December Round-Up: Part I

Dinh Cong Dat, Patricia Perez Eustaquio and Ahmad Fuad Osman, etc.
By Ho See Wah

As the end of the year draws close, we would like to present a special two-part feature for our December Round-Up to bring to you a great selection of exhibitions you can catch before 2019 ends. Read the second part here.

Dinh Cong Dat, ‘Paper & Glue’, 2019, exhibition installation view. Image courtesy of Toriizaka Art.

Paper & Glue
Working with materials such as papier-mâché, glue, and ceramics, Vietnamese artist Dinh Cong Dat presents 42 sculptures for his solo exhibition in Oregon. The artist commemorates the ordinary, as the sculptures are modelled after young children and adults having fun in the everyday. At the same time, by focusing on the enjoyment from creating, the sculptures are a celebration of craft. 

Toriizaka Art, 1 December to 28 February 2020. 

Patricia Perez Eustaquio, ‘Archipelago 2’, 2019, glicée, graphite, acrylic and silver leaf on canvas, 102 x 81cm. Image courtesy of Yavuz Gallery and the artist.

Everywhere West, Everything East
Filipino artist Patricia Perez Eustaquio explores notions of trade and modern consumerism that resulted from the conquests of the West upon the East during the age of exploration. The forms in her paintings are abstracted from geographical landscapes, hinting at the invisible violence wrought upon the colonised. In tandem with the paintings are her sculptures made from found objects such as rugs and pillows. They resemble a map or topography when placed together, which invites us to question how contemporary trade and consumerism affect us as individuals. 

Yavuz Gallery Sydney, 7 November to 19 December.

Ahmad Fuad Osman, ‘AAARRGGHHH..PLEASE GET YOUR FILTHY HANDS OUT OF MEEE!!!’, 2000, oil on canvas, 250 x 274cm. Image courtesy of National Art Gallery.

Ahmad Fuad Osman: At the end of the day even art is not important (1990-2019)
‘At the end of the day even art is not important’ is the first survey of Malaysian artist Ahmad Fuad Osman’s diverse range of works. It explores the artist's way of utilising art for generating discourse, disrupting hierarchies and transmitting knowledge across boundaries. Other than the artworks themselves, items and from the artist’s studio and archives will be displayed, giving us an insight into the thoughts and processes behind Fuad’s artistic praxis.

 National Art Gallery, 28 October to 28 February 2020.

Martha Atienza,
‘Tarong 11°16'12.0"N 123°45'23.4"E
2019-08-06 Tue 2:27 PM PST 1.50 meters High Tide
Kaongkod 11°16'12.0"N 123°45'23.4"E
2019-08-03 Sat 12:14 PM PST 2.03 meters High Tide’,
HD video, 79min. Image courtesy of the artist and Silverlens.

Martha Atienza: Equation of State
The current climate emergency is the focus of Filipino artist Martha Atienza’s solo exhibition, ‘Equation of State’. Atienza looks at the relationship between humans and the current state of the environment, as she navigates through how rising sea levels have negatively impacted human environment. Present are also mangrove plants manipulated by an Arduino-programmed mechanism, which serves as a commentary on human interference on our ecosystems. The audience is made to think about the multilayered and complex relationship we have with the environment, and the deterioration we have wrought on it.  

Silverlens, 7 December to 11 January 2020.

Imelda Cajipe-Endaya, ‘Saan Ka Nanggaling, Saan Ka Darating (Where Did You Come From, Where Are You Headed?)’, 1979, photoengraving, etching and collagraphy on paper. Image courtesy of National Gallery Singapore.

Suddenly Turning Visible: Art and Architecture in Southeast Asia (1969 – 1989)
The period of 1970s to 1980s saw a great turn towards developmentalism in Southeast Asia. ‘Suddenly Turning Visible’ examines this shift via the lenses of art and architecture, and reveals how these elements were influenced and adapted to redefining epoch. The exhibition uses three influential art institutions of that era, the Alpha Gallery from Singapore, Cultural Center of the Philippines from Manila and Bhirasri Institute of Modern Art from Bangkok, as a jumping board for expounding on the experimental art-making that emerged.

National Gallery Singapore, 19 November to 15 March 2020.