Reminiscent of ritualistic burial chambers, this immersive installation showcases the fluidity and multidisciplinary nature of 2019 joint Turner Prize winner Tai Shani's artistic practice, which spans performances, films, paintings, sculptures and installations. Anchored in her theoretical prose and extensive trans-historical research, the artist uses recovered feminised aesthetics of floral, erotic and fantastical imagery, to construct complete cosmologies in which violence and eroticism deterritorialise bodies and imagine pre-patriarchal pasts and post-patriarchal futures.

At age 102, Singapore pioneer artist Lim Tze Peng still produces a steady output of art, including this monumental Chinese ink on paper work, which was completed just three weeks before Art SG. Painted largely from the sketches he made in his early days of the Singapore riverfront, the work features huge brush strokes on a large sheet of paper, which is characteristic of the later years of his practice. So it is probably interesting to see that the work is placed side by side with another piece on the same subject, Side by Side (2000), which is in a smaller format and with very detailed brush strokes.

To emphasise the abstract qualities of his figurative subject matter, German painter, printmaker and sculptor Georg Baselitz began displaying his works upside down in 1969. His fascination with the body’s ageing process has been a focus of his recent work, with explorations of his own body and that of his wife Elke. The bronze bas-relief diptych Walla Halla looks at the effects of time, with the dark patinas recalling wrinkled skin.

Widely recognised for her “breast stupa” motif, Thai artist Pinaree Sanpitak continues with her exploration of the female breast in all of its literal and symbolic meanings. Often characterised by tenderness and ethereality, Sanpitak’s works stem from the captivation with her own body and motherhood. Her practice also reveals a keen sensitivity towards a range of materials across diverse mediums, including painting, collage, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, installation and performance. For this series, the artist explores various materials, including mulberry paper, needle, marble, metal and motor.

In case you missed it: 7 gallery highlights at Art SG 2024

The undulating surface of this monumental sculpture, delineated with black against a white background, with the negative spaces filled with either parallel lines or red and blue colours, is characteristic of French artist Jean Dubuffet’s Hourloupe series. Part of the oeuvre where Dubuffet departed from painting and drawing and expanded into three-dimensional forms, the series offers an alternative interpretation of reality in its abstract forms that convey the chaos in cityscapes that are inhabited by creatures and machines.

Taking the spotlight at Gajah Gallery, among a presentation of some of the most acclaimed artists in Southeast Asia, are the latest works of Singapore artists Han Sai Por, Jane Lee and Suzann Victor. Veteran sculptor Han’s two new bronze works with a unique green patina, including Seed Pod Series 5 (2024), continues her fascination with natural, organic forms. Victor’s Eye to Eye (2024), the latest addition to her signature fresnel lens series, rematerialises colonial-era ethnographic postcards of Southeast Asia, while Lee utilises three-dimensional objects to create two-dimensional works, exploring how they employ light and colour in A Floral Rhapsody – 3D, 2D, Morph, Emerge I and II (2024).

Textile and fibre arts are having their time in the spotlight in the art world, and one notable talent working with industrial textile weaving techniques is Malaysian artist Marcos Kueh. His fluorescent, multi‑work woven installation is an exploration of the postcolonial subject, as seen through his perspective as a Chinese-Malaysian from Borneo living in the Netherlands. On why he chose the medium for his art, Kueh tells us that it stems from his fascination with how, “before the arrival of pen and paper, the people in Borneo used to tell their stories through textile”. His Woven Billboards: Nenek Moyang (2023) installation is part of Art SG’s Platform exhibition featuring large-scale installations by five artists exhibited across the two levels of the fair. Drawing from Malaysian and Bornean imagery, Kueh juxtaposes them with raw street ads, multinational logos, and fluorescent threads.

For the second year running, Art SG associate partner The Hour Glass continues its support of the fair with an exhibition of the work of its chosen artist. This year’s presentation, in collaboration with independent watch brand MB&F, features seven of the 20 limited-edition kinetic sculptures from the Endless Movement series by Ukrainian artist duo Smith & Winken. Akin to the motions of watch complications, these kinetic sculptures explore the intersection between time and space, bringing the viewer into the fourth dimension.

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