When the prestigious Venice Biennale opens to the public on Saturday (Apr 20), visitors to the Italian city can expect to see art from Singapore in a few places.
Local artist Robert Zhao Renhui is representing the country with a showcase at the Singapore Pavilion. And for the first time ever, artworks from the National Gallery Singapore (NGS) are also included in the biennale’s main exhibition.
Eight artworks from the NGS’ collection will be showcased in Stranieri Ovunque – Foreigners Everywhere, a massive exhibit featuring 331 artists by this year’s biennale curator Adriano Pedrosa.
The NGS, which is home to the largest public collection of modern art across Southeast Asia, has loaned works by eight iconic artists from the region including Singapore’s Georgette Chen and Chua Mia Tee, and Indonesia’s Affandi and Hendra Gunawan. The works – which are all portraits – are part of the Nucleo Storico section of the exhibition.
