The inaugural exhibition at The Culture Story was launched over two weekends, on 17-18 June and 24-25 June 2017. The exhibition is titled “The Unbearable Lightness of Being”, after Milan Kundera’s seminal novel published in 1984. It was an exposition of the founders’ belief that art can be a great connector of people and a reflector of our society. In the same way that Kundera’s literary classic articulated themes of life particular to the context of Czechoslovakia between 1960-70s, the founders believe that artists create works that are signifiers of their time.
The exhibition showcased thirteen abstract expressionist artists from Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, China and the Philippines. Embedded within each work, is first and foremost the stories of individuals. The artists are mostly in their senior years of practice and are known for their mixed media and abstract works. They represent the second generation of pioneer modern and contemporary artists from each of their countries. Most, if not all, have spent many years of their lives, studying and working overseas in places like Australia, London, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Florence, Taiwan, Japan, China and Malaysia. Some have lived through their own version of Prague Spring (1968), like the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) in China, while others have endured dictatorships in the Philippines and Taiwan.
Regardless of their choice of artistic language or unique approach to art-making, their rich experiences combined with their artistic talents have produced the kind of works which the founders believe will speak to and can resonate with an international audience of art lovers and collectors.
List of Artists Exhibited
Anthony Chua, Augusto Albor, Han Sai Por, Hong Sek Chern, Hsiao Chin, Iskandar Jalil, Leo Hee Tong, Jolly Koh, Liang Quan, Shi Jin Dian, Wong Keen, Yu Teng-Chuan, Zhuang Sheng Tao
