The next blockbuster exhibition that’ll be taking over your social media feed looks likely to be Minimalism: Space. Light. Object. Taking place across both the National Gallery Singapore and the ArtScience Museum (a collaboration between the two), the five-month exhibition running till April 19 is reportedly the first survey of Minimalist art held in Southeast Asia — featuring 150 works from over 80 artists and 40 composers, across both venues.
But first, you don’t want to walk into the exhibition without at least knowing the base premise of Minimalism. It was a significant movement with American roots that date back to the ’60s, cutting across various mediums such as art and music that partially arose as a reaction against the Abstract Expressionism of earlier decades. Defining characteristics include an emphasis on materials (usually utilitarian or industrial in nature), geometric or architectural structures/silhouettes and basically, cutting out superfluous, gestural details.
Now that’s enough with the art blather (thanks Google) — above, the pieces that caught our eye.
What Would You Gift Someone Who Has It All?
Inspired by the famous rock gardens of Japan, Palestinian artist Mona Hatoum’s installation looks like a clock but it’s really quite existential. The arms simultaneously create and erase concentric circles in the sand, meant to signify existence and non-existence.