Ocula Conversation Jess Johnson: Worlds Within Worlds Geometric patterns, anthropomorphic characters, architectural spatial environments, and relics of the ancient world appear throughout Jess Johnson's artworks.Johnson's solo art-ventures began in drawing, but her long-term collaborative relationship with animator Simon Ward brings her drawings to life in videos and virtual reality. The animator has...
Ocula Conversation Melati Suryodarmo: Performance Art as Trigger In 2012, Melati Suryodarmo opened Studio Plesungan in her native Surakarta, also known as Solo, the historic royal capital of the Mataram Empire of Java in Indonesia. Suryodarmo had returned to Indonesia from Germany, where she studied Butoh and choreography with Butoh dancer and choreographer Anzu Furukawa, time-based media with avantgarde...
Ocula Report Lagos Biennial 2019: Stories from Africa’s most Populous City 15 Nov 2019 : Jareh Das for Ocula Under the direction of Folakunle Oshun, the second edition of the Lagos Biennial (26 October–23 November 2019) includes works by over 40 Lagos-based and international artists, architects, and collectives. Curated by architect Tosin Oshinowo, curator and producer Oyindamola Fakeye, and assistant curator of photography at the Art Institute of...
Ocula Insight | Video Hans Hartung and Art Informel at Mazzoleni London (1 October 2019-18 January 2020) presents key works by the French-German painter while highlighting his connection with artists active in Paris during the 50s and 60s. In this video, writer and historian Alan Montgomery discusses Hartung's practice and its legacy.Born in Leipzig in 1904, Hans...
Chan + Hori Contemporary aims to provoke, challenge and stimulate the Singapore and Southeast Asia community through diverse and inclusive events connecting contemporary art with our everyday lives. Artistic vision and a high quality of engagement with public audience lies at the core of its mission.
Encouraging curatorial experimentation and discussion platforms, Chan + Hori highlights both processes and ideas. Dedicated to both emerging and established artists, it is also open to exploring different disciplines and artistic expressions aside from visual arts, such as performance and fashion.
In addition to Chan + Hori’s strong focus on building sustainable relationships with international public and private collections, the gallery provides a professional infrastructure for its exclusive artists to support their careers in all relevant aspects - including regular exhibitions, management of large-scale productions, overseas opportunities and collaborations with institutions.
Ocula Insight I first came across Khairuddin Hori's name in an interview Ocula Magazine conducted in 2015 with artist Tianzhuo Chen. At the time, Hori was deputy director of artistic programming at Palais de Tokyo in Paris, where he oversaw Chen's solo exhibition (23 June–12 September 2015). In the interview, Chen describes Hori as a curator who enabled the...
Ocula Report Between abstraction and interaction: A report from Singapore 20 Oct 2016 : Alice Russotti for Ocula When I first went to see Oh Dear What Can the Matter Be (2016), an installation at Yeo Workshop by Singaporean artist Stephanie Jane Burt, I was reminded of a work by another young, and increasingly recognised Singaporean artist, Dawn Ng, How to Disappear into a Rainbow (2016), which I had seen a few months previously at the Hermes Aloft Space,...
Ocula Insight Si Jae Byun at Chan Hampe Galleries, Singapore 18 May 2016 You have worked in a wide variety of mediums as an artist. Can you tell me a bit about your artistic background?For my undergraduate work I majored in painting and minored in textile design. Then I received an MFA in new media/video from Kookmin University in Seoul, and a second MFA in Fine Art from the School of Visual Arts in New York...
Ocula Report Face off: The Singapore art scene 19 Jan 2016 : Sherman Sam for Ocula Contemporary Singapore, as most observers of the island state will know, is a place that has grown enormously successful despite the shock of its early separation from a federation with Malaysia. Celebrating its golden jubilee last year, and branded in typical Singaporean fashion as ‘SG50’, there was excitement in some circles over the...
Related Press Thai artist Kamin Lertchaiprasert on the BKK metro Art Radar : 11 September 2017 Lertchaiprasert was first approached about this project in December 2016 by Pranitan "Pete" Phornprapha, co-founder of Thai arts, music and environmental festival Wonderfruit. Lertchaiprasert and Phornprapha developed the idea of creating a moving art installation that would reach the Thai community in an accessible, free and easy manner....
Related Press Hour at the museum: 'Petrichor' at Chan Hampe Galleries The Straits Times : 20 July 2016 Chan Hampe Galleries presents Petrichor, an exhibition that draws its name from the fleeting, earthy scent that comes with rain after a prolonged dry spell. The six artists on show aim to capture the similarly ephemeral moment of creativity with works that follow traditional approaches and pieces that push the boundaries of their media.
Related Press Pastel prisms: Dawn Ng's free-ranging installation at Hermès' Aloft space Wallpaper* : 25 May 2016 When Singaporean curator Emi Eu approached compatriot Dawn Ng to create an installation to inaugurate Hermès’s refurbished flagship store, the visual artist barely hesitated. For one thing, it’s not everyday that the sixth-generation marque comes knocking. And for another, the site – Aloft at Hermès – is both a brand new,...
Related Press Re-writing history and shifting dioramas: Singaporean artist Green Zeng - in conversation Art Radar : 13 April 2016 Green Zeng’s latest exhibition tackles Singapore’s electoral constituency boundaries as a metaphor for the rigidity and malleability of the country’s national identity.Photographed weeks prior to the 2015 Jubilee celebration, Green Zeng’s photos of Singapore’s electoral constituencies run parallel to the...
