S’pore Art Week 2016: 3 art fairs, 3 experiences

The frenzied Singapore Art Week is set to wrap up on Sunday (Jan 24), and amid all the tours, showcases and exhibitions left, right and centre, are three art fairs taking place: Art Stage Singapore, Art Apart Fair and the Singapore Contemporary Art Show. All three are, if you will, battling it out for people’s hearts and minds — or at least, the contents of their wallets and their eyeballs.

Where should the prospective buyer or the artlover even start? We spent the past couple of days sussing out all three, and here’s what we found out.

THE BIG GUN: ART STAGE SINGAPORE

Now in its sixth edition, the cornerstone event of Art Week is the place to go if you’re being very greedy. Sure, it’s S$32 a pop to enter, but you get to wade through an art buffet, courtesy of 173 galleries spread over three massive halls at Marina Bay Sands’ Expo and Convention Centre. That’s a dizzying number of artworks, where prices can occasionally go up to the millions. Every year, it’s as contemporary as it gets, with a lot of so-called “edgy” works. This year, you have, among others, a life-sized rhino, morbid stumps of elephant legs, plastic cockroaches and a modified badminton court.

It’s not just works sold by galleries. The fair has some “value-add” events and features: There are talks of all sorts (including one later this afternoon featuring esteemed architect Rem Koolhaas); the odd presence of a tent dedicated to the history of the Dadaist avant-garde movement (a fitting disconnect to the entire market-driven enterprise); and, as the self-described go-to fair for South-east Asian art, a special showcase of regional art — although admittedly, it isn’t as catchy as last year’s, which even had a pseudo talkshow heckling the art world.

In terms of Singapore’s presence, there are 32 galleries, which also means Singapore artists, including some of the best — or at least hottest, art market-wise — are everywhere (with some found in multiple booths as well).

Unfortunately, it seems they’ve cut down on a few things. While previous editions saw the delightful inclusion of alternative spaces and schools such as The Substation, LATENT Spaces and LASALLE College of the Arts, this year, there’s only a very small booth showcasing a couple of students from the Nanyang Academy Of Fine Arts. It’s also crowded: 51,000 attended last year’s edition, so be warned — unless you’re fine jostling your way through the crowds.

THE COSY TYPE: ART APART FAIR

Hands down, this boutique fair has the best venue — and it’s the only ground-up local initiative of the three. Led by Rosalind Lim, Art Apart takes place at PARKROYAL on Pickering, which, is an architectural beaut in itself. Taking over almost all of the rooms on the 14th floor — where you get a nice view of the surrounding area — it’s literally a fair for “high art”. Thankfully, the prices aren’t. With works hung and placed everywhere, including inside the bathtubs and toilets, think of it as a salon-style fair gone wild. It’s the complete opposite of Art Stage and falls somewhat in the Affordable Art Fair-type (AAF) camp.

The works are mostly of the two-dimensional variety and, admittedly, the quality can be rather hit-and-miss. The paintings by Singaporean artist Rofi definitely falls in the former category and we even spotted one of recent President’s Young Talents co-winner Ezzam Rahman’s “skin art” pieces. But, in a way, the misses are balanced out by the unique experience of walking into the various rooms and stumbling across something (hopefully not in a literal sense). Another plus: You can immediately see how a painting could look in your bedroom (or toilet, for that matter).

As for crowds, well, visitorship is around 3,000 to 3,500, and the average prices of the works are around S$2,000 to S$3,000, but there are some in the three-digit range, too.

One thing it has over this year’s Art Stage, however, is its support for local art students: Around 20 of them from Nanyang Academy Of Fine Arts are showing here. All of these for an admission fee of S$10. Oh, and did we mention the views?

THE NEW KID ON THE BLOCK: SINGAPORE CONTEMPORARY ART SHOW

To be honest, we didn’t know what to make of this new entrant, but the folks behind Hong Kong’s Asia Contemporary Art Show are apparently here for the long-term with this, their Lion City venture at Suntec Singapore Convention And Exhibition Centre.

So are they taking Art Stage head-on? Not quite. Fair director Douwe Cramer describes it as a fair that targets the middle-tier/class buyer, kind of like someone who wants to level up after AAF but is not quite ready to plunge into Art Stage. The average price of the works is between S$20,000 to S$30,000 but, like Art Stage, it can go lower. On the other hand, if you can shell out S$245,000 for a Warhol, you’ll find one here, too. (Unlike other high-end art fairs, many of the works come with price tags.)

There are only 65 exhibitors, but while there are fewer works, the upside is that it allows you to take in what’s there a bit more easily. Its Suntec venue also brings back memories of the now-defunct ART Singapore fair, which was the main fair for a long time before Art Stage and the rest came in. There are definitely interesting works here but they seem less adventurous compared to what you get at Art Stage.

Indonesian, Chinese and Korean art seem to be taking prominence. But there are some surprises as well. At Filipino gallery Mendez Big & Small are two huge paintings by acclaimed artist Ronald Ventura pre-fame — so you can just imagine how much these cost right now.

While there are fewer Singapore galleries (which include familiar names such as Utterly Art and Pop And Contemporary Fine Art), there is, nevertheless, a strong Singapore presence: Its advisory board includes artists such as Michael Lee and Jason Wee and former Singapore Art Museum director Kwok Kian Chow. You also have installations from the likes of Ernest Goh, Yeo Chee Kiong and Ee Shaun.

There are few other aspects that differentiate this fair: For one, you can go to its online parent company’s website and buy works online. (Art Stage doesn’t have this on its own website, although it does have booths where you’ll find online site theartling.com and buy art through that — just not the ones at the fair.)

It also has a section for children (and even tours for them!). Amusingly, we passed by a booth by Hong Kong’s Macey And Sons, where they were holding a lucky draw for a Wu Mingzhong print worth S$10,000. Oh, and they have a shuttle bus that can take you to or from Art Stage. You know, just in case.

Admission at the door is priced at S$30 a pop, but if you buy through SISTIC you can bring another person (which technically makes it S$15 each).

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ART FAIR CHEAT SHEET

ART STAGE SINGAPORE

Until: Jan 24, 11am to 6pm

Where: Level B2, Marina Bay Sands, Sands Expo & Convention Centre,

Admission: S$32 at the door and SISTIC

In a nutshell: The ultimate art fair experience in Singapore, whether or not you’re buying. Great, even excellent, art abounds — if you’re prepared for the crowds.

ART APART FAIR (pictured)

Until: Jan 24, 11.30am to 9.30pm

Where: 14th floor, PARKROYAL on Pickering, 3 Upper Pickering Street

Admission: S$10 at the venue (go to the fifth floor first) or at http://www.artapartfair.com/

In a nutshell: The artworks are hit-and-miss but the venue and format makes up for it. Affordable works in a cosy, intimate — and less-hectic — environment. First-time buyer for a home? It’s an option.

SINGAPORE CONTEMPORARY ART SHOW

Until: Jan 24, 11am to 7pm (6pm on Sunday)

Where: Level 4, Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre

Admission: S$30 at the venue and SISTIC

In a nutshell: The missing link between the high-end and lower-tiered art fairs, mixing quality works with a laid-back, casual atmosphere. Think of it as a breather from Art Stage or a levelling up from Art Apart.