NEW BEGINNINGS 17 OCT - 5 NOV 2020
Cuturi Gallery is a next generation art gallery founded on the belief that art should be empowering and meaningful for everyone. A curator of change and a custodian of artistic diversity, Cuturi Gallery is a challenger of vested interests and of the status quo, pushing the boundaries of how galleries operate. The gallery connects broad audiences to high-quality art by diverse talents that speaks to the heart and tells the story of an undiscovered generation of aspiring artists that will have the art world aching for more. Diminishing aristocratic traditions and providing transparency in an art world that is at times daunting, Cuturi Gallery presents an inclusive and democratised art ecosystem which fosters greater collaboration, understanding and appreciation of art amongst artists, collectors and the industry at large.
61 ALIWAL STREET, SINGAPORE 199937 +65 8182 0214 | SINGAPORE@CUTURIGALLERY.COM CUTURIGALLERY.COM
@CUTURIGALLERY
Cuturi Gallery is delighted to present its first group exhibition in its brand-new home at 61 Aliwal Street. The new gallery is nestled in a conservation shophouse of 400 sqm, standing in Singapore’s vibrant arts and cultural precinct of Bras Basah. Bugis, home to a myriad of independent art spaces and museums. Spread across three levels, the ground floor is dedicated to the gallery’s exhibition spaces, with the remaining levels housing multi-functional art spaces.
New Beginnings, which occupies the ground floor of the gallery, highlights the works of 12 emerging visual artists based in Singapore. This exhibition celebrates the vibrancy and diversity of the Singapore art scene.
The exhibition includes works from Aisha Rosli, Delphine Rama, Faris Heizer, Marla Bendini, Mujahid Jalil, Seelan Palay, Casey Tan, Didier Jaba Mathieu, Goh Jia Jie, Masuri Mazlan, Oneal Parbo and Shen Jiaqi.
AISHA ROSLI CASEY TAN DELPHINE RAMA DIDIER JABA MATHIEU
NEW BEGINNINGS
FARIS HEIZER GOH JIA JIE MARLA BENDINI MASURI MAZLAN MUJAHID JALIL ONEAL PARBO SEELAN PALAY SHEN JIAQI
NEW BEGINNINGS: FARIS HEIZER ANIMA ARTIFICIALIS
Down and Out, 2020 Acrylic on canvas 122 x 91 cm
NEW BEGINNINGS: AISHA ROSLI ANIMA ARTIFICIALIS
But You, 2020 Acrylic and oil sticks on canvas 90 x 70 cm
NEW BEGINNINGS: AISHA ROSLI
Will It Be Over?, 2020 Acrylic on linen 90 x 70 cm
NEW BEGINNINGS: CASEY TAN ANIMA ARTIFICIALIS
Moon River #1, 2020 Acrylic on canvas 100 x 120 cm
NEW BEGINNINGS: CASEY TAN ANIMA ARTIFICIALIS
Moon River #2, 2020 Acrylic on canvas 100 x 120 cm
NEW BEGINNINGS: DIDIER ANIMA ARTIFICIALIS
"JABA" MATHIEU
The Swamp Drainer, 2020 Spray paint on canvas 150 x 138 cm
NEW BEGINNINGS: DELPHINE RAMA ANIMA ARTIFIIALIS
Rusty Dream, 2020 Acrylic on canvas 150 x 120 cm
NEW BEGINNINGS: SEELAN PALAY ANIMA ARTIFICIALIS
Faultline of the Perennial Exerting Parenthetical Agency Oil on canvas 140 x 100 cm
NEW BEGINNINGS: GOH JIA JIE ANIMA ARTIFICIALIS
Dissonance, 2020 Acrylic on canvas 117 x 92 cm
NEW BEGINNINGS: MARLA BENDINI ANIMA ARTIFICIALIS
SOVEREIGN (Rejoice is a Slow Release of Pain), 2020 Oil and oil pastel on canvas 102 x 76 cm
NEW BEGINNINGS: MUJAHID JALIL ANIMA ARTIFICIALIS
The Toast, 2020 Oil on canvas 102 x 76 cm
NEW BEGINNINGS: ONEAL PARBO ANIMA ARTIFICIALIS
Corpse, 2020 Oil on canvas 152 x 121 cm
NEW BEGINNINGS: SHEN JIAQI ANIMA ARTIFICIALIS
Kept the First for Another Day, 2020 Acrylic painting on wood panel 83 x 63 cm
NEW BEGINNINGS: MASURI MAZLAN ANIMA ARTIFICIALIS
Glimmer of Hope, 2020 Mixed media on birchwood panel 30 x 23 x 29 cm
AISHA ROSLI (B. 1997, Singapore) Strongly influenced by Austrian Expressionism, Aisha Rosli’s intuitive approach to painting sees these figurative manifestations that lend to her exploration of the female identity and gender relations. Alluding to secrecy and concealment, Rosli explores the ambiguity in power relations between genders, one that manifests in a subtle power play of dominance and control. This precariousness in the embodiment of power is further observed when viewing Rosli’s paintings, where viewers often find themselves implicitly placed in a position of stealing glances at these figures engaged in intimate acts. A recent graduate from Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, the artist won the second prize from the NAFA Fine Art Graduating Awards Competition in 2018. In that same year, she showcased her paintings in a group exhibition Ribut Reboot at the Sangkring Art Space, Yogyakarta. She has since participated in group exhibitions at Cuturi Gallery and Coda Culture art space in Singapore. Most recently, Rosli was featured in a group exhibition by Unit London, London. CASEY TAN (B. 1994, Singapore) Casey Tan Jie Wei is a Singaporean painter whose works are cantered on visual metaphor and narrative. Many of his artworks draw inspirations from song lyrics, movies, books and other genre of art, often finding connections between these inspirations to the life experienced. Sometimes bringing drama and fantasy to the ordinary. Casey graduated with a Diploma in Fine Arts in 2016, NAFA, where he was also a Ngee Ann Kongsi Scholarship recipient. In 2019, Casey was awarded the UOB Most Promising Artist Of The Year, with his work, The Water Is Wide. Prior to the event, he has also received several recognitions for his artistic contributions during his time in National Service, some of which are part of their collection. Notably in 2017 when his painting was received by former president DR Tony Tan. DELPHINE RAMA (B. 1988, Belgium) Delphine Ramacciotti is a Belgian painter whose creative sphere revolves around the worlds of art and fashion. She is an artist who has a natural flair for the sense of style while her painting has drawn inspiration from her personal favourite - the abstract art movement. A graduate from the Académie Royale des Beaux-arts de Liège, Rama’s abstract paintings were constituted by fashion. “I have always been fascinated by the stories of fashion designers; the colour range used in certain collections inspire me,” says Rama. Fashion entities as diverse as design collective Vaquera, model Jazzelle Zanaughtti, Balenciaga and Hermes have all been namechecked as the inspiration for her colourful paintings. Having participated in many exhibitions, Rama has had her works shown alongside masters such as Matisse and at the biennales (Mobil’Art) in Belgium.
DIDIER "JABA" MATHIEU (B. 1974, Columbia) Born in 1974 in Armenia, Columbia, Didier “Jaba” Mathieu moved to Liege, Belgium to further his studies in Illustration at St. Luc Institution of Arts. Didier Jaba Mathieu or widely known by his moniker – “Jaba” painted murals around the world for more than 25 years. He exhibited widely in art galleries around Europe and South America before relocation to Singapore to join Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), a division of Lucasfilm Ltd where he worked as a concept artist and digi-matte painter on feature films such as Transformers, Iron Man and Star Trek. Futurism, alphabetic constructivism, and facial cubism constitute the work of Jaba. He continues to practise on multidisciplinary levels and participates in countless graffiti performances all over Europe, South America, Africa, and Asia. As an extension to his enthusiasm and energy for illustration, Jaba also lectured at Nanyang Polytechnic, Singapore, focusing on Matte Painting, Environment, and Character Design. He has just published ENEMIES, a graphic novel released in 2015 with Ankama Editions France. FARIS HEIZER (B.1998, Singapore) A Singaporean painter, Muhammad Faris Bin Heizer or Faris Heizer attained his Diploma in Fine Arts at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. In 2019, he has had his works exhibited in several group exhibitions including “Raw Forms”, “Diptych” and under the collective, The Right Belief in “Orthodox” at Coda Culture, Singapore. The following year, he was featured at the “Coda Culture Opening Party Show”. Faris paints the metanarratives of the caricatured figures in the state of pain, despair, and hopelessness. These characters exist in an abject reality ruled by their own logics, appropriated from various fictional novels and cartoon shows. GOH JIA JIE (B. 1997, Singapore) Goh Jia Jie, a graduate from Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts does mainly figurative drawings and paintings and is interested in describing the figures and portraits in her works with bright flashes of colour. Goh is inspired by old school animations and painters including Norman Rockwell and John Bauer. Being fascinated in the process that leads to the outcome, she lets the materials and colours transform themselves as the art. She also experiments in making her own paints and materials for artmaking. The Singaporean artist has interned and exhibited at Art Village Gallery and Studio in 2019 as a teaching assistant.
MA R L A B E N D I N I ( B. 19 86 , Si ngapor e ) “Marla Bendini” was created in 2007 as an amalgamation between art and life. Back then, Marla was still Bendini, and Marla as we know had yet to be born. Marla focuses on the politicized body and its hypervisibility. Drawing on her trans identity and lived experiences, she resides and operates in the in-between, interrogating the existence of absolute dichotomies. In providing us with a stark reminder of our physicality and self-identity, Marla points to the queering of these liminal spaces, toward the inevitable coming of the trans-/post-human condition. Her first self-titled exhibition Marla. (2008) was presented in a transsexual bar in Pattaya, Thailand. Sponsored by Fridae.com, Asia’s largest LGBT portal, she presented Conversations between father and son (2010), a multimedia installation-performance supported by The Substation Gallery, Singapore. She has also exhibited and performed in Supermarket 2012, Stockholm Independent Art Fair, sponsored by Riksutställningar/ Swedish Exhibition Agency. Most recently, Marla held her solo exhibition April Fools (2020) at Coda Culture art space in Singapore. MA SU R I MA Z L A N ( B. 19 90 , Si ngapor e ) Masuri’s studio practice has long oscillated between sculpture, as well as painting and installation work. His core practice concerns the effect of materiality and the transformative potential of everyday industrial materials into painting and/or sculptural media. This interest is informed by blurring distinctions between art and decoration through the expansive parameters of the non-representational to circumvent these structured binaries. His sculptural paintings and objects tap on industrial materials like silicon, polyurethane, and gypsum as a conduit towards larger narratives of personal identity, aesthetics and embodied memory. Graduated with BA Fine Art (First Class Honours) from LASALLE College of the Arts accredited by Goldsmiths, University of London. The multidisciplinary artist and co-founder of tekad kolektif was awarded with the prestigious Goh Chok Tong Youth Promise Scholarship Award in 2016 that merits his artistic talent and many contributions to the society. He has completed 300 hours of community work and was also the only Singaporean recipient of the coveted International TAKIFUJI Art Award by Japan Traffic Culture Association in 2017. MUJAHID JALIL (B. 1998, Singapore) Graduated from Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts with a diploma in Fine Arts, Mujahid Jalil draws inspiration from his daily interaction and transforms them into paintings. The Singapore-based artist has showcased his works in both his hometown and overseas. He recently participated in a group show with Coda Culture in Singapore. Primarily a painter, Mujahid uses process painting and subject matters when communicating through his artworks. He is currently exploring with the idea of subliminal control. While one can be overwhelmed with ego despite holding the most minor level of authority, the other unknowingly live their life directed and ordered like a puppet.
O N E A L PA R B O ( B. 19 94 , P hi l i ppi ne s) Oneal Parbo graduated from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in 2018, he has since taken part in several shows including group exhibitions “Orthodox” during Singapore Art Week and “Raw Forms” at Coda Culture and “In the Flesh” at SPRMRKT. He incorporates either automatic painting or drawing that progressively develops into biomorphic shapes. From that, he adopts elements of composition; such as repetition and symmetry. This interplay between the lack of conscious effort from automatism and control through composing or altering the object is how these forms emerge. The contours depicted are non-representational; yet evoke a feeling of seclusion, paired with an unearthly quality in the subject matter. Fundamentally, this approach of refraining himself in providing any form of narrative allows him to concentrate on the compositional aspects of his works SE E L A N PA L AY ( B. 198 4, Si ngapor e ) Seelan Palay is a Singaporean artist whose practice focuses on the complex conditions found in present-day, globalised society. His work explores time, ideology, and the human condition. Having studied Fine Art at Lasalle College of the Arts, he works with mixed media, installation, performance, film, and sound. In 2018, Seelan opened an independent art space and gallery named Coda Culture. It aims to promote a spirit of experimentation and to provide a space where Singapore artists can practice with autonomy.
SH E N JI AQ I ( B. 1989 , Si ngapor e ) An art practitioner and educator, Shen Jiaqi graduated from Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in 2010. She has since been part of several exhibitions and art fairs in local galleries and institutions. In 2015, she graduated from National Institute of Education, and is currently teaching art in secondary schools. Inspired by her experiences in her social and living environments, Shen creates works that speaks about various social issues that she encounters. Using imagery from nature and everyday life, she seeks to provide a window of quiet reflection for the viewer, and to invite conversation regarding similar ideas and experiences.
61 ALIWAL STREET, SINGAPORE 199937 +65 8182 0214 | SINGAPORE@CUTURIGALLERY.COM CUTURIGALLERY.COM
@CUTURIGALLERY