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Ota Fine Arts Shanghai | "En route: Southeast Asia" 27 July

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Ota Fine Arts Shanghai | En route: Southeast Asia 27 July 崇真艺客

Atreyu Moniaga, FAUX NONCHALANT, 2024, Acrylic on linen, 150 x 100 cm ? Atreyu Moniaga

En route: Southeast Asia

Artists: Atreyu Moniaga, Guo-Liang Tan, Santi Wangchuan, Sawangwongse Yawnghwe, Soe Yu Nwe, Zai Kuning

27 July ― 31 August 2024

Opening Reception: Saturday, 27 July, 3 - 6 pm

OtaFine Arts Shanghai is pleased to present En route: Southeast Asia, anexhibition featuring artists from Indonesia, Myanmar, Singapore and Thailand.The exhibition hopes to provide a window into contemporary art from SoutheastAsia, where ideas of mythology, cultural traditions, heritage, identity, andhistory are actively interrogated.

Sawangwongse Yawnghwe (b.1971, Burma) was born in Shan State,known today as Myanmar. His grandfather, Sao Shwe Thaik, was the firstpresident of the Union of Burma. Yawnghwe spent much of his youth in Thailand,and subsequently escaped to Canada, after a failed assassination attempt on hisfather in 1985. Thereafter, Yawnghwe found refuge in Amsterdam, where he worksquietly in much anonymity. The paintings "Day trip at Southeast AsianPeninsular Games, Rangoon, 1961" and "The Guests" revealsimultaneously, Yawnghwe's personal family history and the complex issuessurrounding Myanmar's unsettling political history. Taking his cue fromarchival images from early mid-twentieth century Burma, and American artist,Barnett Newman, his paintings are composed of painted photographs that arebranded with grey stripes. The ambiguous figures and the fuzzy quality of theimage hint of decay; a decaying of the photographs, and also that of culturalheritage and nation. Intrinsic to Yawnghwe's works is a continuous mining ofpersonal memories, familial ties and identity that are inextricably linked tohis nation's history.

In contrast, Atreyu Moniaga's (b. 1987, Indonesia) paintings embody the fantasies of urban dwellers from a younger generation. Moniaga graduated with a degree in Communications and Visual Design from the Jakarta Institute of the Arts (IKJ), and now takes on multiple roles as artist, photographer, illustrator and actor. His otherworldly compositions reveal a whimsical universe of mystical creatures, ornamental plants, and spirited characters that one may associate with animation films. His most recent paintings, "Serendipity" and "Faux Nonchalant" are explorations into the medium of acrylic paint, and a fresh palette of pastel colours. The characters and creatures in his paintings express cheeky yet sinister expressions, exposing a complex layering of various emotions such as fear, anxiety, joy and calmness, which the artist experienced in the process of making these new works.

Santi Wangchuan (b. 1988, Thailand) recalls and revitalizes the handweaving traditions of the Ubon Ratchathani province located in Northeast Thailand. Wangchuan learned how to weave from his grandmother and mother at a young age, and after studying art history, he sought to re-engage the traditional craft that is gradually disappearing with rapid urbanisation. His works are interwoven with collective memories, folk stories, religious practices and objects that are native to his hometown. Closer examinations of his sculptures, "Weaving of Memorable Space (No.5)" and "Weaving of Memorable Space (No.9)", reveal the presence of fishing baskets and antique weaving tools, reminding its audience of an old way of life in Thailand and the larger Southeast Asia.

On the other hand, Guo-Liang Tan (b.1980, Singapore) utilizes aeronautical fabric – a translucent, water-resistant synthetic polyester textile – in his work. "Slow Release II" and "Sand Drift" were created by layering transparent colours of diluted acrylic paint atop the water-resistant surface. Unlike conventional painting, which uses a brush for direct mark-making, Tan's work comprises stains and traces made indirectly by the pooling of paint and by placing objects on the horizontal ground to create imprints. As Tan continues to explore the evolving notions of painting today, his paintings facilitate an exchange of ideas on what constitutes painting, and how paintings are made in Southeast Asia and beyond.

Usingceramics as a key medium, Soe Yu Nwe (b. 1989, Myanmar) explores thecycles in mother nature and, Myanmar's heritage and spiritual traditions. Aprimary and recurring motif in Soe's work is the serpent. This interestoriginates from her explorations for a self-symbol, and the serpent being herChinese Zodiac sign. In much of Asian mythology, the serpent is associated withregeneration, shape shifting, fertility and feminine prowess. Yet Soe'ssculptures also reveal creatures plagued with fragmented edges, thorns and acertain fragility, offering us some visibility into Soe's experience growing upin a conservative society, and her longing for wholeness in her multiculturaland incomplete identity formation.

Ota Fine Arts Shanghai | En route: Southeast Asia 27 July 崇真艺客

Zai Kuning, Strange flower grow stubbornly, 2021, Turmeric, chilli powder and batik dye on paper, 147 x 110 cm ? Zai Kuning

For nearly two decades, Zai Kuning (b. 1964, Singapore) has been working with indigenous groups of people, namely the Orang Laut and Orang Asli, and has created bodies of works inspired by his research and interactions with them. The Orang Laut, otherwise known as the "people of the sea", were nomadic sea gypsies that occupied the maritime zones surrounding Singapore, Malaysia and the Riau Islands, Indonesia. The Orang Asli communities are the indigenous population of the Malaysia Peninsula. Zai's earlier drawings, especially those from the "Ombak Hitam" series (2016), were characterized by their monochromatic tones. Since 2020, his drawings began to incorporate hues of red, green, and yellow, with greater vibrancy and depths. The works in this exhibition were created with natural pigments including turmeric, chilli powder, and traditional batik dye, and Zai's abstract forms resonate and echo with voices, memories, and a yearning for one's ancestral home.

These Southeast Asian countries — from which these artists are from — are diverse, yet bounded together geographically and historically. Some of these areas are developed and cosmopolitan, while others are more in sync with their ancestral heritage and cultures. Ota Fine Arts Shanghai hopes to offer visibility of the region's artists to our audiences, and to articulate some of the differentiated stories of Southeast Asia.

- About the Artists -

Atreyu Moniaga (b. 1988, Indonesia) currently works and lives in Jakarta, Indonesia. He graduated in Communication & Visual Design from Jakarta Art Institute (IKJ). He always been mesmerized by symbols and the deep stories they tell. His art, rich with captivating detail, mirrors his own journey of finding and accepting himself. His recent solo exhibitions include “Solo Presentation by Carl Kostyal Gallery”, ArtSG, Singapore (2024), “Conviction”, Kohesi Initiatives, Yogyakarta (2022), “KIAF”, Seoul, South Korea (2022), “Convide”, Kohesi Initiatives, Online (2020). Recent group exhibitions include “Transfiguration”, GR Gallery, New York (2024), “The Preview Art Fair”, Seoul, South Korea (2024), “The Preview Art Fair”, Seoul, South Korea (2022), “Konvergensi”, RJ Katamsi, Yogyakarta (2022), “Art Jakarta”, JCC, Jakarta (2022).

Guo-Liang Tan (b. 1980, Singapore) completed his BA in Fine Art & Critical Studies at Goldsmiths College, London and his MFA at Glasgow School of Art. He was also a guest student at The St?delschule, Frankfurt am Main, Germany and an artist-in-residence at the NTU Centre of Contemporary Art, Singapore. His solo exhibitions include "in mid shapes" Ota Fine Arts, Tokyo (2023), “A Folding Scene”, Esplanade Concourse, Singapore (2023), “Soft Turnings”, Ota Fine Arts, Singapore (2021), “Ghost Screen” Ota Fine Arts, Singapore (2017) and “Play Dead” Space Cottonseed, Singapore (2012). Recent group exhibitions include ”Chronic Compulsions: Selected Works from Art Addicts Anonymous”, The Private Museum, Singapore (2024), “Object of Desire“, Gerearsafn Kópavogur Art Museum, Iceland (2021), “Light to Night:____-in-Progress”, National Gallery Singapore, Singapore (2021), “Strange Forms of Life”, STPI Gallery, Singapore (2020), “Reformations: Painting in Post 2000 Singapore Art”, ADM Gallery, Singapore (2019). His works are in the collection of Singapore Art Museum, Singapore and Tanoto Foundation, Singapore.

Santi Wangchuan (b. 1988, Thailand) earned a PhD from the Faculty of Painting Sculpture and Graphic Arts, Silpakorn University, Bangkok. Inspired by his family's traditions, his handwoven pieces reflect a blend of stories, equipment and tools from his homeland Thailand. His solo exhibitions include “Weaving Works”, Yeo Workshop, Gillman Barracks, Singapore (2016), “The Four”, People’s Gallery, Bangkok, Thailand (2016), Asia Now Paris, Paris, France (2016). Santi exhibited his works in various group exhibitions including “Art Dubai Contemporary 2024”, Presented by Yeo Workshop, Singapore (2024), “From The Land of Gold Below The Winds in South Seas”, Art SG, Presented by Yeo Workshop, Singapore (2023), “Taem Si Sin, Magnificent Site of Civilization @ PhaTaem”, Contemporary Art Festival in the Mekong River Basin, Pha Taem National Park, Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand (2022), “ORNAMENTAL ?瓖(XIāNG)”, Yeo Workshop, Singapore (2021), “Strange Things”, TWENTY TWENTY at 2 Cavan Road, Singapore (2020), “Catalogue”, Yeo Workshop, Singapore (2019).

Sawangwongse Yawnghwe (b. 1971, Myanmar) currently works and lives in Amsterdam, Netherland. Family photographs provide the basis for the pictorial language of his work. His recent solo exhibitions include “The Broken White Umbrella”, Nova Contemporary, Bangkok, Thailand (2022), “Burma Down the House”, Modka Beiroet, Amsterdam, NE (2021), “Cappuccino in Exile”, Jane Lombard Gallery, New York, USA (2021), “Burma Down the House”, Zutphen, NL (2020), “Burmese History X”, TKG+, Taipei, Taiwan, China (2020). Recent group exhibitions include “Burma-Balzac-Zola”, Ragghianti Foundation, Lucca, Italy (2024), “My Oma”, Kunstinstituut Melly, Rotterdam, Netherlands (2023), 2023 Thailand Biennale, Chiang Rai, Thailand (2023), “O Quilombismo: Of Resisting and Insisting. Of Flight as Fight. Of Other Democratic Egalitarian Political Philosophies”, HKW, Berlin, Germany (2023), “Between Borders: Migration, Power, and the Boundless Imagination”, Museum Arnhem, Arnhem, Netherlands (2023), “River Pulses, Border Flows”, Guangdong Times Museum, Guangzhou (2022), “Extraneous”, Exile Gallery, Vienna, Austria (2022), Singapore Biennale, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore (2022). His works are also in the collection of Singapore Art Museum (Singapore), MAIIAM Contemporary Art (Thailand), Museum Arnhem (Netherlands).

Soe Yu Nwe (b. 1989, Myanmar), ceramic artist, currently lives and works in Yangon Myanmar. She completed her MFA in Ceramics at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). Her recent solo exhibitions include “Hybridized Beings”, Myanm/art, Yangon, Myanmar (2020), “Rebirth | Enigmatic Bodies”, Pottery Northwest, Seattle, WA, USA (2019), “Serpentine”, Myanm/art, Yangon, Myanmar (2018). Soe was named in Forbes 30 Under 30: Art & Style 2019. Her works are also in the collection of Queensland Art Gallery & Gallery of Modern Art (Australia) and The British Museum (UK).

Zai Kuning (b. 1964, Singapore) lives and works in Singapore. His recent solo exhibitions include “Zai Kuning: I Died A Hundred Times”, Ota Fine Arts, Tokyo, “SeptFest 2021: Projek Orang Asli”, The Substation, Singapore (2021), “Dapunta Hyang: Transmission of Knowledge”, 72-13, Singapore (2018), “Dapunta Hyang: Transmission of Knowledge, Singapore Pavilion”, 57th Venice Biennale, Italy (2017).He has also participated in numerous group exhibitions including “Collection Exhibition 1”, 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan, “Works On Paper”, Ota Fine Arts, Singapore (2023), “Invisible Border”, Ota Fine Arts, Singapore(2022), “Dialogue: Rina Banerjee and Zai Kuning”, Ota Fine Arts, Singapore(2021) and “Reborn-Art Festival 2019”, Ishinomaki, Japan (2019). His works are also in the collection of the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum (Japan), Singapore Art Museum (Singapore), M+ (Hong Kong), and Kadist Art Foundation (France and USA).

- Concurrent Exhibition -