Style and Concept of Contemporary Southeast Asian Art
a lecture by Marjorie Chu @ Singapore Art Museum, 11 March 2006


Exploring Self: From the mid-20th century, Southeast Asian artists started to explore the circumstances of the ordinary people in the streets and search for their roots. Through the 1980s and 1990s Southeast Asian artists continued to identify themselves as unique peoples.

Khoo Sui Ho introduces a figure that we now identify as the Southeast Asian image.	Khoo Sui Ho (Malaysia, b. 1939) Brown Madonna, 1967
Khoo Sui Ho (Malaysia, b. 1939) Love Knots, 1996
Do Son’s painting is simply his view of the life and people of his village. One could detect a sense of folk art in the simple and naïve style.	Do Son (Vietnam) Summer Time, 1994 oil on canvas, 100 x 140 cm
Do Son (Vietnam) Yellow Autumn, 2001 oil on canvas, 80 x 100 cm
Norma Belleza puts festivity into her painting of a food stall though in real life her people face poverty.	Norma Belleza (Philippines, b. 1939) Bibingka at Puto Bang Bang, 1990 oil on canvas, 60 x 76 cm
Galo Ocampo’s farmers in the painting are faceless but there is the spirit of solidarity.	Ocampo (Philippines) Farmers, 1980 oil on board, 120 x 120 cm
Edo Pop sees the new age mechanical being much more complex then the village folks
Tang Da Wu seeks the faces of the unsung heroes among the ordinary men and women of the street.	Tang Da Wu (Singapore, b. 1943) Heroes, Islanders (installation), 2005
Pinaree Sanpitak presents works emphasising the issue of the woman. She uses simple shapes to project softness and femininity.	Pinaree Sanpitak (Thailand, b. 1961) Womanly Tension, 1999
Pinaree Sanpitak (Thailand, b. 1961) A Vessel and a Mound, continued - compelled - comforted, 2000	Pinaree Sanpitak (Thailand, b. 1961) Quiet Pleasures, 1999 acrylic, oil pastel, fabric, paper on canvas, 191 x 192 cm

next