
John Miller
Keiichi Miyagawa
Aura Rosenberg
The Private Museum is proud to present Takuji Kogo: *CANDY FACTORY PROJECTS 2017.
*CANDY FACTORY PROJECTS is a Japanese-based platform for international collaborative art projects led by visual artist and curator, Takuji Kogo. It is mobile; continuously relocating its office into different institutions, organising curatorial projects, exhibitions, web projects and publications.
The exhibition features a selection of video works and sculptural installations by internationally acclaimed artists including Takuji Kogo (Japan), Young-hae Chang Heavy Industries (South Korea), Mike Bode (Sweden), John Miller (USA), Charles Lim Yi Yong (Singapore), Keiichi Miyagawa (Japan) and Aura Rosenberg (USA). Research conducted by the artists probed into the relationship and consequentiality of national borders across different countries.
During Kogo’s one-month artist visit in Singapore, his latest work titled, Singaporean Arcade will see new development and will be introduced at the exhibition’s screening event. The new work is an exploration into the multi-linguistic environment of Singapore through the artist’s perspective. From 2016-2019, *CANDY FACTORY PROJECTS will be touring different venues in Asia and Europe including the Aichi Triennial (Japan), The Private Museum (Singapore), the ZKU (Berlin) and more.
In celebration of International Women’s Day and in conjunction with Singapore Design Week 2018, The Private Museum is pleased to present In Flux by New York-based Singaporean artist, Dr Wee Hong Ling, from 16 March to 6 May 2018. This solo exhibition follows the most recent development of Wee’s artistic practice, featuring three distinct series of ceramic works (Brooklyn, Moxie and My Family Portrait) and, importantly, the inaugural showcase of blacksmithing works by a Singaporean female artist.
Brooklyn is a series that acknowledges both Singapore and New York as Wee’s homes. From one island to another, Brooklyn references her mediation between continents and her abiding state of flux. By contrast, Moxie, a series of large vessels with daring cantilevers, engages the viewer to ruminate on the artist’s internal qualities of fortitude and persistence as requisites of creating sizable ceramic works.
In this exhibition, Wee also revisits My Family Portrait, the sole figurative sculpture from her body of work that has never been shown. In Flux presents her interpretations in clay and steel juxtaposed against the old childhood photograph.
For the second blacksmithing work, Heaven and Earth, Wee experiments with time and chance by exposing nine forged discs to the elements, including the first snow of winter in New York, to develop a skin of rust. Heaven and Earth, inspired by Chinese cosmology, can be seen as the artist paying homage to her mother tongue and heritage.
As a whole, In Flux is an artistic endeavour by Dr Wee Hong Ling to challenge perceptions and break social stereotypes. Personal and endearing, the works mirror her mindset regarding the continual state of uncertainty that she experiences in the physical, metaphysical and humanistic worlds.
In conjunction with Singapore Art Week 2019, The Private Museum is pleased to present Of Dreams and Contemplation: Selections from the Collection of Richard Koh. As part of The Private Museum’s Collector Platform, this exhibition features contemporary works of international artists from the private art collection of veteran gallerist, Richard Koh of Richard Koh Fine Art.
Presented as a whole for the first time, this is the inaugural showcase of 33 carefully-selected artworks from Koh’s collection spanning more than 20 years. A gallerist by profession, Koh’s distinctive way of collecting is informed by his quiet reflection and interactions with the art world. This collection is an exploration of his journey in the world of art and life, in public and in private, within Southeast Asia and internationally.
Of Dreams and Contemplation reflects a multitude of Koh’s ruminations, personalities and interests through the works of 30 artists. Often referred by Koh as ‘Landscapes of Memory’, each work evokes a specific memory, a tangible reminder of a fleeting moment in his life. Mostly abstract and monochromatic, the works offer rare insights into Richard Koh’s private contemplations—inviting the viewer to interpret and delve deeper.
The Private Museum (TPM) Singapore is delighted to present Clear Light by Australian artist, Ian de Souza. The exhibition marks the artist’s debut showcase in Singapore after more than four decades of practising art.
Born in 1939 in then Malaya, de Souza grew up in a period of turbulence. He spent his early years in Singapore and Malaysia under colonial British and Japanese rule before moving to New South Wales, Australia at the age of 16. Between the 1960s-70s, the artist toured the world as a musician, performing alongside pop icons such as the Bee Gees, before becoming a full-time artist in 1980.
Clear Light is a response from the artist to his lifelong pursuit of passion, knowledge and technical mastery, and the realisation that comes from years of thoughtful introspection. In this homecoming exhibition, visitors will get to experience de Souza’s latest series of paintings – which explore the artist’s contemplations on life as well as a revisit of his Eastern heritage, spirituality, and harmony.
The Private Museum (TPM) Singapore is pleased to present I am a CON artist: Continuous Contemplations of Justin Lee. The exhibition is a special collaboration between artist, collector and space, locating itself in two spaces with a main exhibition and special showcase happening in conjunction with Singapore Art Week 2021.
Alongside a selection of past works from The Teng Collection, a new body of works will also be exhibited, building upon Justin Lee’s continuous contemplations on his identity as an artist and member of civil society. The artist employs visual and cultural references to provide social commentary on the perennial issues of consumerism and individualism, which in today’s digital age of instant gratifications and everyday glorifications become exponentially magnified.
Composed of paintings, text-based artefacts, performance and interactive art installation, the exhibition confronts its audience not only with the ceaseless forces of rapid globalisation and hyper digitalisation, but also challenges them to examine their individual complicity in glorifying and immortalising one’s self in the everyday.
Through this special collaboration, TPM expands beyond its scope as a home for private collectors by merging its artist and collector platforms to present the interconnectedness and intimate relationships that form between artists, collectors, art spaces, and their audiences.
Featuring Justin Lee’s monumental installations from The Teng Collection, the one-week special showcase reflects the artist’s expanding oeuvre that explores the themes of identity and socio-cultural norms in Singapore across a variety of mediums. The showcase forms part of the exhibition I am a CON artist: Continuous Contemplations of Justin Lee, happening in conjunction with Singapore Art Week 2021.
In conjunction with Singapore Art Week 2020, The Private Museum (TPM) Singapore is pleased to present Emerging: Collecting Singapore Contemporary – Selections from the DUO Collection. As part of TPM’s 10th anniversary celebrations, the museum revisits its foundation of bridging the private and the public; this exhibition is the first in a series of five featuring an array of private collections in Singapore.
The DUO, whose collectors prefer to remain anonymous, started building their collection five years ago with a focus to support emerging artists in Singapore and Southeast Asia, though they have been collecting widely for more than a decade.
Emerging is the inaugural showcase of selected works collected in the past five years featuring 16 Singapore-based artists. These works reflect some of Singapore’s emerging urgencies in recent years by responding to themes of identity, migration, urbanisation, the environment, places and spaces. The exhibition seeks not only to stimulate new conversations on Singapore contemporary art through the lens of private collectors, but also to expand on their role in the art eco-system as imperative patrons of the arts.