Of Human Bondage – a relationship with Nudes

Of Human Bondage – a relationship with Nudes

Of Human Bondage – A Relationship with Nudes

Presented by The Culture Story

January—June 2021

After a long hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, The Culture Story returned with an exhibition featuring works from the Chong Huai Seng Collection, many of which had never been publicly displayed. Centred on the theme of nudes, the exhibition presented 38 works by 22 artists from Asia and beyond, spanning paintings, drawings, sculptures, and mixed media.

The exhibition took its title from British playwright and novelist W. Somerset Maugham (1874–1965)’s semi-autobiographical novel Of Human Bondage, published in 1915.

“This exhibition reflect one aspect of my collecting interests over the past thirty years. Like Maugham in Bondage, I enjoysharing stories from my collecting journey—many personal, humorous, and, if I may say so, entirely memorable. This is not an essay about the artists but a chronicle of how and why I acquired their works. Of particular interest are rarely seen nude paintings by Singaporean artists, including early works by Lim Yew Kuan, Chua Mia Tee, Tang Da Wu, Wong Keen, Siew Hock Meng, Tan Chor Tee, Lee Boon Wang, and Teng Ngee Cheong.”

– Chong Huai Seng

The exhibition is accompanied by an essay written by Mr Chong. A Chinese copy of the essay (translated by Jocelyn Koh) can be found here.

Artists:

Agus Suwage, Armando Amaya, Ben Cabrera, Chen Junde, Chloe Ho, Chua Mia Tee, Fu Lei, Greg James, Huang Lijuan, Kathy McNally, Lee Boon Wang, Liu Bing Jiang, Long Rui, Rajesh Kargutkar, Robert Kipniss, Siew Hock Meng, Sydney Harpley, Tan Choh Tee, Tang Da Wu, Teng Nee Cheong, Tew Nai Tong, Wong Keen

Installation View