Five galleries to meet in Singapore

Audrey Yeo started her career as a gallery actor in London before returning to Singapore in 2013 when she held a YEO workshop at Gillman Barracks in Gillman, which has recently transformed into an arts complex. Over the past decade, she said, she has built a gallery known for representing Southeast Asian artists whose works “combined powerful craftsmanship with compelling human stories.” These include Balinese artist Citra Sasmita, Malaysian painter Anum, Indonesian artist Maryanto and Singapore’s Wei Leng Tay.

The YEO workshop also gained reputation for its initiative to host more than just exhibitions. The gallery is currently being marked by “Holding (Space)”, the exhibition is Aki Hassan, Justin Loke, Marcin Dudek, and more.

As chairman of the Singapore Gallery Association, YEO is also responsible for Singapore Gallery Month, where she played a role in the Southeast Asian Digital Artist Next Generation Art Awards for Sea Focus Art Fair and Julius Baer in Singapore. “The art world in Singapore is still emerging, so all players have enough space to develop and develop needs,” Yeo said. “Each gallery plays an important role in building a stronger and more dynamic art ecosystem.”

Stephanie Fong was trained as a lawyer before following the true call of art and remained remote in Singapore’s art world in 2006. Since then, starting at a museum near the Singapore River, it has developed into one of Southeast Asia’s most advanced contemporary art spaces, now headquartered in the Gillman barracks. From the very beginning, Fang’s vision was artist-oriented. “We have no limits on medium, style, themes. More importantly, we work with artists who are committed to making art a career and expressing themselves with their own real visual language.”

Advocate champions have voices from Singapore like John Clang, Grace Tan, Wyn-Lyn Tan, Donna Ong and Ian Woo, while also cultivating emerging names like Jon Chan and Lavender Chang. International artists, such as Phi Phi Oanh from Vietnam and Adeel Uz Zafar from Pakistan, enrich the gallery’s diverse lineup. Apart from exhibitions, FOST is known for its artists’ speeches, academic publications and emphasis on long-term relationships. As Fang said, “It is very important for me to find meaning in what I do.”

Founded in 2023 by Christia Haridas of the experienced Singapore Gallery, Haridas has quickly become a crucial springboard for emerging and mid-Singapore Singaporean and Singaporean artists along with artists from elsewhere in Southeast Asia. Haridas has nearly two decades of experience from leading institutions such as STPI, Gajah Gallery and Richard Koh Fine Art, which brings both a broad market knowledge and an individual commitment to developing talent. The gallery’s roster includes artists Melissa Tan, Jeremy Sharma, Esmond Loh and John Marie Andrada.

Haridas said the gallery’s artist development model was intentionally long-term, sleuing promising graduates from La Salle Academy of Art and the South South Fine Arts Academy of Singapore’s top art schools. The gallery then usually provides them with a location for a group exhibition that can develop into solo exhibitions and potential representatives. Haridas contemporary also provides artists with guidance to balance career aspirations with the financial reality of Singaporean life. “I have a personal sense of responsibility to leverage my skills and help Singaporean artists navigate the commercial aspects of the visual arts, especially fresh graduates,” Haridas said.

Now based in Tanjong Pagar Distripark Art Hub, Haridas’s contemporary Haridas first attended Art SG earlier this year, with his mission to grow with Singapore’s young contemporary art community and “create a faith” in the Singapore art market.

Despite having a master’s degree in physics and establishing a technical career, including a match at Amazon, Spanish art collector Kevin Troyano Cuturi was associated with the art world in 2019 when he opened the gallery of the same name in 2019. He told him: “I have no prior experience and I am learning at work. To this day, we are still learning.” Artnews. Cuturi Gallery is now known for showing a new generation of Singaporean and international artists, representing the likes of Aisha Rosli, Khairulddin Wahab and Shen Jiaqi. The gallery also strives to enhance the image of international artists, just like it worked for Singaporean painter Faris Heizer, his first solo show in the United States when it collaborated with Michael Kohn Gallery in 2023.

Located in a conservative restaurant in Kampung Gorgeous Arts District, Cuturi Gallery also runs residents who end up in their personal speech for in-house residents of local and overseas artists. In addition, it held a series of satellite exhibitions in London in 2022 and plans to have a permanent European outpost by 2026. The Residence Program is accompanied by an initiative modeled with a technology incubator, which was established in a technology incubator where artists and artists at the gallery get guidance and resources like artistic materials.

“I like to think of relationships with artists,” Cuturi said. “There should be a shared vision in an environment of trust and complicity. If both parties are synchronized, it is a very powerful arrangement. The key is to have a long-term approach.”

This year, Sullivan + strumpf celebrates its 20th anniversary, a milestone that underlines its influence as one of the leading contemporary art galleries in the Asia-Pacific. It was founded in Sydney in 2005 by Ursula Sullivan and Joanna Strumpf, expanded to Singapore in 2016, opened at Gilman Barracks and became the first Australian gallery to establish a permanent Australian presence in Asia. The gallery hosts 30 exhibitions a year in the spaces in Singapore, Sydney and Melbourne and represents nearly 50 artists at all stages of its career, including Dawn Ng, Irfan Hendrian, Kanchana Gupta and Lindy Lee. It also hosts online-only exhibitions and publishes quarterly magazines. Last July, it moved to the Tiong Bahru community, a region known for Art Deco architecture, street art, independent bookstores and stylish cafes.

“In all areas of our operations, we seek to create an inclusive and tempting atmosphere,” Strumpf told Artnews. “In the end, it’s just about welcome, keeping relationships and good communication.”