Inaugural exhibitions

National Gallery Singapore opens its door unveiling different exhibitions. Besides the permanent exhibitions  two permanent exhibitions Siapa Nama Kamu? and Between Declarations and Dreams, the National Gallery  Singapore presents other two special exhibitions: Wu Guanzhong: Beauty beyond Form and Chua Ek Kay: After the Rain.

The Wu Guanzhong Gallery showcases works donated by Wu Guanzhong (1919–2010) and his family, within the larger context of ink history and aesthetics. This collection is the largest holding of his works in a public collection, and is one of the most valuable art donations ever presented to a Singapore museum to date. This inaugural exhibition highlights Wu’s proficiency in both Chinese and Western art traditions, and his distinctive contribution to the discourse of modern Chinese painting. Spanning over 50 years of Wu’s career and comprising about 80 pieces, it showcases key works from his practice. Many of these, on loan from major museums in China and private collections, are being shown publicly for the first time in Singapore.

Chua Ek Kay (1947–2008) was one of Singapore’s leading ink painters. Within two decades of becoming a full-time artist, he enjoyed a level of acclaim that few other artists in Singapore had. He was awarded the Grand Prize in the 10th UOB Painting of the Year Competition and the Juror’s Choice in Philip Morris ASEAN Arts Award in 1991 and 1998 respectively. In 1999, he was honoured with the Cultural Medallion, the highest national award given to local artists in Singapore. This exhibition commemorates the significant donation of 38 works by the artist’s family to the National Collection in 2010–11. It examines his artistic developments as reflected by his interests in calligraphy and poetry, the Shanghai School of ink painting and Western art. The show will also cover some of the most important themes, which he revisited continuously throughout his career.