Forth Space that is nurturing with art, paintings abstract and contemporary style

Irrational Exuberance - acrylic on canvas, 120X120cm, 2008

About the Exhibition

Forth Gallery proudly presents – COUNTERING CLAUSTROPHOBIA featuring the paintings of Kim Gravelle. In his exhibition, Kim uses a unique palette of colors and abstract shapes to express the more human, contemplative side of Singapore, one most probably don’t see in the course of daily existence. By blurring the boundary between form and color, foreground and background, he enhances the connectedness of life, and the complexity of human emotion.

Besides the colorful characters, Kim is also attracted by the dramatic coastal setting. The omnipresent background of hollow, still, container ships is eerie and reminds us that we are never completely alone – that Singapore is but a tiny Island in the middle of a busy body of water. And that despite your best efforts, there is no place to hide from the reach of an ever-more globalized world.

In this series, Kim moves away from traditional canvas in favor of plywood. He explains the decision by saying that, “the natural material helps me draw deeper connections with my subject matter. When I drill the surface, I create another dimension – more objective and geometrical than that which I am able to express with my paintbrush.”

Proceeds from the sale of the artwork will be donated to”Singapore Foundation of Rotary Clubs & Make A Wish Foundation Singapore”.

About the Artists

Kim had participated in various solo and group exhibitions in Canada and Singapore. He has a strong background in architecture & design. This is his second solo exhibition held in Singapore. Kim has spent the last eight years balancing his commitments to the “serious” corporate world and his deep compulsion to paint.

This latest body of work consists of acrylic paintings on wood, with inspiration provided by East Coast Park, which Kim visits daily and which he views as his sanctuary.

Art Talk on “Creativity and Compassion”

An artist talk entitled “Creativity and Compassion” will be held in conjunction with this exhibition. It will cover the role of the artist in developing a more caring and compassionate society and will be held on Saturday 12^th September 2009 Forth Gallery at 2pm.

Wine Sponsor Wine Sponsor copy

Beneficiaries Rotrary Club copy

A Marriage of Convenience’ is aimed to bring about social issues affecting not just Singaporeans, but people in general. It is to set a message, NOT of non-compliance, but more towards having a voice and not simply conforming to a certain ‘standard’ society deems fit. It also allows the viewers to simply escape with the artists projected notions of desire or have an insight towards a more plausible future.

Brief description of project: Wikipedia defines ‘a marriage of convenience ‘(plural marriages of convenience) as a marriage contracted for reasons other than the reasons of relationship, family, or love. Instead, such a marriage is orchestrated for personal gain, to hide ones’ sexuality in cases where being openly gay is punishable or potentially detrimental, or some other sort of strategic purpose. Similarly, ‘A Marriage of Convenience’ looks at the output of a group of artists dealing with issues concerning the idea of oppression, and static conformity, being moulded into something that Singapore’s conservative and orthodox society in general, deems as acceptable, suppressing ones desires, resulting in closeted obsessions. Organized as part of the cultural activities surrounding Indignation 2009, ‘A Marriage of Convenience’ also addresses and explores the notion of ideologies and ideals while questioning their relation and impact to the current reality.

My ongoing works deal with the idea of the representation of ‘an ideal’ with regards to the current reality. Paintings, for me, have always been a break from reality; pushing towards fantasy, a journey that i have not yet fulfilled, a dream that I have yet realised. Paintings on the other hand, also helps an artist narrate a tale, questioning a current reality, issues that are at play, helping one convey his inner thoughts and opinions of topics that needed to be brought to light. My artworks, repeatedly involves the use of iconic representations of ‘a perfect man’, staged in various situations to reflect and bring about issues that have either affected or involved me one way or another. These iconic representations, whether consciously or otherwise, have always been presented to us since childhood, through toys, mass media, even bedtime stories that have been passed down for generations. Using these as my subjects, my paintings deal with issues that have either affected me on a personal level or simply regarding topics that have been dormant or neglected over the years, particularly due to it being taboo or not wanting to deal with the ‘consequences’ if discussed about. The subject of conformity, ideologies and stereotypes dominate my works. With that in mind, i simply believe that conversation and discussions fosters tolerance and understanding, and that is simply what i would like to achieve from my paintings. On the other hand, my artworks act as a visual journal, immortalising new perspectives and lessons that i might have discovered and learned from, through my everyday experiences.

My inspiration derives from any events, occurrences and observations in my life that conjure profound emotion in me that I find the need to share to others. My subjects are mostly figures and gestures. Other than I have a keen interest in figures and human expressions, I also believe that in order for others to relate to humanly emotions and senses, they have to recognize, relate and experience what they are seeing. I jot down any ideas, sketch and photograph any visuals that I find stimulating and utilize them to help me finalize the concept of my work. Simultaneously, I expose myself to changes occurring during work execution and oil or acrylic on canvas helps me to do that because they give me freedom to explore, manipulate and evolve.Currently, I am executing a series of paintings which I will call, ‘The Two Finger Series’. In this work, I seek to redeem and glorify the significance of two fingers whether as symbolism or a statement. Everybody knows the ‘V’ sign as a symbol of peace and some people may recognize it as a symbol for victory and not many knows that it can be taboo and insulting to certain cultures. The ‘V’ sign also symbolizes the womb, vagina, the chalice and the Holy Grail. If you would put the ‘V’ on your mouth with your tongue sticking out, it then transformed to a symbol known as cunnilingus. Without the ‘V’ sign, the two fingers can be used to hold cigarette, to point, to salute, to insult, used as sexual object and many more wonderful, strange and explicit things others can think off. I aim, with this work, to pay a tribute to the two fingers that we have, yet we often undermine, forget or refuse to acknowledge the significance and importance of them in many people’s lives. These two beautiful fingers that are capable of giving gentle love, happiness and pleasure, can also be forceful, offensive and destructive. Peace.

In his ongoing series of work, Nicholas depicts moments whereby the objects of desire are fully engrossed in embrace. He attempts to reveal his subjects’ self-consciousness. They are aware that they are being watched while blissfully engaging with each other and yet paradoxically, they deal with insecurities they have with their own identity and coming to terms with their own sexuality. He crops them in an attempt to relieve his subjects from the discomfort and uncertainty that might come with the viewers’ gaze. The subjects in his paintings are as much figures of loneliness as they are objects of desire. Moments of longing for another are pondered upon. He believes that our mind is most available for fantasy when we are dreaming and yearning. He intends the seductive palettes of red to stir up sensuality that cannot be touched. Hence, all the more desired his subjects become. These works are his attempt to express memories and desires in relation to loneliness. They are personal concerns arising from the issues of self-awareness and the human condition; particularly of childhood, adolescent, sex and love. Nicholas seeks to make his audience more aware of the intimate and mundane nature of the passing of time, the time that we spent with people or alone in seclusion.

Aida Dolrahim’s works address female identity within the themes of fantasy and folklore through the appropriation of a fictional world. She reinterprets and recontextualizes common themes and symbols structuring the traditional folktale, with emphasis on the darker undertones as well as elements of horror, desire and suppressed eroticism and the violent subtext within children’s stories. In the works produced for this exhibition, she also looks into the irony behind consumerism related to the search for our perfect “happily ever-after”.

3 years of my creative artworks, i have chosen “Human Figure” as my main source of inspiration. These figure are recent historical representative who are courageous and legendary. Their brilliant contribution to the world is respectable for all such as Gandhi from India, Mother Teresa, South Africa Nelson Mandela and China’s Chairman Mao Zhi Dong. Singapore Senior Minister – Mr Lee Kuan Yew also became my recent year human figure artworks aspiration.

After reading the Biogragphy of MM Lee Kuan Yew, i felt the sense of respect and admiration toward him. Not because he was our Prime Minister or Minister Mentor but because of his patience & diligent of nurturing Singapore like his own child into an independent country known to the world. At 42 years old, MM Lee became the 1st Prime Minister in Singapore and have taken up the challenge with his intelligent, wit and sharp political judgement & strategy to make Singapore a Miracle. He had created the present strong, prosperous and independent country. On MM Lee, we can see the quality that make a outstanding leader.

He might have created a storm during his leadership years as Singapore Prime Minister but now even as he aged, he is still be guiding Singapore through the present economic crisis and will not even take his rest. To me, MM Lee is Singapore Guidance Angel and will continue to look over Singapore with his presence.

An Artist specializing in modern and chinese paintings. His Father, Mr Lim Kok Yong, a well known artist from China, spurred his interests in calligraphy at a very young age.Richard started his career as a fabric print designer. In 1998, he left his business to focus on being a freelance artist. Between 1998 to 2003, he visited Shaoxin, Hanzhou and Shanghai to rediscover his chinese roots and to improve his calligraphy and chinese stone seal craving skills.

PROSPEKTS begins a new series of exhibitions co-organized with Kaida Gallery which introduces young contemporary Filipino artists into Singapore. PROSPEKTS 2009 brings together works from three painters, Amihan, Angelo Tabije, and Zean Cabangis, threaded together by their individual contemplations on the changing times.

A painter and a theater artist hailing from the Jumalon family of painters, Amihan’s works straddle the surreal and the foreboding: images of women, war, and medieval implements of violence, all shrouded in a scratchy mist. Disconcertingly ambiguous, Amihan’s images span issues of gender and identity, memory and reality, drawing out a sense of unease and a foreboding of violence.

Angelo Tabije’s paintings juxtapose images of hi-tech machinery and manufactured technologies over colonial images of pre-Hispanic and indigenous Filipinos. Gears, levers, and minute parts of the machine become elaborate headdresses, like grotesque artifacts from a lost civilization. A reflection on the role of technology and identity, Tabije’s paintings are concerned with our over-reliance on technology, to the point that society no longer recognizes how machines affect people and their environment.

Providing a counterpoint to Tabije’s warnings, Zean Cabangis’ work attempts to show that modern technology need not necessarily be a hindrance to art making or painting itself. Instead, it is an additional tool in creating more dynamic and inspiring works. Images are unified by a merging of computer-manipulated images and painterly techniques, such as dripping, washes, and splatters. The paintings manifest a seamless tension created by the duality between control and spontaneity, the digital and the painterly.

Hailing from the Jumalon family of painters in Zamboanga City in Southern Philippines, Amihan has been in the local art scene for 20 years. She held a solo exhibition at the Cultural Center of the Philippines in Manila in 2002 and has exhibited in various art spaces throughout the archipelago, including Zamboanga, Davao, Cagayan, Dipolog, Baguio, Bacolod, and Dumaguete.

Angelo Tabije graduated from the University of the Philippines, College of Fine Arts(BFA) and was awarded with distinctions at various national art competitions, most notably the Grand Prize (Oil/Acrylic Category) at the 6th Art Petron National Competition in 2006. Tabije was also a Finalist in the 38th Shell National Art Competition (Oil/Acrylic category) in 2005, the 2007-2008 PLDT-DPC Telephone Directory Cover 21st Visual Art Competition, and the 7th Art Ptron National Student Art Competition (Oil/Acrylic category).

Zean Cabangis finished his Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA), majoring in Painting, at the UP College of Fine Arts, distinguishing himself upon graduation with the Most Outstanding Thesis award and a Gawad Chancellor Award for Academic Acheivement in 2006. He has been part of numerous group shows, including the Shell National Students Art Competition as a Finalist in 2004, as well as exhibitions at Kaida Art Gallery, the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Art Informal, and Pinto Gallery.

Tom Baggaley was born in 1973 in London, England, to a father who was a lecturer in printmaking and a mother who worked with textiles and ceramics. Influenced by his artistic home life, he followed in his father’s footsteps and on leaving school, started his fine art education. He received a BA Honours in Printmaking and Creative Book Arts from Croydon College in 2003 and then went on to study at the University of Brighton, where he gained an MA in Fine Art Printmaking and Professional Practice in 2005.

Tom is currently living in the Middle East, where he is Lecturer in Printmaking at the University of Sharjah, UAE. Prior to this, he was studio coordinator and taught printmaking at the London Print Studio and the University of Hertfordshire, UK.

In addition to his dedication to printmaking, Tom also explores painting, drawing and digital image-making. His work has been widely exhibited internationally with recent exhibitions including Originals 08 at the Mall Galleries, London and Peace Cards at the Al Kahf Gallery, Bethlehem; UNESCO, Sharjah and ACU Gallery, Australia. He also curated Story, an exhibition of contemporary printmaking held at the Rewak Gallery, Sharjah, UAE.

He is a member of the Printmakers’ Council and has received several awards for his work including from the Printmakers’ Council and the London Print Studio.

Double Cross will feature a series of etching, screen printing and drawings created especially for this exhibition. This will be Tom’s first solo exhibition to be held in Singapore and coincidentally, will be Forth Gallery’s first print exhibition since its inception.

Repetitive patterns and lines are Tom’s visual expressions of his relationship to the world. His fascination with gaps, lines, numbers, and drawing inspiration from them, Tom created works that are about structure, order and disorder.

The artist has created a limited edition of hand made silkscreen invitation cards and will be present to sign them on the opening night.

For more information of the artist and his work, please contact Ms Yvonne Lee at 9177 0354 or email lychsg@gmail.com.

Melvin Culaba is a dark expressionist Philippine painter who offers brooding insights into his surrounding social milieu. His second solo exhibition in Singapore deals with apathy, about how people “just look” at problems, criticize, offer unhelpful comments, yet not lift a finger to solve the underlying conditions. In large epic canvases, his monstrous characterizations of people and objects, and somber, swirling palette mirrors the dire ills of the society he sees.

Melvin Culaba (b. 1971) graduated from the University of Santo Tomas with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1993, and has exhibited extensively in the Philippines, Korea and the United States. He has been a Finalist at the Philip Morris Philippine Art Awards from 1995-98 and 2006, and won several top awards at the Art Association of the Philippines annual painting competition and Metrobank Young Painters annual competition. He won a full grant for residency at the Vermont Studio Centre in 2005 and is a commissioned artist for the Official Christmas Cards of President Gloria Arroyo. Just Looking is his 11th solo exhibition and 2nd in Singapore.

“A Flower Bush-Still Life” consists of combining two kinds of expression, paintings and small sculptures. The Flower Bush is inspired by the myth of Pandora's Box, but in her work the artist Mikyung Oh replaced the box with a pair of constrained, attractive red high heels.

OH Mikyung usually based her works about the female body. She has approached the body from motherhood of the Oriental perspective and sexuality of the Modern Capitalistic society. She has studied the interpretation between the female body and space in East, and used myth, traditional subjects and events to convey her ideas.

OH MiKyung is a Korean artist who was born in 1973. She studied Oriental Painting and Arts Theory in Ewha Women's University and Hongik University, and is doing the works of painting, sculpture, installation and performance in Korea, Japan and Singapore.

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Presenting our first collaboration for the year, Utterly Art is pleased to announce exquisitely realist artist LOTSU MANES’ first overseas solo show at FORTH GALLERY. Presented by Utterly Art, we can be contacted at 6226 2605 (Kenneth or Keng Hock 94872006) or through utterlyart@pacific.net.sg. Forth Gallery can be contacted at 62227809 (Justin) or justin@forth.sg.

Using his consummate realist skill, Lotsu Manes weaves his fables of warning for the world around him in a tapestry of surreal social comment. Giant supermen lumber amidst bandaged worlds and golden piggybanks as Lotsu spins his allegories about the social and environmental inequities that surround him. Overarching themes include the rapacious siphoning of resources by the corrupt and powerful, the precarious inheritance of a battered planet for our young, and the tragedy of necessary migration of his countrymen.

His paintings do not sport the usually disjunctive, disoriented, or anti-aesthetic appearance that we commonly associate with the “contemporary look”, but his refuge in old-fashioned figurative realism could very well be the most ironic, radical act of defiance available to contemporary artists. As with his social agenda for a better tomorrow, this then is Lotsu Manes’ advocacy for a Paradigm Shift.

Lotsu Manes’ early recognition came when his entry for the 1996 Shell National Students’ Art Competition was awarded First Prize. Having obtained his Bachelor of Fine Arts with a Major in Painting from the Philippine Women’s University in 1997, Lotsu was chosen in 2006 to become a member of an elite group of restorers in the country. As a senior apprentice for Art Conservation and Restoration Specialists (ACES) in the Philippines, Lotsu was privileged to have participated in the restoration of important works by National Artists Jose Joya and Carlos ‘Botong’ Francisco, and even the famed national treasure Spoilarium by Juan Luna. Lotsu has also participated in projects held by Tutok (an “initiative of visual artists formed in 2006”), where he has been an active and core member for the past few years.

Please do feel free to contact us at tel: 6226 2605 (Kenneth Tan / Keng Hock) if you require more information.

The series of work in this exhibition embodies a contemporary take on abstraction in painting rooted in the modernist tradition. Far from being a project of retrogression or appropriation, through these canvases, the artist interrogates the nature of painting and its role in a paradigm of ‘perfect’ digital production/reproduction – an age in which our reliance on the silicon chip is creeping towards the absolute.

Juxtaposing colours, forms, marks, textures these paintings revealed dichotomies between repression and expression, control and chance, harmony and discord, calculation and chaos – metaphors for what it is to be human.

Originally from Singapore Chow Sum Woon lives and paints in Adelaide. He has an honours degree in visual arts from the South Australian School of Art, University of South Australia and has been exhibiting in group and solo shows for ten years.