AFFORDABLE ART FAIR SINGAPORE 2013

The fourth edition of the Affordable Art Fair in Singapore was held last November 21-24, 2013 at the F1 Pit Building, 1 Republic Boulevard, Singapore. Jef and I were able to attend the Private View held last Nov. 20, 2013 and also stayed there for a few days to visit their popular sites and immerse ourselves with their culture.

Here are some photos taken during the Private View. This year, over 101 galleries from all over the world participated: 

People lining up to register and to have their tickets validated at the entrance

Galerie Francesca’s booth (3V-04). Artists Carlo Magno, Jef Cablog, Roel Obemio, Migs Villanueva, Otep Banes were represented.

Jef’s “Glimpse 3” size 60” x 48”, Oil canvas and Figured Obscurity 63 thru 66 (all in size 20” x 16”  and oil on canvas).

with Ms. Susanne Tiausas, owner of Galerie Francesca and Jef’s Singapore-based Filipino collector Sir Reynaldo Mariano. 

Sir Rey is the Executive Designer of KKS International Pte. Ltd., an architecture and interior design firm in Singapore. Even with his hectic schedule he took time to see us for dinner.

Glimpse 3 | 60" x 48" | Oil on canvas | Roshini Prakash Collection, Singapore

Glimpse 2” | 60” x 48” | Oil on canvas, was also exhibited. Andrew Lian Collection, Singapore.

Figured Obscurity 63 | Oil on canvas | 20” x 16” | Ferdie Hernandez Collection, Philippines

Figured Obscurity 64 | Oil on canvas | 20” x 16” | Ferdie Hernandez Collection, Philippines

Figured Obscurity 65 | Oil on canvas | 20” x 16” | Ruhi Iac Collection, Singapore

Figured Obscurity 66 |  Oil on canvas | 20” x 16” | Ferdinand Padua Collection, Philippines

On our last day, on the 23^rd of November we went to the Singapore Art Museum (SAM) to check out the Singapore Biennale 2013, with the theme “If the World Changed” (held last October 26, 2013-February 16, 2014) which featured works of 82 artists and artist collectives from Singapore and South East Asia.

Jef at the entrance of Singapore Art Museum (SAM)

The 5 Principle No-s, 2012. Installation by the Iswanto Hartono & Raos Media Collective (Indonesia and India respectively)

Between Worlds, 2013. Installation with leather puppets in glass bottles by Nasirun (Yogyakarta, Indonesia)

Payatas, 2012. Mixed media installation  consisting of thousands of dolls excavated from the Manila (Payatas) landfill by Oscar Villamiel (Marikina City, Philippines). Aside from the overwhelming smell of plastic, the exhibit also exuded an eerie quality which made me uneasy, frightened and paranoid as if I was trapped in a tiny room with a thousand prying eyes.

Tiempos Muertos (Dead Season), 2013. One thousand diamonds cast from sugar and resin by Nikki Luna (Manila, Philippines)

Jef’s fellow artists from Baguio City, in the Cordillera region of Northern Philippines presented their exhibit at the second level of the museum.

AX(iS) ART PROJECT

Established 2012, Baguio City, Philippines

Fuelled by AX(is) Art Project’s guiding principle of “Art Access for All”, Tiw-tiwong involves some 150 participants and 13 activities in collaboration with local communities along the 90 mile-long Halsema highway in the Cordilleras. The multi-pronged, collaborative art project summons the potency of history, as well as indigenous knowledge and practices, to open up the story of Baguio and the Cordilleras mountains during a time of flux. With artists, artisans, writers and cultural activists as the chronicles of change, it culminates in the Uncyclopedia, an A-Z survival guide tackling topics such as the salt trade, colonialism, indigenous tattoos, the bulol (a carved figurine in Ifugao culture associated with the rice fields and granaries), dog-eating, and the perplexing popularity of country and western music in the mountains. - from the Singapore Biennale 2013 catalogue

Bulol (Rice God)

I, Baguio, 2013. Acrylic & pencil on handmade paper by Ben Cabrera

Wag-wag Wonderland, 2013. Fabric & vinyl art by Carlo Villafuerte

Dissolving Boundaries, 2013. Acrylic on rubbercut & wood by Leonard Aguinaldo

Memories of Overdelopment Redux: A Castaways 33 year Celluloid Journal (1980-2013 version) by Kidlat Tahimik

Ay-ayam (To Play), 2013. Drawing and mixed media onjects by Rene Aquitania

Binulol (Carved Selves) 2013. 86 wood pieces by the woodcarvers of Ifugao and the Cordilleras. Tree trunk centerpiece made with acrylic on rubbercut & wood by Leonard Aguinaldo.

Dinuras: Fathoming Fang-od. Sounds, Photo-Documentation by Ruel Bimuyag