ART SG 2023

Philip Colbert taps into the subject matter of the lobster and, specifically, its art historical referencefrom 17th-century Dutch still life painting. During the golden age of vanitas painting, the lobsterfunctioned as an icon for expressing mortality. The Painter Portrait series revisits the classic idea of theartist holding a paintbrush and speaks to the existential angst involved when looking for meaningwithin the process of painting. The deeper you look, the more difficult it is to find and in turn, the moreabsurd it becomes. Through the veneer of pop, colour and humour, Colbert pushes the limits of self-representation in a society of hyper consumption, uplifting this gruelling activity beyond the self.

A liberating act, doodling occupies a critical place throughout history as the technique of scribblingfunny or grotesque characters can be traced back to antiquity. Mr Doodle has constructed a wholenew visual phenomenon: his DoodleWorld, where he manifests his vision of the world, producingmesmerising and dense clusters of characters, objects, and patterns that grow and multiplyrelentlessly. Mr and Mrs Doodle Prepare to Fly to DoodleLand is a celebration of the artist’s love story.Mr Doodle channels his creations with love, joy, and happiness directly from his DoodleWorld into ourswith great stamina. His process is fluid, therapeutic, unrestrained, and without hesitation, where thedense clusters of black and white doodles are gradually tinted with an array of bright colours.

In addition to indulging viewers in a pop-art world, a selection of artworks by artists from the gallerystable will also be on view in an individual viewing room showcasing the breadth of the gallery’saesthetics. Exhibiting artists from different cultural backgrounds include Jana Benitez (b. 1985, USA),John Copeland (b. 1976, USA), Babajide Olatunji (b. 1989, Nigeria), Cynthia Polsky (b. 1939, USA), SuXiaobai (b. 1949, China), and Zhu Jinshi (b. 1954, China).

Founder Pearl Lam states, “I am delighted to return to Singapore, a gateway to the Southeast Asiaregion. Our mission has always been to promote cross-cultural dialogue; we work with artists over along period of time and are constantly looking to discover new markets and territories to present theirwork to new audiences and stimulate debate about the art of different regions and internationalinterpretation.”