Guo-Liang Tan, 1 & 3 Flat Things, 2019, Acrylic on aeronautical fabric, wood, Dimensions variable

“Constructs” is a group exhibition by Chen Wei, Hilmi Johandi and Guo-Liang Tan. The works in this exhibition, spanning various media such as painting, lithography, photography and mix media installation, explore the idea of “structure”, whether physically or conceptually.

In Hilmi Johandi’s practice, the element of stagecraft is often interwoven into his works. Motifs are extracted from archival materials and composited on the canvas or paper as though he is putting together a stage set. Hilmi’s mix-media installation works pushes this idea further – the two-dimensional image is enlarged and painted on a wooden panel propped up by a support, akin to props and backdrops used on stage, reflecting on structures and frameworks, façade and truth.

Chen Wei constantly observes the rapidly-changing landscapes in China where he lives, and his art-making is influenced by his findings. His work focuses on the city’s pursuit of “new” and the state and changes of “new” in reality. An unfinished new building, a new window and stained glass materials are temporarily placed in the window frame, waiting for installation. They are temporary urban sculptures, a situational device about “construction” and “new”.

Guo-Liang Tan employs a translucent aeronautical fabric in his paintings and installations, effecting light washes of paint reminiscent of bruises, skin, or membrane. The shadowy presence of the wooden stretcher beneath can often be observed through the translucent ground, revealing the work’s structure and adding another layer to its visual plane. Tan further extends his exploration of paintings as phenomenological ‘surface-objects’ and markers in space, with alternative presentation methods.

Venue: Ota Fine Arts Singapore, 7 Lock Road, 02-13 Gillman Barracks, Singapore 108935

When: 20 May - 1 Jul 2023, Tuesday - Saturday 11:00 - 19:00

By: Ota Fine Arts