Installation shots of our latest project, for Helu-Trans in Singapore: Southeast Asia/Contemporary, the first of a Helu-Trans Collectors series.

We had a wonderful time working with the four private collections involved, and with the Helu-Trans team. Thanks to everyone who came for the opening and panel discussion last weekend, especially friends from Malaysia, Philippines and Indonesia.

For more info, see the Exhibition page, and for launch pics, visit us on Facebook. A post-exhibition catalogue will be out early 2014.

Some of the highlights from our trip to Art Basel | Hong Kong last week and other fringe events during the same period.

Jose Legaspi’s large drawings at Drawing Room (PH), Art Basel | HK.

Eko Nugroho’s miniature bronze sculptures at ARDNT (Berlin | SG), Art Basel | HK.

Tawatchai Puntusawasdi’s ‘Pixelated Heaven’ at 10 Chancery Lane (HK), Art Basel |HK.

Eddie Hara presented ‘Deep Polluted Sea Creatures’ sculptures and paintings at Galeri Semarang’s booth (ID) at Art Basel | HK.

Chatchai Puipia’s 2009 Van Gogh inspired paintings at 100 Tonson’s (TH) booth at Art Basel | HK.

Marc Quinn’s ‘Flesh Painting (on Sensualism)’ painting at White Cube (UK), Art Basel | HK.

Yayoi Kusuma had a joint-solo exhibition at Art Basel | HK presented by Ota Fine Art (SG) in collaboration with Victoria Miro Gallery (UK).

Installation of the painted ‘stamps’ by Yao Peng showed at Beijing Art Now (CH), Art Basel | HK.

Detail of the painted ‘stamps’ by Yao Peng showed at Beijing Art Now (CH), Art Basel | HK.

A section of the installation ‘The Universe of Naming’ by Qiu Zhijie at Spring Workshop located in Aberdeen, HK.

Another view of the installation ‘The Universe of Naming’ by Qiu Zhijie at Spring Workshop located in Aberdeen, HK.

“A Journal of the Plague Year : Fear, ghosts, rebels. SARS, Leslie and the Hong Kong story” presented at Para/Site in Sheung Wan, HK.

A subsection of ‘A Journal of the Plague Year’ presented at Para/Site in Sheung Wan, HK.

Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Morakot (Emerald) was specially presented on the 5th Floor of a private flat in Sheung Wan, outside of Para/Site’s space.

Ai Weiwei’s installation of tinned milk powder in Sheung Wan Civic Centre is also part of the extended show from Para/Site.

Ming Wong’s cinematic posters displayed in Sheung Wan Civic Centre, also part of the extended show from Para/Site.

Sutee Kunavichayanont’s video projection of ‘The Class’ is part of the exhibition ‘Subjective Truth’ presented at 10 Chancery Lane’s Gallery off Hollywood Road.

(RN)

Dear Friends near and far,

Eko’s book is finally ready!

Please join us at 6pm on Friday, 29th July 2011 to celebrate Eko’s book launch at ARK Galerie if you are around the neighbourhood.

Looking forward to seeing you soon!

Special edition copies will be available for sale at the launch. Please email Putri Adju (putri(AT)arkgalerie.com) at ARK for further details.

To download a copy of our newsletter, please click here.

Image: Propositional Berg by Lena Cobangbang for Rogueish Festive Cards

Very shortly, we will be ushering in a new year. Where did all our time go in 2010?  Between collections consultancy and logistical management work, and our publication and commission projects, it’s been an inspiring year with new challenges and rewards. Here are some of the highlights of our 2010:

Publications

WORKING

Kicking off with the exhibition WORK at 19 Jalan Berangan in January, this artists-initiated project culminated in the launch of our first RogueArt publication in October, in conjunction with the exhibition 10 Malaysian Artists:  Portraits From The Work Project by the book’s lead photographer Tara Sosrowardoyo at Zinc Art Space in KL. WORKING explores studio practice and artistic process through the experiences of Malaysian artists Ahmad Fuad Osman, Ahmad Shukri Mohamed, Ahmad Zakii Anwar, Chong Siew Ying, Hamir Soib, Jalaini Abu Hassan, Kow Leong Kiang, Raja Shahriman Raja Aziddin, Ramlan Abdullah and Yee I-Lann.

Yee I-Lann: Boogeyman: Fluid World

In collaboration with Valentine Willie Fine Art, we worked with Yee I-Lann on her landmark exhibition Boogeyman at the Black Box at MAP KL in September and her monograph Fluid World, which was launched at VWFA in November.

2010 also saw the launch of two publications we were involved in as text editors last year – Agus Suwage’s extraordinary monograph Still Crazy After all These Years in Jakarta in May and 30 Art Friends in Singapore in March. We helped the Malaysian Art Friends with an exhibition to coincide with the book’s Kuala Lumpur launch at the National Art Gallery in June.

All the above publications and more books on Southeast Asian art are now available at www.rogueish.asia, and at selected bookshops in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

Publications in progress

We are proud to announce that we have raised support for the full budget of RM360,000 for Narratives in Malaysian Art, an ambitious four-volume publication comprising republished texts, commissioned essays, and interviews on the development of visual art in Malaysia to be published by RogueArt through 2011 and 2012. We’d like to thank our sponsors Bangsar Village, Balai Seni Lukis Negara, Kenneth Tan, Gudang Damansara, Rosemary and Steve Wong, Malakoff Corporation Berhad, Tenaga Nasional Berhad, Avenue Invest Berhad, Helu-Trans (Singapore) Pte Ltd, and Khazanah Nasional Berhad for their corporate support, and the Krishen Jit-ASTRO Fund for their support, as well as the many Friends and benefactors of the project. The editorial team led by Nur Hanim Khairuddin and Beverly Yong, with Hasnul J Saidon and Eva McGovern are very excited as Volumes I and II begin to shape up. Do visit the NMA website for updates.

RogueArt are also thrilled to be working on an artist’s book for Eko Nugroho, to be published in Indonesia in the second half of 2011. This monograph will a present a number of landmark projects and works produced by this prolific artist over the past decade.

Sime Darby Epic Painting

In 2009, we assisted Sime Darby Berhad in commissioning three artists to work on an epic painting to celebrate its centennial this year. Ahmad Fuad Osman, Anurendra Jegadeva and Chuah Chong Yong are currently completing this 50 ft opus, which offers a dynamic visual interpretation of this company’s history and vision, at Wisma Sime Darby in KL as part of the company’s centennial exhibition.

‘So You Want To Be an Artist’

In June we organized a workshop in collaboration with House of Matahati (HOM) geared towards young artists starting out on a professional career. Artists and industry players offered practical advice and guidance on matters from how to pack an artwork to the ethics of gallery contracts.

Online material

We’ve recently uploaded the notes from Where Art Happens, our 2009 talks series on issues of art infrastructure focusing on the Malaysian scene but also looking to achievements and challenges in the region as a whole, as well as articles we’ve published as RogueArt, for the sadly now defunct Off the Edge magazine (including our “Where Art Happens” map of local art infrastructure), and “Cocktails Will Be Served”, our contribution to IVAA’s publication in progress on the art market boom and bust, Economy Class.

We’d like to wish all our friends and associates a wonderful start to 2011. We hope to see you in the New Year!

As promised, here’s the second installment of Eko Nugroho’s work in 3-d. This stunning bronze pair was a part of “It’s all about Coalition”, a project commissioned by the National Museum of Singapore earlier this April. Photo of the bronzes courtesy of National Museum of Singapore.

The two other images below are from “The Golden Years”, an installation consisting of over-sized golden skulls, embroidered flags and mural from the Sea Art Festival at Busan Biennale this year. This work is an absurd take on the turbulent years of Indonesia’s history. Eko is pictured in both photos as the shots were taken during set up.

One of RogueArt’s favourite artists and persons in the world, Eko Nugroho opened his latest solo exhibition at Galeri Semarang on November 8th. Woohoo! While we are sorry we couldn’t be there to cheer him on, we do however have images from the exhibition to share with everyone.

We want to adopt the green hippo.

A versatile artist who works across numerous disciplines and media, Eko began experimenting with 3-dimensional life-sized forms in 2007. Cast in polyurethane resin or bronze, the artist’s stable of part-man part-machine creatures and objects made their first public appearance at his solo exhibition with Ark Galerie in Jakarta in March 2008. They have also graced the Glass Atrium of the National of Museum of Singapore for a special project commission in April 2008 as well as the recent Sea Arts Festival at Busan Biennale 2008 in September. We’ll post more Eko pictures next week. Promise.

Trivia: The title of this exhibition is based on one of his large scale embroideries from 2007 at VWFA’s Project Room show, “In Wonderland”. Here’s an image of the embroidery during the set up.