Lyrical Abstraction: Works by Jeremy Sharma and Yeo Shih Yun
6 July–23 September 2012

Singapore Art Museum, 71 Bras Basah Road

Lyrical Abstraction: Works by Jeremy Sharma & Yeo Shih Yun, featuring large-scale paintings commissioned by SAM and created by two Singaporean contemporaries. Both artists have re-imagined the medium of painting, considering how materials and forms from other art styles can re-invigorate a painting. 

Yeo’s Conversations with Trees is a mixed-media installation that reflects her ‘dialogue’ with trees. Prints created from the natural swaying of brushes dipped in Chinese ink and tied to tree branches have been silkscreened then digitally processed and recomposed into an expansive landscape reminiscent of a traditional Chinese ink landscape painting.

Mr. Tan Boon Hui, Director of SAM, says, “In Singapore, painting as a practice is often overshadowed by newer forms of contemporary art-making such as performance, installation, new media and photography. We therefore also present Lyrical Abstraction, a high profile platform for two talented Singaporean painters to stretch their vocabulary by creating large scale works in the museum space. The works are not only conceptually interesting, but also visually beautiful and will allow visitors to enjoy different styles of painting.”

风一阵一阵吹起,树就牵动握笔的手,留下一句句耐人寻味的话语。

姚诗韵寻求不同于传统水墨画作的创作技巧,她总觉得一定还有些什麽特别的、能碰撞出新的火花、亦能从实验中燃起下一步创作的灵感。从一开始使用中国墨,混合其他西方媒材–如压克力颜料、色粉等,到使用不同笔刷、树枝、玩具车甚至是小机器人作画,这些都是诗韵在画室内醖酿出的。

这次诗韵想和大自然一起作画。她将各种不同粗细的毛笔沾着墨绑在树上,让风移动毛笔,在纸上留下一道道独一无二的轨迹。接着她把顶着大太阳收集到的笔迹,以电脑档桉记录并加以去背、修正后,製作绢印版;在广大的画室裡,空白的亚麻布上,一个人的时间,这些足够让她与树一起完成一幅画作了。

Opening of “Lyrical Abstraction” at Singapore Art Museum 2012.