Eight must-see art shows this month

Time & Place: A Rediscovery of Normality

Ends: 5 Dec
In these days of the modernist aesthetic, fans of narrative figurative painting should put this collection of contemporary Filipino painting on the top of their must-see list. Whether it’s for the detailed rendering of a bare-backed woman’s tattoo or children holding ice-cream cones, this show, comprising four Filipino artists’ attempts to capture fleeting moments on canvas, is a storyteller in and of itself. See here for more details.

Original Prints 2010

Ends: 5 Dec
Featuring a wide range of technically brilliant work, this is one of those shows you should catch before it goes, if not for Matthew Ivey’s awesome linocuts, then for Shubigi Rao’s ultra-sensitive etchings. Understated, and located in a modest printmaking studio established by artist Marissa Keller, each set of works sold in this show comes in a set of 15. See here for more details.

Face to Face: Portraiture in a Digital Age

Ends: 7 Dec
As contemporary art continues to push the boundaries of portraiture, this show examines how digital technology has changed the way we view ourselves. A group of 14 Australian artists have created portraits that include a 5m-high ‘prosthetic head’ projected onto a wall that’s able to have conversations with viewers, and passport photos reappropriated to envelop audiences. See here for more details.

The STPI Review

Ends: 30 Dec
Artists exhibited at the STPI’s shows collaborate with the institution to push the boundaries of work made both on and with paper. Whether you come as a buyer or viewer, works from practitioners such as Trenton Doyle Hancock and Hema Upadhyay are sure to impress. See here for more details.

Dis/placement:6

Ends: 16 Dec
Come to inspect work created by six Singapore-based Korean artists in this exhibition curated by Korean Art Professionals (KAP), which aims to bridge Korean and Singaporean visual cultures. Covering two galleries, the multidisciplinary work on view includes a colourful installation of amorphous forms resembling glass tongues, created by Sunsook Roh. See here for more details.

Getting to the Heart

Ends: 9 Jan
A solo exhibition by Belgian artist Saskia Pintelon, who has been living in Sri Lanka for 30 years and whose mixed-media drawings and paintings are inspired by her life in a country that is not her own. Utilising an almost violent mark-making technique combined with text, she creates works that are expressive, evocative and personal. See here for more details.

Thoughts of Gulag

Ends: 16 Jan
British artist James Holdsworth puts aside his penchant for the abstract paintings he has been creating for years, and returns in this solo exhibition to explore the history and psychology of labour camps, mainly through charcoal portraits depicting those who have experienced them. A prime example of social commentary combining with aesthetic value. See here for more details.

Trans-Cool Tokyo

Ends:16 Jan
If you have not already caught this blockbuster, don’t let this rare opportunity slip to catch some of Japan’s leading contemporary pop artists. Among them are Yayoi Kusama, who once polka-dotted the trees along Orchard Road during Singapore’s inaugural Biennale, and Yasumasa Morimura, known for inserting himself into famous paintings and celebrity portraits through photography. See here for more details.
This first appeared as 'Watching paint dry' (Dec 2010).