The Story of Yeh Chi Wei is about the life and works of an important artist, Yeh Chi Wei. Yeh drew inspiration from a wide range of cultural sources, such as ancient Chinese rubbings, carvings and Javanese batik. He created highly distinctive oil paintings, works that bear witness to a powerful interweaving of his responses to Asian and Western art histories, cultural sources and travels around Southeast Asia.

Inspired by the tonal variations of the ink medium, Yeh worked within a limited colour palette for subtle effects. His signature robust outlines delineate form while being suggestive of abstract calligraphic strokes.

Yeh was a Singaporean artist, a well-respected art educator and leader in Singapore’s 20th century art scene. He led the Ten Men Group on painting exhibitions to Southeast Asian countries and was a great source of inspiration and encouragement to many other artists. Many consider him to be a true Nanyang artist. This exhibition showcases Yeh’s artistic achievements, contributions to Singapore, and celebration of Southeast Asia through art.

These shows are special research exhibitions organised by the National Art Gallery, Singapore, held on the premises of SAM.

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Vincent Leow has carved out an important role in Singapore’s contemporary art development through over two decades of art practice that is rooted in debates over the contemporary Singapore identity. This mid-career survey of Leow’s prolific oeuvre offers a balanced perspective of Leow’s work, which has often been known primarily for the provocative and aggressive. The exhibition highlights the surprisingly meditative tone and emotive quality in many of his works, revealing an artist who still continues to explore issues of identity, memory, mortality and its legacies.

The title Tags and Treats refers both to pet identity tags, as well as military dog tags that are often used to identify the dead or wounded in war. The military dog tag is a reference to Leow’s inspiration for his new works, the Latin phrase Memento Mori (remember you will die), while the pet tag is a remembrance of Andy, his beloved late pet, which he transforms into a hybrid dog-manimage in his work. Leow, in his trademark whimsical style, uses the allegory of pets to take the severity out of the grim issue of mortality. The “treat” of a life well-lived is that of one’s legacy remembered and left behind. The exhibition, with its explorations, marks a milestone of a new direction and focus in Leow’s artistic practice.

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The Learning Gallery is dedicated to presenting artworks from SAM’s collection for the young visitor. Besides nurturing an appreciation for art, the works are specially selected to encourage lively discussions and develop creative and analytical thinking among our young visitors.

The current show, Everyday Objects, invites you to take a second look at the familiar things around you through the eyes of artists from Singapore and Southeast Asia, where everyday things we know and sometimes take for granted are portrayed in a different light, making us think twice about their function and their relation to other objects.

The Learning Gallery is opened to the public daily.
Usual museum admission applies.

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In 2008, Chinese artist Wu Guanzhong donated 113 of his important works to the National Heritage Board, Singapore. This is the highest-value donation ever given to a public museum institution in Singapore. An internationally eminent artist, Wu is best known for marrying the distinct art form of traditional Chinese ink with modern concepts in Western art. Recently published as a seven-volume anthology, Wu’s writings provide deep insights into his aesthetics and art practice.

Showcasing 22 paintings from the donation, Seeing the Kites Again is an exhibition inspired by Wu’s metaphor of the kite. Since the 1960s, Wu Guanzhong has produced a great number works, based on his personal recollections. These works are centred around his home in the South of China, his childhood, as well as the villages and towns he has been to. His interest in life and his attention to ordinary scenes, infuse his art with an aesthetic quality that demonstrates a return to simplicity.

This show is a special research exhibition by the National Art Gallery, Singapore, held on the premises of the Singapore Art Museum.

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