Barnett Newman 1963-4, Canto V

Francis Bacon, Circa 1944, Three Studies for Figures at the Base of Cruxifixion

This is a lesson on how to paint ugly, violence and discord beautifully. This is considered the first mature work by Bacon. The wonderful thing about art is that you have to see it with your own eyes and not through another medium for the colours can never be reproduced exactly, in fact oftentimes, as in this instance, not even close to the real thing. It is through my own eyes did i realise the first of the triptych has a more orange essence to it than the other two pieces.

John Constable (doubtfully attributed) 1776-1837, "Summer, Afternoon, after a shower"

"Summer, Afternoon-after a shower"

Cezanne, The Village Road, Auvers

Cezanne's paintings are always beautifully gloomy.

Gao Xinjian

Lonely atmospheric and melancholic beauty.

Carravagio, St JohnThe Baptist

Smooth, brooding, intense

Hokusai

Edward Hopper, 1943, Summertime

Bronzino, 1530-1572, An allegory with Venus and Cupid

Creativity and madness

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/10154775.stm

North Korean Art

Joyful, fertile, abundant, and loving.

Botero, Melancholy, 1989

Picasso, Nude, Green Leaves and Bust,1932,

Was sold at Christie for $105 million.

Persian Rug

http://www.economist.com/opinion/displayStory.cfm?story_id=15944327&sa_campaign=twitter/te/ar/hp

Andrea Del Castagno, The Young David, c1450 (Renaissance)

Andrea del Castagno, The Young David, c.1450. Leather on wood, 115.6 x 76.9 x 41 cm. Washington, National Callery of Art Widerner Collection.

This is a rare piece of work on a parade shield that survives the ravages of time. David is beautifully drawn.

Damien Hirst, For the love of God, 2007

Platinum, Diamonds, 1106.18 carat

"For the love of God" is a piece by Damien Hirst produced in 2007 that stirred up much controversy. It consists of over 8000 flawless diamonds encrusted in a platinum cast of a human skull. It was reportedly sold for 50 million pounds which if true, makes it the most expensive art piece by a living artist.

Many critiques call it vulgar and looks more like a piece comissioned by wealthy but uncultivated clients of Graff or Aspreys to exhibit their greatness. This is no piece befitting of an established artist.

There is also much speculation that the whole 'sale' of this work is an elaborate ruse to shore up the reputation and value Hirst's works prior to the Sotheby auction which he reaped millions. (Hirst is the first artist who decided to sell his works through auctions than galleries). Apparently the work was bought by a consortium that included Hirst in it. Whether "For the love of God" actually sold for 50 million pounds was doubted since some critiques observed that there is no tax records of the sale

For me i do consider this art albeit one of a low grade. This is art since you can derive disinterested pleasure out of it. However a jewel encrusted object is nothing original and highly uninspiring. I also feel that as an artist, Hirst contribution is too limited. Where is the passion when he merely owned the concept whilst artisans laboured on his behalf.

Lucio Fontana, Spatial Concept 'Waiting', 1960 (Spatialism)

Lucio Fontana, Spatial Concept 'Waiting', 1960, 930 x 730mm

Fontana is most reknowned for his slashed canvases. A seemingly minimal piece of work, just a slit, is able to convey gesture, force, spontaneity and movement. The work also immediately heightens our sensitivity towards space with the slash beckoning us to enter into the darken portal within the canvas.

Is it art?

Many a times we come across a piece of work and we ask ourselves what is this about? Audiences stand around with hands on their chin in an attempt to look sophisticated...


I define art as a piece of work that either inspires the mind or pleases the eye. On the former, something inspires when we experience a relevation from engaging with the art form or gets invigorated by it. On the latter, I follow St Thomas Aquinas formulation that "the beautiful is that which pleases merely on being perceived." A visual form that does not fulfil either of the criteria is simply not art. If cannot be a case whereby anything that asserts itself as art should be accrued the status of so. Usually visual forms with no substance rely on a poetic explanatory notes and conniving marketing efforts to lay claim to an artistic endeavour. This is dressed-up incapacity or, to quote the art critique John Russell, "rationalised impotence".

Attributed to Kano Sansetsu, The Old Plum, Edo Period (1615-1868), ca 1645

Attibuted to Kano Sansetsu, The Old Plum, Edo PEriod (1615-1868), ca 1645, four sliding door panels (fusuma), ink, colour, gold leaf on paper, The Metropolitian Museum of Art, New York

A solemn meditative piece by Kano Sansetsu. What a marvellous contrasting sight of a grand, gnarled, twisted and darkened tree bearing delicate pretty sensual flowers. So much about time is also encapsulated within this painting. Technique-wise, the use of gold leaf on paper is a clever way to depict the subject matter without making it too gloomy a piece to be desired by patrons as a decorative piece.

FX Harsono, Bon Appetit, 2008 (Contemporary)

FX Harsono, Bon Appetit, 2008, Installation, Dimension Varies

One of the role of art is to express the socio-political situations of the times. Political art tends not to be pretty given the emphasis on oppression and violence. Very few artist are of the stature of say Picasso to be able to execute a beautiful painting of an ugly disposition.

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SAM is currently showing the works of FX Harsono and I attended the opening reception. I initially thought "oh another one of those forgettable exhibitions" (as South East Asian political art tends to be, at least for me). But I have to say I was quite impressed with Harsono's work. Almost all the installations were haunting and poignant as the above picture shows. Many of Harsono's creations are in response to the oppresive Suharto's regime towards the chinese community.

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In this work, Harsono seems to be suggesting that in the bid to satisfy the whimsical appetite of the political elites, the beautiful dreams of the delicate and vulnerable are prevented from taking flight. Harsono is also reminding us not to be decieved by the refined practices of the elites. It is more important to look at what they are eating.

Antony Gormley, Fields (sculpture/installation)

35000 clay figurines, 1991

Nowadays installations filling up a whole room or a gallery is no longer a novel concept. The first for me was Antony Gormley's fields at Tate Liverpool in 2004. I recalled being quite captivated by the sight of tens of thousands of figurines, each unique, unexpectingly greeting me as i was about to walked into the room . This time there is no room of course. Instead you are about to be swarmed by the masses.

Face Mask from Gabon (Art Negre)

Face Mask Ngil, Fang, Gabon, Wood, Kaolin, brass nails, height 66cm, 19th Century, Musee du Quai Branly; Depot Musee de l'Homme

Masks are haunting and frightful but at the same time utterly fascinating. I am always riveted by any masks I see be it from Japan, Asia or Africa. Some of them give me the feeling that they are alive and calling out to me. African masks, like all wooden artefacts, are appealing when they are scratched, worn and aged with a layer patina.

I read that in recent years, scholarly voices from the art circle pointed out two misconceptions regarding the aesthetic discourse of African masks. Firstly, African tribal masks were never intended as objects of arts meant purely for admiration. They are ritual artifacts. Secondly, instead of being artifacts of aesthetic autonomy, masks are only part of an aesthetic totality consisting of dance, movement, music, audience, narrative and ecstasy.

With these views brewing in my mind, it suddenly dawned upon me that masks are indeed incredible objects because they can be appreciated as standalone objects much like sculptures in addition to being appreciated as a process much akin to performing art.

Perhaps African masks show us that the power of rituals come from aesthetics. Indeed sacred activities cannot function without it. We must then ask ourselves whether religious experience is in large part no more than an aesthetic one and that it is only words convincing us otherwise?

Russell Young, David Bowie, 2008 (Contemporary art)

Russell Young, David Bowie: The Jean Genie, 2008, Acrylic paint, enamel and diamond dust silk screen print on line, 2008, 62 x 48inches

Attended an exhibition featuring the works of Russell Young. Although the 'sexy-glamour' style makes the paintings rather chic, I do not rate these series of work highly for a couple of reasons. These series of work couldn't escape the shadow of Warhol's prints. It's too reminiscent of Warhol to the point of mimicking his works. The uniqueness is not there. Moreover, most of the pieces were done in 2009. Yet the subjects of the paintings were icons of the past, making them irrelevant to the prevailing zeitgeist. Where is the strong connection between the artist and the subject matter? Warhol is justified to paint these iconic celebrities as he had personal relations with these stars.

Of the whole collection, I only like the above David Bowie piece. I feel this style of glitzy glamour painting works for David alone.

Picasso, Nude Woman with Necklace, 1968

Picasso, Nude Woman with Necklace, 1968, Oil on canvas, 1135 x 1617mm, Tate Gallery

This is a very powerful piece of work to me. When i first saw it at Tate Modern, waves of emotions just hit upon me. I could feel the raw energy pulsating throughout the painting subjecting the body of the odalisque to much disturbance. Why is she indifferent to the invisible hands outraging her body right before our eyes? Is this painting about the indifferent attitude of prositutes towards the violation of their body?

Aboriginal Art by woman of Bulgul, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia (modern aboriginal art)

Club 21 gallery presented an exhibition on Aborignal art from Bulgul in Jan-Feb 2010. The style from this region tends to focus on colourful geometric patterns that are on the whole very pleasing on the eye. As I am not well verse in aborignal art, I am not aware whether the style is representative of modern aborignal art. In future, I would like to find out whether these works have a lineage with ancestral aborignal art and how they have evolved. In my opinion, I take issue with the word aborignal though as 'aborignal' in my mind has 'folk art' connotations and these works are certainly modern and appeared to be done by professional artists. Perhaps its marketing of art and the label 'aborignal' adds a sense of intrigue to theis art form.

All said, what i saw make nice decorative pieces and can see that they easily go well for most homes. Although beautiful pieces which i enjoy looking at, I do not rank them highly as they do not forcefully brings out emotions in the viewers, a quality I look out for in art.

Thota Vaikuntam, Siesta (Indian Contemporary)

Thota Vaikuntam, Siesta, 2008, acrylic on canvas

I first saw this piece by Thota Vaikuntam at ART Singapore 2008. This painting somehow always stuck in my mind ever since and i am still trying to figure out why... I call it a quiet painting as it doesnt elicit strong emotions from me at first sight. I tend to grade such works a notch (or several) lower. Nonetheless its a beautiful piece of work that grows on me.

Picasso, Nude on Black Couch

Picasso, Nude on a Black Couch, 1932, Oil on canvas, 162 x 130cm

Picasso's Nude on a Black Couch is a masterpiece for me. This painting is highly erotic. You can almost hear the voluptuous girl in a state of complete undressed and holding a virgin white calla lily lazily unfurling herself in sheer comfort on a sensual black velvet couch. Are the eagerly philodendron leaves unfolding and sprouting around her a symbol of her fertility or are they waiting for the opportunity to caress her?

The girl is supposingly Marie Therese, Picasso's mistress. Picasso was 51 and she 18 before they started a 30 years tempestous affair.

The highly pleasing colour composition and erotically charged meaning behind the painting makes this a coveted piece worthy of any playboy's penthouses. It would be most wonderful if this painting ever gets a chance to be view by the public.

Li Chen's sculpture (sculpture)

Although highly reminiscent of Botero's work, Li Chen's sculptures have a happy, lovable, dreamy qualitites in them whilst dark, sinister, melancholic undertones reside in Botero's.

Chinese paper cuts (Folk art)

It's Chinese New Year and for thousands of years, the Chinese use paper-cuts laden with auspicious symbols to decorate their homes and to usher in the new year. The often common and gloomy atmosphere of poverty stricken homes that know no colour is given much life with freshly cut bright red paper cuts. Such is the psychological benefit of art.

Folks art is art by the ordinary people for ordinary social needs. A labourer's hand and a cheap pair of scissors transform a rough piece of paper into magic. This is what i call the raw expression of creativity...

Traditionally in China, folk art is done by the ordinary villager who toils the fields for a living but engages in folk art during non-harvesting periods either for leisure or to sell works for extra income. The unpolished beauty of such works often intrigued and touched me but not those intricate and artisically excellent art that mimick the style of folk art produced in artisan studios as much as i admire their quality.

Gavin Turk, Bag 9, 2001, (Contemporary art)

Gavin Turk, Bag 9, 2001, 60.5 x 57 x 48cm, The New Art Gallery Walsall

When i first saw this at a gallery i really thought it was a garbage bag forgotten by the cleaner thanks to the clever display. Although lacking in aesthetic merit, this is nonetheless a very bemusing piece. I appreciate those contemporary art that challenges perceptions. The message is also ironic. Bronze, a symbol of permanence is inverted for disposability. A prized material is now accrued the status of trash. Once aware, an symbol of contempt quickly becomes revered as valuable art.

Sam Talyor-Wood - A Little Death , 2002 (Video art)

Sam Taylor Wood, A Little Death, 2002, DVD on plasma screen, 103 x 64cm, 4 mins and 30 seconds

I first saw this piece of video presentation at the National Gallery in London for a touring exhibition "The stuff of Life" and was quite mesmerised by it. This work is one of the modern interpretation of the seventeenth centurty Dutch still life vanitas-theme paintings. Other than the errie but poignant sight of decay accelerated before our eyes, I find this piece very meaningful and impactful in depicting the process of life after death, particulary how life comes from death and how death is so dynamic and lively.

Apparently there is sexual reading behind the work too. The title "a little death" is a phrase coined by the nineteenth century French intellectual Georges Bataille to describe orgasm. Further encouragement to a sexual reading is provided by the choice of animal. A hare often an explicity symbol of lust (as is a case in other of Talyor-Wood's works).

Mysteriously, the out of season suggestively looking peach that accompanied the hare was unaffected by decay during the nine weeks video shoot.

Hirosho Sugimoto - Aegean Sea, Pilion 1990 (Photography/nature)

Hirosho Sugimoto, Aegean Sea, Pilion, 1990

Hiroshi Sugimoto's sea-scapes always engulf me. The sea, an entity of pure energy right before us, overwhelming and incomprehensible yet for now all so calm and contained.

Pissarro - Self Portrait 1903 (Impressionism)

Pissarro, Self - Portrait, 1903, Oil on canvas, 41 x 33 cm, London, Tate Gallery

I tend not to prefer naturalistic portraiture and prefer something more intepretive that captures the essence of the sitter. Pissarro's Self Portrait done in 1903 is a charming piece.

Rene Margritte - The Red Model (Surrealism)

The Red Model, 1935, Oil on Canvas, 74 cm x 50 cm


First encountered Margritte whilst at the tastfully industrial looking Centre Pompidou Paris for an exhibition related to surrealist art. As I was strolling along with fatigue from all the walking, the Red model arrested my attention and brought me back to life. It was a small painting but with the immensity monumental enough to unseattle any viewer. Good art does not have to be beautiful but should always evokes an emotional response from the viewer, in this case that of disturbance and morbid fascination. It's like a war scene with the body of the soldier being blown away leaving behind the boots and legs. The wood as a backdrop stands for the coffin and soil/gravel stands for burial. The title Red Model adds to the convulsion with red signifying blood (or the lack/loss of it in this instance) whilst model signifying 'a model of war'. Everyday comon objects/subjects have undergone an uncany metamorphosis under the hands of Margitte.



P.S. This might might not be the actual piece i saw as Margritte did several versions of the red model.

El Greco - The Baptism of Christ (Mannerism)

Baptism of Christ
1596-1600
Oil on canvas,111 x 47
Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, Rome

The first time i saw this piece of work was in the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, Rome. Not knowing why, but I was pretty transfixed with this piece of work and ever since got hooked on El Greco. Incidentally that encounter was the first time I got to know about El Greco and ignorantly thought he was some obscure mannerist painter. It turned out his style influenced a generation of artists including Velaquez and Francis Bacon...I was thinking perhaps this is how art should be judeged. It strikes a cord with the audience regardless of the reputation of the artist. The aesthetic experience is not an artefact of prior knowledge.