FU Lei, 天堂13号 (Paradise No. 13), 2014, Oil on canvas, 300 x 170 cm, Courtesy of Art Plural Gallery
This November, Art Plural Gallery presents Dreams of Desire, a solo exhibition featuring the work of Chinese artist Fu Lei. The exhibition unveils five large-scale oil paintings created exclusively for the occasion, as well as a selection of drawings.
Fu Lei’s paintings address the themes of excess, vice and desire in contemporary society. Plump figures in pearls and high heels cavort with toads, flamingos, snails and fruit in an absurd yet uncannily familiar world. Fu Lei’s scenes are reminiscent of baroque still life paintings, though the mix of ironic and surreal components renders them intriguingly ambiguous. The viewer may perhaps experience a moment of guilt, shame or despair before the absurd and humorous motifs begin to emerge and jostle for attention.
Fu Lei is based in the thriving 798 Art Zone in Beijing, though his observations of lust and gluttony extend beyond contemporary China. Indeed, the artist is fully committed to escapism, perpetually searching for new sources to feed his imagination or to “flee away from the real world and escape into a realm of illusion”. In the words of Art Plural Gallery’s founder and director, Swiss art dealer Frédéric de Senarclens, “In China today, Fu Lei has achieved an entirely unique artistic language. His universe reflects the excess of our societies, playing with symbols and reflecting the desires of our world”. In this world, the vices of lust and gluttony are, however, re-imagined, stripped of their negativity and redefined as marvellous dreams of desire.
Art Plural Gallery is located in the heart of Singapore’s museum and cultural district in a spacious Art Deco heritage building. A significant international destination for collectors, it is a fitting setting for this bespoke exhibition of Fu Lei’s tantalising and extravagant works.
Exhibition: Dreams of Desire
Dates: Till 30 December 2014
Venue: Art Plural Gallery, 38 Armenian Street
Web: www.artpluralgallery.com
