Tang Dixin, Ice Fire, 2023, Oil on canvas, 100 x 140 cm
“Figure” is a group exhibition featuring works by Maria Farrar, Zai Kuning, Yayoi Kusama, Tang Dixin and Ming Wong. This exhibition looks at how these 5 artists explore themes related to the human figure in different ways, from the physical and spiritual to themes of self and identity.
Tang Dixin’s (b. 1982, China) paintings are often concerned with social commentary, alongside a sense of anxiety and restlessness. Figures are stacked against or on top of one another; Hands, arms and feet struggle to find their place. His paintings are often situated in a sense of flux and continuous movement, and while the meanings of each piece are often tantalizingly out of reach, they offer unreal excursions into Tang’s fantasies. Expanding from physicality to the spiritual, are the translucent overlapping layers of red bodies in Zai Kuning’s (b. 1964, Singapore) recent works on paper. In recent years, the artist has been thinking more and more about death and life. These works reflect Zai’s observation and meditation about mankind, with a wish and desire for comfort, protection, companionship or a way home.
On the other hand, the anonymous figures in Maria Farrar’s (b. 1988, Philippines) paintings may be self-portraits or alter-egos, depicted in scenes derived from her everyday life or from fragments of memories. They bring forth personal themes in her work while exploring the presentation and behaviours of women of today. The two pieces in this exhibition reflect the artist’s personal journey to connect with various aspects of herself. Meanwhile, Ming Wong’s (b. 1971, Singapore) black and white digital prints feature faceless figures — identities erased and open to our imaginations. Based on promotional stills from the golden age of Hollywood, these works offer a re-imagination of racialized and gendered cinema, suffused with the artist’s passion for dramatic roleplaying.
Last but not least, a vibrant painting by Yayoi Kusama (b. 1929, Japan) offers viewers a snippet into the artist’s dynamic and repetitive world of form, color and movement. Biomorphic shapes, frontal faces that Kusama refers to as ‘Manga’, eyes, and dots are sprawled across the canvas, bridging the surreal and the figurative, and providing a glimpse into Kusama’s state of mind.
Venue: Ota Fine Arts, 7 Lock Road, #02-13 Gillman Barracks, Singapore 108935
When: 31 May - 12 Jul 2025,
By: Ota Fine Arts
