Dear friends and colleagues
I have to admit I remain somewhat bemused.
Talking to artist friends in the Philippines recently they all remarked how rarely curators and critics make studio visits to them.
This is not the first time I have heard this complaint. When I first came to Singapore and started doing studio visits, I was almost invariably told that I was the first critic or curator to visit the artists save for Eugene Tan.
When I wrote an essay on the Shanghai painter Ding Yi I went to his studio and had a long conversation. (Fortunately I had an excellent translator with me as my mandarin does not extend beyond “hello” and “thank you”.) He said it was an unusual experience for a critic to actually come to the studio: normally they just asked to be sent some jpegs.
I find this remarkably bizarre for apart from the fact that you learn so much from such visits, not just in what you discuss but also what you see – old and unfinished work, what images they stick on the wall, what music they play, whether they are messy or neat – isn’t this one of the more enjoyable part of the job?
Why don’t they go?
Do these writers and curators prefer to sit at their desk and read theoretical texts? Certainly, theory has been fetishised to a great degree here. Presumably the ability to talk theory and quote key texts is seen as a better passport to international conferences and scholarships than a close acquaintance with the artists of their own country.
But this strange and depressing distaste for visiting the artist’s studios certainly leads to some silly mistakes. The curator of a recent mixed exhibition here did not visit any of the artists included in his exhibition and as a result none of them were allocated the appropriate space for their work and were all very grumpy as a result.
It all seems very hands off!
A few years back the Singapore Art Museum bought a painting from an artist, not from her directly, not from her gallery but from auction – at a record price too. They later tried to commission her to do a second work – which she did not agree to as they admitted it would go straight into their storage. But neither before this nor afterwards did any curator visit her in her studio.
Reputably the same museum a little later bought four large drawings by Ian Woo they were apparently very surprised to find when they were delivered that they were not framed. It transpired that this was because they had viewed them only on the internet and hence had no idea that Woo preferred to show them unframed, pinned to the wall. As at the time they bought them these drawings were being exhibited about 400 metres from their museum it would have only have taken two minutes to go and see them in the flesh. Weird! Well, at least they exhibit them as intended – unframed.
There is a new director at the museum now, Susie Lingham, and Eugene Tan is the director of the soon-to-open Singapore National Gallery so hopefully their curators will be doing some studio visits in future.
Anyway, just to assure you that I do visit studios, here are some shots from my past studio visits in Indonesia and Singapore:
Ivan Sagita. Like many successful artists in Indonesia Ivan has built a large house and studio with a beautiful garden. Nevertheless, he prefers to paint in a small room. As you can see, like many artists here, he is happiest painting sitting on the floor.
Ivan Sagita Studio
Also, as you can see, Aytjoe Christine draws and writes on the wall, which gives us some insight into how the work originates. She keeps cats – many of which in this region have a defective gene leading to kinked tails.
Aytjoe Christine Studio
Jogja based Nasirun prefers to paint outside. This is the very early beginning of a painting with quite random marks laid out.
Nasirun Studio
Singaporean Jane Lee’s studio is neat, as you would expect from an artist who experiments with painting in a considered way.
Jane Lee Studio
Also in Jogja, Masriadi only has one painting on the go at any one time. Which is traditional and the norm out here. He has the TV on as he works, which is not so traditional.
Masriadi Studio
Singaporean Guoliang Tan is unique: the only artist I know out here who has stuck, in the old-fashioned way, postcards of old masters on his wall.
Guoliang Tan Studio
Srihardi, a senior artist in Bandung, likes to paint outside in his courtyard. There is a covered area where he can go and paint when it rains.
Srihadi Studio
For good measure here is an image of Ding Yi’s studio.
Ding Yi Studio
One caveat: not all artists here have nice studios. Many artists I know, especially in the Philippines have meagre spaces they would rather I do not see or, in one case, have to make work in their sister’s bedroom – presumably whilst she is abroad earning money for the family.
That’s all for now, later this week I am going to KL and making a studio visit to Jailani Abu Hassan, better known as “Jai”. I’ll tell you all about it.
Have a good Tuesday! And, of course, Happy New Year! Gong Xi Fa Cai!
Tony