Brilliant Hues: The Power of Red and Gold by Opera Gallery, Art et antiquités

brilliant the power of

hues

red & gold

9 - 25 February 2018

brilliant the power of

hues

red & gold

Preface The creative application of gold has existed since ancient times. It has been used ubiquitously across cultures inter-continentally from the North African’s of Egypt, the intricate adornment of the Middle East, the Aztecs, Mayans and Incas of the Americas, the Christian artisans of Europe and in the sacred artists of the East from Russia to China and all in between. It’s use has always been multi-faceted, reflecting power and wealth alongside divinity, communicating spiritual truth and illumination across cultures. The use of the colour red dates back to the dawn of human expression. Red ochre pigment was used in the very first prehistoric cave paintings. Red often symbolises life itself and its fragility. Emotionally, it represents our richest human passions and intensity of feeling, love and hate and abundance of energy. In Chinese culture for example, it is a colour of celebration, recognised as a sign of vitality, joy and good fortune. Its use is diverse but always rich. Opera Gallery Singapore presents Brilliant Hues: The Power of Red and Gold, a curated selection of artworks which celebrate these two primal pigments at the heart and pinnacle of our unified expression of truth, zeal, hope and prosperity. What could be more innate and intrinsic as red pulses through our bodies colouring us, warmed by the golden sun that shines above us, sustaining life for our entire planet?

Gilles Dyan | Founder and Chairman of Opera Gallery Group Stéphane Le Pelletier | Director of Opera Gallery Singapore

Kossi Aguessy (1977-2017) K os s i A g u e s s y w a s b o rn i n L o m é , T ogo, i n 1977. H e studi ed Industri al and Interi or des ign at Cent r al S a i n t M a rti n s i n L o n d o n , E n gl and. In 2008, A guessy gai ned i nternati onal prom inence wit h his ‘U s e l e s s T o o l ’ , a c h a i r m a n ufactured usi ng mi l i tary ai rcraft technol ogy. The following y ear , A g ue s s y ’ s ‘ S p a rk l i n g J o k e ’ c offee tabl e, made from recycl ed pl asti c bottl es and caps, caug ht t he a tte n ti o n o f th e C o c a -C o l a C ompany. A guessy subsequentl y col l aborated wit h t he b r and t o pro d u c e a s e t o f fu rn i tu re made enti rel y from recycl ed materi al s and w as commi s sioned t o d es ig n ‘ C é s a ri o n ’ , th e o ffi c i a l tro p h y gi ven to the w i nners of the C oca-C ol a Sustai nabl e Design A war d . A g u e s s y ’ s re s e a rc h i n to n e w technol ogi es and sustai nabl e energy moti vated him t o p ar t icip at e i n th e c re a ti o n o f Be n i n ’ s fi rst Fab Lab (Fabri cati on Laboratory), partl y funded by t he Cent r e P om p i d o u i n P a ri s , F ra n c e . H i s w orks have al so entered the permanent col l ecti on of t he m us eum , a n d h e b e c a me th e fi rs t d e si gner of A fri can descent to be granted a nomi nati ve sect ion in t his p r e s ti g i o u s i n s ti tu ti o n .

I-Doll, The Earth, 2016 Mirror polished bronze, edition of 8 . 55 x 30 cm | 21.7 x 11.8 in

Yasmina Alaoui (b. 1977) and Mar co Guer ra (b. 1965) Y as m ina A l a o u i b e g a n c o l l a b o ra ti n g w i th C hi l ean photographer Marco Guerra i n 2005. Alaoui p aint s int r i c a te , h e n n a -i n s p i re d p a tterns onto Guerraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; s statuesque and sensual bl ack and whit e nud e p hoto g ra p h s , re v e a l i n g a n i n tri cate combi nati on of pai nti ng and portrai ture. The result ant f us ions ar e b o th my s te ri o u s , s e n s u a l and carnal . Thei r w ork has been exhi bi ted w orl dw i de and f or m s p ar t o f th e c o l l e c ti o n s o f th e M arrakech Museum of Photography, the B rookl yn Mus eum in New Y or k , th e Art Mu s e u m o f S a n a ' a i n Yemen and the Quai B ranl y Museum i n Pari s.

Red 2, 2011 C-Print, diasec, dibound and aluminium braces, edition of 5 . 127 x 84 cm | 50 x 33 in

Paul Alexis (b. 1947) P aul A lex i s w a s b o rn i n F ra n c e i n 1 947. A l exi s has spent the maj ori ty of hi s l i fe travelling in s ear ch of s p i ri tu a l h a rmo n y a n d c re a ti ve devel opment. A l exi s’ art i s i nfused w i th an abst r act ed r ealis m t ha t fo rc e s th e v i e w e r i n to a doubl e take. Lurki ng w i thi n the l ayers i s a fami l i ar im age, of t en ob s c u re d u p c l o s e , b u t a s th e vi ew er steps back a face, an obj ect or an i con i s revealed f r om t he pa i n te rl y s h a d o w s . P re fe rri ng to w ork i n l arge formats, A l exi s’ w orks engul f the viewer wit h p ur it y o f c o l o u r a n d v e i l e d fo rms. The j oy of recogni ti on becomes an i ntegral part of t he v iewer ’s e x p e ri e n c e .

Laetitia Casta, 2011 Oil on canvas . 81 x 100 cm | 32 x 39.5 in

Thier r y Bisch (b. 1953) Thier r y B is c h w a s b o rn i n S tra s b o urg, France i n 1953. B i sch moved to Pari s i n 198 4. He achiev ed s u c c e s s a s th e c o -fo u n d e r of the record l abel ‘ R efl exes’ , and l ater hel ped to cr eat e and d ev elo p g ra p h i c s a n d c o mi c s tri ps for a w el l know n French magazi ne. Si nce 2008, B i sch has wor k ed wi th th e In te rn a ti o n a l U n i o n for C onservati on of N ature (IU C N ) R ed Li st of Threat ened S p ecies . H e d i re c te d th e p ro j e c t ‘ L e s murs de l ’ A rche’ (the A rk’ s W al l s), w hi ch i nvol ved paint ing lar g e- s cal e m u ra l s o f th e e n d a n g e re d ani mal s on bui l di ngs and w al l s i n ci ty centres. Bisch’s wor k s hav e b e e n e x h i b i te d i n L o n d o n, Monaco, D ubai , H ong K ong, Seoul , Mal aysi a, Si ngapor e and acr os s th e U n i te d S ta te s , F ra n c e and Spai n.

Redbull 20, 2007 Mixed media on canvas . 170 x 150 cm |

67 x 59 in

Ber nard Buf f et (1928-1999) B er nar d B u ffe t w a s b o rn i n P a ri s i n 1928 w here he l i ved unti l hi s death i n 1999. H e was a well- k nown p a i n te r o f E x p re s s i o n i s m and member of the anti -abstract art group ‘ L' h om m e t ém oin’ ( Th e W i tn e s s M a n ). At j u s t fi fteen years of age, B uffet commenced hi s studi es at t he P ar is É cole d e s B e a u x -A rts . H e w a s a young man duri ng W orl d W ar II, the profundi ty of which g r eat ly af fe c te d h i s c h i l d h o o d a n d s tayed w i th hi m throughout hi s l i fe. H i s restri cted palet t e, t he m elanc h o l y n a tu re o f h i s p ro ta g o ni sts and hi s uni que sketched styl e w i th i ts bl ack, angular s t r ok es , are th e v i s i b l e c h a ra c te ri s ti c s w hi ch embody the dark and l i ght of the human condit ion. E m b od y ing J e a n -P a u l S a rtre ’ s E x i s tenti al i sm and A l bert C amus’ A bsurdi sm, B ernard Buf f et ’s p aint ing c o n v e y e d th e a n x i e ty th a t permeated France duri ng the Occupati on and cam e t o d om inat e t h e p o s t-w a r fi g u ra ti v e a rt scene. B uffet’ s oeuvre w as l oved by the publ i c but f ell out of f av our w i th th e a rt e s ta b l i s h me n t i n the 1960' s. B uffet created 8,000 pi eces of art dur ing his lif et im e an d h i s d i s ti n c t s ty l e a n d i narguabl e i nfl uence has si nce i nspi red posthumous cr it ical acclaim . I n 1 9 7 3 , th e B e rn a rd B u ffe t Museum w as i naugurated i n Japan. Ever si nce, the ar t ist ’s wor k has b e e n fe a tu re d i n th e m o s t p resti gi ous modern art col l ecti ons around the w orl d i ncluding t he M oM A , N e w Y o rk , th e M u s é e d ’ Art Moderne, Pari s and the State Tretyakov Gal l ery i n Moscow.

Bouquet de fleurs au vase, 1959 Gouache, watercolour and ink on paper . 65 x 50 cm | 25.6 x 19.7 in

Maur o Corda (b.1960) B or n in 19 6 0 i n L o u rd e s , F ra n c e , Mauro C orda di spl ayed a tal ent for scul pti ng at a very ear ly ag e. A t f if te e n , h e w a s a d mi tte d to the Écol e des B eaux-A rts of R ei ms and l ater w ent on t o f inis h his s tu d i e s i n P a ri s . P re d o mi n antl y a scul ptor of the fi gure, C orda uses a ri ch variet y of m at er ials s u c h a s b ro n z e , a l u m i n i u m , i ron, stai nl ess and pol i shed steel as w el l as gl a ss f or his f or m s . C o rd a ’ s w o rk h a s b e e n e xhi bi ted i n a number of i nternati onal museums i nc luding t he M us eo E d u a rd o S í v o ri i n B u e n o s A i res, A rgenti na, the Museo Vi ctor H ugo i n C uba a nd t he M us eo Fr e d e ri c Ma rè s o f Ba rc e l o n a , Spai n, and has been exhi bi ted extensi vel y i n art ga ller ies int er nat ion a l l y . H e h a s b e e n th e re c i pi ent of several aw ards, i ncl udi ng the Paul B el mondo Awar d and t he Fre n c h Ord e r o f A rts a n d L etters.

Collection Automne, 2007 Gilded bronze, edition of 8 . 84 x 50 x 35 cm I 33 x 19.7 x 13.8 in

Cho Sung-Hee (b.1949) Cho Sung-Hee was born in Korea in 1949. She has studied in the United States and in France and currently lives and works in Seoul, Korea. Cho is a visionary artist, who makes images through the use of ‘hanji’, a traditional Korean paper. Often Cho’s works appear as a monochrome surface, such as bright red, soft grey or pure white. In constructing the surface of her works, the artist uses a collage method in which many circles are hand-cut or gently torn, then layered with oil pigments and placed one atop another. Cho successfully combines a traditional Korean sensibility with her unique vision and personal narrative. Her works explore the complex relationship between colour and texture through a labour intensive, time-consuming process. Her works explore a search for a national identity, reminiscent of the Monochrome Art Movement, from the late 1960s to the 1980's, recalling artists like Park Seo-Bo (b.1931) and Keon Young Woo (b.1926). The Monochrome Movement was a generation of artists who combined Asian philosophies with Western training. Cho's works have been exhibited and collected in various prestigious private and public institutions including the Museum of Contemporary Art in Seoul, the Sejong Art Centre in Seoul, the Telentine Art Centre in Chicago, the L.A. Korea Cultural Service in Los Angeles, the New York Cultural Service in New York, the Mutual Saving and Finance Company in Seoul and Domino Foods Inc in New York.

The Star in the Cosmos, 2012 M ix ed m ed i a . 2 2 7 x 1 8 2 c m | 8 9 .4 x 71.7 i n

Feng Xiao-Min (b. 1959) Feng X iao -Mi n w a s b o rn i n S h a n g h ai , C hi na, i n 1959. Feng' s passi on for art w as cl ea r f r om a v er y y ou n g a g e . A fte r fi n e a rts s t udi es i n C hi na, he moved to France i n 1988 and enr olled at t he E co l e n a ti o n a l e s u p ĂŠ ri e u re des beaux-arts i n Pari s. Feng w as l ater i nvi ted to t each at t he s ame p re s ti g i o u s i n s ti tu ti o n . H i s artw orks show a mastery of col our and capacit y f or m anip ulat i n g b ru s h s tro k e s w i th a g ra c eful and pow erful , poeti c spi ri t, aki n to the w orks of Chinese m as t er s Z a o W o u -k i a n d C h u T e h -C hun, w i th w hom he w orked cl osel y to perfect hi s ar t f or m . Feng has a l s o p u b l i s h e d a n u mb e r of books on pai nti ng and cal l i graphy and many of hi s wor ks now illus t r a te th e p a g e s o f F re n c h school manual s. H i s w orks are col l ected and pre sent ed in v ar ious p ri v a te a n d p u b l i c c o l l e cti ons, i ncl udi ng gal l eri es, museums and foundati o ns, in Fr ance an d a b ro a d . F e n g fre q u e n tl y exhi bi ts at i nternati onal art fai rs and bi ennal es an d was com m is s io n e d to p ro d u c e w o rk fo r the 2017 B R IC S summi t.

Composition nÂ°2-3-09, 2009 Acrylic on paper laid on canvas . 105 x 95 cm | 41.3 x 37.4 in

Katrin Fridriks (b.1974) B or n in 19 7 4 i n Re y k j a v i k , Ic e l a n d , K atri n Fri dri ks i s a conceptual abstract pai nter, l i vi ng and wor k ing in L u x e m b o u rg . S h e fu s e s th e natural energi es of her nati ve Icel and w i th an explosive, or g anic, a b s tra c t e x p re s s i o n i s m a l ong w i th subtl e Japanese cal l i graphi c el ements. O f t en p r es ent ed th ro u g h i n s ta l l a ti o n s & v i s ual composi ti ons, she has gi ven an archi tectural di m ension t o her p ain ti n g s . T h ro u g h a w i d e ra nge of w orks, Fri dri ks communi cates her questi oni ng of t he wor ld , hum a n e x i s te n c e a n d p o te n ti a l futures. A n endl ess devel opment of materi al and tec hnique s ees m any o f h e r p i e c e s c o n s ta n tl y r ew orked and evol vi ng. Through creati ng new perspect ives, Fr id r ik s â&#x20AC;&#x2122; w o rk b ri n g s a n i n n o v a ti v e di mensi on to her form of abstracti on.

Golden Wave Awareness, 2016 Acrylic on canvas . 100 x 100 cm | 39.4 x 39.4 in

Alfr ed Haber pointner (b.1966) B or n in 19 6 6 i n E b e n a u , Au s tri a , A l fred H aberpoi ntner studi ed at the School of Scul pt ur e in Hallein and a t th e U n i v e rs i ty o f D e s i g n i n Li nz w i th professor Erw i n R ei ter. H e now l i ves and wor ks in Leond in g , Au s tri a . H e w o rk s u s i n g w ood as hi s pri mary medi um harnessi ng al l i ts nuances and s had e s . H i s w o rk s a re o n th e o ne hand fi gurati vel y recogni sabl e and comprehensi ble, and on t he ot h e r h a n d re m a i n a rre s te d i n thei r abstract geometry. W hether he shrouds hi s wooden head s wit h l e a d o r p i e rc e s th e m w i th pi ns, the underl yi ng w ood form al w ays remai ns vi sible. I n 1990 Hab e rp o i n tn e r re c e i v e d th e Aw ard of the A cademy of A rt and Industri al D esi gn i n Linz, A us t r ia and i n 1 9 9 7 h e re c e i v e d th e Theodor K รถrner Pri ze for the Promoti on of Sci ence an d Ar t .

W-RRYZ, 2015 Stained sprucewood . 200 x 151 x 20 cm | 78.7 x 59.4 x 7.9 in

W-NNOX, 2015 Stained sprucewood . 61 x 60 cm | 24 x 23.6 in

R an Hwang (b. 1960) R an Hwan g i s a Ko re a n i n s ta l l a ti o n arti st w ho studi ed at the School of Vi sual A rts in New Y or k , US A , a n d a tte n d e d th e Gra d u ate School of Fi ne A rts at C hung-A ng U ni versi ty i n Seoul, K or ea. S he i s b e s t k n o w n fo r h e r mesmeri si ng, l arge-scal e w al l i nstal l ati ons constructed f r om t hous and s o f m e ti c u l o u s l y p l a c e d b u ttons, beads, pi ns and threads on w ooden panel s. Hwang ham m er s t h o u s a n d s o f i n d u s tri a l l y produced el ements i nto a support w i th an al most Zen- like m ed it at iv e p ro c e s s . H w a n g â&#x20AC;&#x2122; s w o rk s suggest, metaphori cal l y and paradoxi cal l y, the resilience and p er s is te n c e o f n a tu re i n th e fa ce of mass commerci al producti on. R an H w ang has held ex hib it ions n o ta b l y i n th e U S A a t th e Internati onal Museum of A rt & Sci ence i n McA l l en, Texas, as it s f ir s t a rti s t-i n -re s i d e n c e , a s w e l l as at MA SS MoC A i n Massachusetts, the Queens Museum of A r t in Ne w Y o rk , th e H u d s o n V a l l e y C entre for the A rts i n N ew York, the C hel sea A rt Mus eum in New Y or k a n d th e S e o u l A rts C e n tre i n K orea. H er w ork i s i ncl uded i n the permanent col l ect ions of t he B r oo k l y n Mu s e u m , th e H a mmond Museum, the H ermĂ¨s Si ngapore C ol l ecti on and the Des M oines A r t C e n tre i n Io w a .

Healing Blossoms RG, 2016 Paper buttons, beads, pins on plexiglas . Diameter 109 cm | 43 in

Healing Blossoms AR1, 2017 Paper buttons, beads, pins on plexiglas . 170 x 236 cm | 66.9 x 92.9 in

Peter Klasen (b. 1935) P et er K las e n w a s b o rn i n L ü b e c k , Germany i n 1935, i nto a fami l y of arti sts and col l ect or s. He lat er s t u d i e d a t th e B e rl i n U n i v e rsi ty of the A rts. K l asen has l i ved and w orked i n Pari s since t he 1960’s . H e w a s a fo u n d i n g me mber of the Fi gurati on N arrati ve movement w hi ch i ncluded f ellow ar t is ts E rró , V a l e ri o A d a m i , Antoni o Seguí and H ervé Tél émaque. K l asen experi men t s wit h a wid e r an g e o f ma te ri a l s a n d te c h ni ques, from neon l i ght to col l age w i th found obj ec t s. He of t en p r od u c e s l a rg e -s c a l e w o rk s th at are i nfl uenced by an ecl ecti c range of i magery, wit h t he com m on pu rp o s e o f re fl e c ti n g th e c o ntemporary experi ence. K l asen has exhi bi ted extensively in m us eum s a n d g a l l e ri e s i n F ra n c e , Asi a and the A meri cas.

Love, 2008 Mixed media . 94 x 120 cm | 37 x 47.2 in

Yves Klein (1928-1962) B or n in 19 2 8 , Y v e s Kl e i n w a s o n e o f the most i mportant arti sts i n post-w ar European ar t and a k ey f ig u re i n th e F re n c h a rti s ti c movement N ouveau R éal i sme, w hi ch w as founded i n 1960 b y t he ar t c ri ti c P i e rre Re s ta n y . K l ei n i s know n above al l for hi s bl ue monochrome pai nt ings, which were re n d e re d i n In te rn a ti o n a l K l ei n B l ue, a bri ght bl ue pi gment that w as to become t he ar t is t ’s t r a d e m a rk . In fl u e n c e d b y Z en and other metaphysi cal phi l osophi es, K l ei n bel i eved his b lue p aint i n g s o p e n e d o n to a n i m m a teri al and i nfi ni te space that w as aki n to a pure i dea. As t he ar t is t o n c e fa mo u s l y s a i d , "B l u e has no di mensi ons, i t i s beyond di mensi ons, w hereas t he ot her colou rs a re n o t". K l e i n ’ s w o rk s have been exhi bi ted i n numerous museums and i s par t of im p or t ant p ri v a te a n d p u b l i c c o l l e c ti ons across the w orl d.

Table Monogold™, 1963-2014 Gold leaf, glass, plexiglas, wood and steel . 38 x 125 x 100 cm | 15 x 49.2 x 39.4 in

Jef f Koons (b.1955) Born 1955 in York, Pennsylvania, USA, Jeff Koons is one the most established and prominent artists in the contemporary art world. In his hands, familiar and mundane items transcend their core functionality to become icons manifesting the essence of American popular culture. Jeff Koons embodies Neo-Pop, a 1980’s movement that revered earlier pop artists, Andy Warhol mainly, for inspiration. In the true Pop Art tradition, his work celebrates a kitsch mass produced aesthetic, transforming it into something exclusive and of significant value. This tongue-in-cheek paradox has formed the basis of Koons’ success. Indeed, through an ingenious marketing strategy, rather than risking offence to the seasoned art collector circuit, Koons chose to challenge them to revise their aesthetics expectations. Also distancing himself from the modernist ideal of the ‘misunderstood visionary’ artist, Jeff Koons is a self-proclaimed crowd-pleaser, and avid self-promoter. Jeff Koons’ ‘Balloon Dog’ sculptures, a series he began in the mid-1990s, are arguably amongst his bestknown artworks. Made from precision-engineered mirror-polished stainless steel and finished with a transparent coating, they transpose a transient childhood memory into a permanent form weighted with adult nostalgia. Museum solo exhibitions include the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Deutsche Guggenheim in Berlin, the Museo archeologico nazionale in Naples, the Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art in Oslo, the Helsinki City Art Museum, the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin, MoMA in New York, Château de Versailles in France, the Whitney Museum in New York, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, the Serpentine Gallery in London, the Beyeler Foundation in Basel, Schirn Kunsthalle in Frankfurt, the Guggenheim in Bilbao and the Centre Pompidou in Paris. Koons received the BZ Cultural Award from the City of Berlin in 2000 and the Skowhegan Medal for Sculpture in 2001. He was named a Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor in 2002 and then promoted to Officier in 2007. He was given the 2008 Wollaston Award from the Royal Academy of Arts in London. In 2013 he received the U.S. State Department's Medal of Arts and 2017 he accepted the annual Honorary Membership Award for Outstanding Contribution to Visual Culture from the Edgar Wind Society, University of Oxford.

Balloon Rabbit Red, 2017 Porcelain by Manufacture Bernadaud, edition of 999 . 29 x 21 x 14 cm | 11.5 x 5.5 x 8.3 in

Balloon Swan Yellow, 2017 Porcelain by Manufacture Bernadaud, edition of 999 . 25 x 21 x 16.5 cm | 9.5 x 6.5 x 8.3 in

Kw on Ki-Soo (b. 1972) Kwon Ki-Soo was born in Young-Ju, South Korea, in 1972. He studied oriental painting at the prestigious Hongik University in Seoul, where the he still lives and works. Trained in classical Korean painting, his work has evolved to allow his traditional teachings to merge with the contemporary environment he has grown up in. Renowned for paintings filled with brilliant colour, Kwon creates magical landscapes brimming with abundance. His artworks, which could be classified as having a Pop sensibility, explore the duality between popular culture and social hierarchy. Kwon' artistic alter ego is ‘Dongguri’, a tiny, black and white cartoon character, who is always depicted with a smile on his face. Dongguri is an artistic vector for voicing Kwon Ki-Soo’s personal expectations, depicting, with sharp criticism the artist fear of an obliteration of individual identity, standardised and sterilised by contemporary society. Kwon has participated in exhibitions worldwide, with works collected by museums and private collections in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul, Taipei, Singapore, New York, Paris and London, amongst others.

Irridescent Forest Red, 2010 Acrylic on canvas on board . 220 x 130 cm | 86.6 x 51.2 in

Jean-François Lar rieu (b. 1960) Born in the Midi-Pyrénées, France, in 1960, Jean-François Larrieu made his debut in his teens by winning the Grand Prize of the François Villon Academy, the painting prize offered by the Béarnais Museum of the city of Pau. Since 1990, he has presided over Paris’ Salon d’Automne and the government affiliated Foundation for Graphic and Plastic Arts. He is also the president of the Foundation of the Historic Salons of the Grand Palais and President of the Taylor Foundation in Paris. Larrieu has exhibited in over sixty solo exhibitions worldwide. His work has been the focus of major museum exhibitions including the Museum of Modern Art in Nanjing, China, the National Museum of Fine Arts in Taiwan, the Santilana Foundation in Santander, Spain, the Museum Sursock in Beirut, Lebanon, the Fine Arts Museum in Shanghai, China, the Lima Museum in Lima, Peru and the Fine Arts Museum in Bordeaux, France.

Tree of Life Red Sky, 2017 Acrylic on canvas . 130 x 97 cm | 51.2 x 38.2 in

Gold Tree, 2017 Acrylic on canvas . 140 x 140 cm | 55.1 x 55.1 in

Mar cello Lo Giudice (b. 1957) Marcello Lo Giudice was born in Taormina, Sicily, in 1957. He is currently based in Milan, Italy. He graduated from the University of Bologna in Italy in 1988 with a degree in Geology. He then attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice, where he studied under Emilio Vedova, Giuseppe Santomaso and Virgilio Guidi. Lo Giudice is considered one of the most innovative artists from the second wave of the European Art Informel, a form of Abstract Expressionism pioneered in France in the wake of the Second World War. Lo Giudice achieves his sumptuous surface textures through the application of rich coloured pigment, applied in many layers. The resultant paintings are geological, tactile and imbued with saturated light and a mystical energy. Lo Giudice was selected to represent Italy at the Venice Biennale in 2009 and 2011, and has exhibited in numerous exhibitions throughout the world. His works can be found in major public collections and museums including the Zagreb Museum of Contemporary Art in Croatia, the Museum of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Rome in Italy, the John Elkann Collection, the George Segal Collection and the Phillip Morris Collection. In 2016, his work was exhibited in the Ludwig Museum in the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Red Orange, 2015 Pigment and oil on canvas . 100 x 100 cm | 39.4 x 39.4 in

Sun / Yellow, 2012 Pigment and oil on canvas . 140 x 140 cm | 55.2 x 55.2 in

Pino Manos (b. 1930) Pino Manos was born in Sassari, Italy, in 1930. He moved to Milan in 1951 to attend the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, along with Enrico Castellani and Vincenzo Agnetti. At the same time he began studies in Architecture at the Politecnico di Milano. In 1956 he spent a short time in Rome, where he was inspired by its artistic and cultural heritage and shortly after he moved to Florence to finish his studies in Architecture. Since 1962, Manos has travelled and worked in Europe, India, Egypt, Israel, Turkey, Iran, Peru, Mexico, USA and the Middle East. He was a close friend with Roberto Crippa, Gianni Dova, Marino Marini, Augustino Bonalumi and especially of Lucio Fontana, and he adhered to the Spatialism movement. Manos moved permanently to Milan in 1968 where he still resides. In 1980 he founded â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The Creativeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in Milan, an association pioneering art therapy, to inspire the use of creativity to liberate untapped potential and improve communication and expression. The methodology was applied with positive results in cases of drug addiction and disability. Manos continues to organise and coordinate seminars and conferences all over Italy, on topics related to art and therapeutic practice. Manos has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions worldwide. His works are in numerous private and public collections including three works in the Nelson Rockefeller Collection in New York, USA.

SincronicitĂ armonica ritmica rossa, 2017 Mixed media on canvas . 30 x 120 cm | 11.8 x 47.2 in

Umber to Mariani (b.1936) Umberto Mariani was born in Milan, Italy in 1936 where he still resides. In 1950 he enrolled in the Accademia di Brera, studying under Achille Funi, where he graduated with honours. Although he studied the masters of the Romantic period he was surrounded by the emerging movements of Pop Art and Surrealism. However the most profound influence upon his developing style was the classical statues that he grew up observing on the streets of Italy. Mariani’s fascination with the delicate folds of fabric carved out of the hard white marble would later develop into a desire to manipulate material. Best known for his complex draperies on irregular-shaped canvases, his work explores illusions of light and shadow created within the folds of fabric. New multi-dimensional works combine intricate drapery over lead sheets. The fabric serves the purpose of concealing the mysterious base element beneath, whilst also evoking its presence. Mariani’s work is reminiscent of the three dimensional Spatialism of the Italian avant-garde. His first monumental work was for St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, which he made in the 1960’s, as well as the St. Antony Sanctuary in Rome, and in the 1970’s he exhibited widely in prominent institutions in Europe such as the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, Belgium, and the Musée d'Art Moderne in Paris, France. He has been included in numerous gallery and museum exhibitions with works in private and public collections worldwide.

Senza titolo 9, 2016 Vinyl and sand on lead sheet . 33.5 x 42.5 cm | 13.2 x 16.7 in

Yassine Mekhnache (b. 1979) Yassine Mekhnache is a self-taught painter born in Lyon, France, in 1979. He currently lives and works in Paris, France. Mekhnache emerged as a graffiti artist in the early 2000’s, later developing a more classical painting technique using more traditionally established materials. In 2007, Mekhnache started painting on canvases of woven cotton, hand-made by women embroiderers in Tamesloht near Marrakech in Morocco and from Pondicherry in India. His works are hybrids combining the delicacy of religious embroidery with vibrant expressive painted elements. In these paintings, Mekhnache also incorporates elements drawn with marker pen and dripping paint evoking a spirit found in his earlier street works. Mekhnache calls these works “La Conférence des Oiseaux” (The Conference of the Birds), a reference to the 12 th century poem by Sufi philosopher and poet Farid ud-Din Attar. Mekhnache’s work can be found in various public and private collections around the world and in 2000 he was awarded a UNESCO ‘Special Jury Prize’ at the Paris/Berlin International Meeting.

The Seal of Simurgh, 2017 Hand embroidery, ink and oil on canvas . Diameter 220 cm | 86.6 in

Takashi Murakami (b. 1962) Takashi Murakami was born in 1962 in Tokyo, Japan. He currently lives and works in Tokyo and New York City. He studied at Tokyo University of the Arts, where he received his B.F.A. in 1986, M.F.A. in 1988, and P.h.D. in 1993. He founded the Hiropon factory in Tokyo in 1996, which later evolved into Kaikai Kiki, an art production and art management corporation. A lightning rod of cultural dichotomies, Murakami believes the artist to be one who perceives and limns the borders between worlds. Combining refined classical painting techniques with a supercharged mix of Pop, Anime and Otaku imagery in his distinctive ‘Superflat’ style. Murakami moves freely within an ever-expanding field of aesthetic issues and cultural inspirations. Parallel to the dystopian themes which pervade his work, he recollects and revitalises traditional narratives of transcendence and enlightenment. Murakami mines religious and secular subjects favoured by the so-called Japanese ‘Eccentrics’ (non-conformist artists of the early modern era widely regarded as counterparts of the Western Romantic tradition). Murakami situates himself within their legacy of bold and lively individualism in a manner that is entirely his own and of his time. Murakami’s work has been featured in many solo and group exhibitions worldwide, including the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, USA, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo, Japan, Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain in Paris, France, the Serpentine Gallery in London, England, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, USA, the Brooklyn Museum in New York, USA, the Museum für Moderne Kunst in Frankfurt, Germany, the Guggenheim in Bilbao, Spain, Château de Versailles in France, Qatar Museum Authority in Qatar, Palazzo Reale in Milan, Italy, Mori Art Museum in Tokyo, Japan, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, USA and the Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art in Oslo, Norway.

Flowerball (3D) - Red Ball, 2013 Offset colour lithograph, edition of 300 . Diameter 71 cm | 28 in

Roy Nachum (b.1979) Born in 1979, Roy Nachum attended The Cooper Union school in New York, USA. He currently lives and works between New York, USA and Italy. His experimental paintings, installations and sculptures incorporate elements traditionally used in conceptual and interactive art. His large-scale paintings often include Braille text in relief, used to create artwork that is witty, compelling and autonomous. He views his works as “eye openers”, vehicles through which the viewer is encouraged to confront their own existential apprehensions. The artist starts a painting before leaving the viewer free to complete it. Indeed, Nachum encourages people to touch and interact with the work, believing that it is through human interaction that the work lives, the encounter is what breaks down the barrier between spectator and ‘sacred object’. In 2017, he was nominated for a Grammy Award for best recording packaging for his art and art direction of Rihanna’s acclaimed album ‘Anti’. Nachum’s work is included in many public and private collections worldwide.

Life, 2011 Installation . 274 x 137 x 137 cm | 108 x 54 x 54 in

Noar t (b. 1965) Arnaud Lucet, aka Noart, was born in Paris, France in 1965. He currently lives and works in Alfortville on the Parisian outskirts. In 1985, he graduated from the Art School in the rue Madame. His playful and often ironic artworks follow a fascination with the rawness of contemporary urban culture, exploring with particular interest to the aesthetics of the street, industrial landscape, factory architecture and industrial machinery. His assemblages are often made of found and discarded objects from the street or wasteland: metal valves, pipes, pressure gauges and other recycled objects are given a new lease of life, reincarnated into original works of art.

Gold Escape (Lingots), 2015 A lum inium o n w o o d , m i rro rs a n d L E Ds, edi ti on of 8 . 120 x 120 x 38 cm | 47.2 x 47.2 x 15 in

Jean-Pier r e Roc-Roussey (b. 1951) Jean-Pierre Roc-Roussey was born in 1951 near Paris, France. His timeless artworks are characterised by elaborate composition and flamboyant colour palette used to create a rich imaginary world. His paintings are carefully composed utilising both space and abundance creating an overall sense of harmony. His work draws inspiration from his travels alongside his keen interest in mythology and legend which frees him to meditate on the unchanging, primitive face of human nature.

Suite baroque NÂ°4, 2011 Oil on canvas . 130 x 130 cm | 51.2 x 51.2 in

Kachina de guerre, 2015 Oil on canvas . 195 x 114 cm | 76.8 x 44.9 in

Son Bong-Chae (b. 1967) Son Bong-Chae was born in 1967 in Korea, and studied Fine Art at Chosun University in Gwangju, Korea. He later received his Master of Fine Arts from the Pratt Institute in New York. Son employs a layered painting process to create haunting multi-dimensional landscapes characterised by a poetic sense of history. The artist paints silhouetted trees with expressive limbs in oil, layering the images, often inside light boxes, so that each work contains five or six fields. Son’s humble and ubiquitous subject gains an ethereal splendour through his unique treatment of it. Son became interested in layering while traveling to his father’s hometown in South Korea. He was struck by how the natural beauty of the landscape eclipsed the country’s violent past in the Korean War. His work echoes this duality with its overlapping images of trees, where one layer of history is superimposed upon the next. Son Bong-Chae was honoured as the Gwangju Artist of 2010. He has been featured in numerous international solo exhibitions, and has exhibited in an extensive list of biennales since 2006. His work is part of institutional collections including the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Korea, the Gwangju Biennale Foundation, and the Korean Cultural Center in Shanghai.

Migrants, 2017 Oil on polycarbonate, LED . 84 x 124 cm | 33.1 x 48.8 in

Manolo Valdés (b. 1942) Manolo Valdés was born in Valencia, Spain in 1942. He currently lives and works between Madrid, Spain and New York, USA. Valdés began his training as a painter in 1957 at the Academia de Bellas Artes de San Carlos de Valencia. In 1964 Valdés, Rafael Solbes and Joan Toledo collaborated to form Equipo Crónica, an artistic group that utilised Pop Art to question the socio-political climate and the history of art itself. After the group dissolved in 1981, Valdés reinvented himself emerging as one of the foremost living Spanish artists. He is a master of multiple media including drawing, painting, sculpture and printmaking. His oeuvre draws heavily upon Spanish artistic heritage, particularly the Informalismo of his immediate predecessors Manolo Millares, Antonio Saura and Antoni Tàpies, but more specifically from the work of Velázquez, alongside other European masters including Rembrandt, Goya, Picasso, Matisse and Rubens. Often referencing historical masterpieces, Valdés creates expressive, large-scale, extremely tactile artworks, which revitalize familiar images, creating intellectual swerves that bring significant works out of their original context. In both painting and sculpture, he often inflates the figure's size, abstracting form and minimizing detail, while incorporating an abundance of paint applied with rawness alongside crude collage material, giving the Renaissance image a primitive twist. Valdés has received various awards, including the Lissone and Biella in Milan in 1965, the silver medal in the second International Prints Biennial in Tokyo, an award from the Bridgestone Art Museum in Lisbon, the Alfons Roig Award in Valencia, the National Award for the Fine Arts in Spain, a medal from the biennial International Festival of the Plastic Arts in Baghdad and in 1993 the Medal of the Order of Andrés Bello in Venezuela. His work has met with wide-scale critical acclaim and public recognition, featuring in important museums collections worldwide, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris.

This work is exhibited at 'Gardens by the Bay' until April 2018

Cabeza Dorada, 2017 Molten brass and golden stainless steel, edition of 4 . 455 x 230 x 700 cm | 179 x 90.6 x 275.6 in

Da vid Kim W hittaker (b. 1964) David Kim Whittaker was born in Cornwall, UK, in 1964 and currently resides in the seaside town of Newquay. A self-taught artist, most of Whittaker’s paintings are based on an interpretation of the human head and its metaphysical core. Whittaker’s portraits are ambiguous, with an aim for representing the universal alongside the personal. The works often juggle dual states of inner and outer calmness and conflict, offering a glimpse of strength and fragility, the conscious and the subconscious, the masculine and the feminine. These universal states of conflict clearly identifiable in Whittaker's works are arguably reinforced by Whittaker’s gender dysphoria and the personal struggle with a condition that he/she has learned to live with through the endeavour of expressing something bigger than oneself through painting. David Kim Whittaker was the recipient of the Towry Award (First Prize) at the 2011 National Open Art Competition and has exhibited internationally.

Cream Tea Pavilions, 2007 O il and ac ry l i c o n c a n v a s . 6 1 x 6 1 cm | 24 x 24 i n

Yoo Bong Sang (b.1960) Y oo B ong S a n g w a s b o rn i n Ko re a i n 1960 w here he sti l l resi des. H e trai ned at the Seoul Nat ional U n i v e rs i ty a fte r w h i c h h e s pent a number of years l i vi ng and w orki ng i n France. Yooâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ar t wor k s c o m b i n e th e a rti s tâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; s v i s i o n , hi s ow n photography and a l abori ous process w hi ch i n volves p enet r at ing a s u p p o rt o f p l y w o o d o n w el ded al umi ni um w i th thousands of nai l s i n order to cr eat e t he p ix els o f a n i m a g e . On a v e ra g e 300 000 pi ns are used to create these perpl exi ng and b eg uiling i m a g e s . Y o o B o n g S a n g w as the reci pi ent of the Pol l ock-K rasner Foundati on Gr ant in 2001, and h a s b e e n fe a tu re d i n n u merous sol o exhi bi ti ons i n museums and gal l eri es throu ghout K or ea and E u ro p e .

yg20160816, 2016 Headless pins and acrylic on wood . 47 x 120 cm | 18.5 x 47.2 in

Published by Opera Gallery in conjunction with the exhibition Brilliant Hues: The Power of Red & Gold

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