Art Seasons

Art Seasons Contemporary & Fine Art Gallery
Art Advisory & Art Collection ART SEASONS is founded in September 2001 by Terry Lee, an ardent art fan and collector.

With our initial mission in mind: to explore and to promote contemporary Chinese and Asia art, Art Seasons has been dedicated to presenting talented Asian artists for more than ten years. Now, as one of the pioneers in the field to represent emerging contemporary Chinese and Asia artists, Art Seasons has gained a reputation as one of the most important galleries in Contemporary Asian art, and especially in contemporary Chinese art. Placing strong emphasis in showcasing new and interesting work, Art Seasons has come to be associated with only the best of contemporary Asian Art. With a particular interest in the contemporary visual arts of China, we were one of the first galleries in Singapore to promote contemporary Chinese work. We have since carved our niche in this area. Now, the public looks to us to introduce them to the forerunners of the contemporary Chinese art scene. The discovery, promotion, and support of young Asian artists have always been critical to our success. Many young contemporary artists, for example, Chen Ke, Feng Zhengjie, Zhang Peng, Chi Peng, Yim Taekyu, David Chan and Phunk, who started with Art Seasons, continue to evolve and develop with and with other galleries. Many of these artists have gone on to be recognized by the international art community, auction houses and are cherished by collectors and art institutions.

πŸ”Ž π‚πŽππ…π„π‘π„ππ‚π„ π’ππŽπ“π‹πˆπ†π‡π“ #7 | π‘πžπŸπ«πšπ¦π’π§π  𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐒𝐯𝐞𝐬: π€π¬π’πšπ§ 𝐀𝐫𝐭 π‡π’π¬π­π¨π«π’πžπ¬ π‚π¨π§πŸπžπ«πžπ§πœπž πŸπŸŽπŸπŸ”π‘Ύπ’‰π’‚π’• π’Šπ’‡ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’”π’‚π’Žπ’–π’“π’‚π’Š 𝒄𝒐𝒅𝒆 π’˜π’† π’Œπ’π’π’˜ 𝒕...
15/09/2026

πŸ”Ž π‚πŽππ…π„π‘π„ππ‚π„ π’ππŽπ“π‹πˆπ†π‡π“ #7 | π‘πžπŸπ«πšπ¦π’π§π  𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐒𝐯𝐞𝐬: π€π¬π’πšπ§ 𝐀𝐫𝐭 π‡π’π¬π­π¨π«π’πžπ¬ π‚π¨π§πŸπžπ«πžπ§πœπž πŸπŸŽπŸπŸ”

𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 π’Šπ’‡ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’”π’‚π’Žπ’–π’“π’‚π’Š 𝒄𝒐𝒅𝒆 π’˜π’† π’Œπ’π’π’˜ π’•π’π’…π’‚π’š π’˜π’‚π’” 𝒏𝒐𝒕 π’‚π’π’„π’Šπ’†π’π’• π’•π’“π’‚π’…π’Šπ’•π’Šπ’π’, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒂 π’Žπ’π’…π’†π’“π’ π’Šπ’π’—π’†π’π’•π’Šπ’π’?

π‘Šπ‘œπ‘œπ‘‘π‘π‘™π‘œπ‘π‘˜ π‘ƒπ‘Ÿπ‘–π‘›π‘‘π‘  π‘Žπ‘›π‘‘ π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π½π‘Žπ‘π‘Žπ‘›π‘’π‘ π‘’ π‘€π‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘‘π‘–π‘Žπ‘™ 𝐼𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑑𝑦, presented by Jenevieve Kok

Just as Mount Fuji stands as symbolic of Japan’s national identity, so too does π‘π‘’π‘ β„Žπ‘–π‘‘π‘œΜ„ as emblematic of the Japanese warrior. Commonly understood to mean β€˜the way of the warrior’, π‘π‘’π‘ β„Žπ‘–π‘‘π‘œΜ„ is popularly believed to have been a guiding moral code for the samurai, feudal Japan’s warrior class. However, evidence, or lack thereof, suggests that π‘π‘’π‘ β„Žπ‘–π‘‘π‘œΜ„ was more of an invented tradition rather than an ethic ingrained into the consciousness of the warriors of feudal Japan. It was a concept that was constructed, adapted, and mobilised for a rapidly modernising Japan.

This presentation examines the expression and construction of Japan’s martial identity through a genre of woodblock prints called π‘ π‘’π‘›π‘ π‘œ-𝑒 (β€˜war prints’). Depicted with the distinct perspective of a newly unified, rapidly modernising nation, these prints are focused on the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895) and the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905). While these prints provide a lens through which to understand how the Japanese saw themselves, especially in relation to the foreign β€˜other’, they also function as active site through which martial identity was produced, aestheticised, and adapted towards nationalist ends. This presentation also explores how the visual language of the preceding π‘šπ‘’π‘ β„Žπ‘Ž-𝑒 (β€˜warrior prints’) influenced the Meiji Period prints. Where π‘šπ‘’π‘ β„Žπ‘Ž-𝑒 established artistic foundations through its nostalgic, restrained imagery of the samurai as a figure of honour and virtue, π‘ π‘’π‘›π‘ π‘œ-𝑒 translated that legacy into something direct and propagandistic. Through a close analysis these artworks, this presentation uncovers the evolution of Japan’s martial identity and understand the role it has played in shaping Japan’s national identity.

πŸ“… Saturday, 26 September 2026
πŸ• 1:00–6:00 pm
πŸ“ LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore
🎟 FREE TO ATTEND
A S$10 refundable attendance deposit is required to reserve a place.

Come along, hear the research firsthand, and join the conversation about how we can continue to expand and deepen the study of Asian art histories.

LASALLE College of the Arts






πŸ”Ž π‚πŽππ…π„π‘π„ππ‚π„ π’ππŽπ“π‹πˆπ†π‡π“ #6 | π‘πžπŸπ«πšπ¦π’π§π  𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐒𝐯𝐞𝐬: π€π¬π’πšπ§ 𝐀𝐫𝐭 π‡π’π¬π­π¨π«π’πžπ¬ π‚π¨π§πŸπžπ«πžπ§πœπž πŸπŸŽπŸπŸ”π‘Ύπ’‰π’‚π’• 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒔 π’˜π’‰π’†π’ 𝒂𝒏 π’‚π’π’„π’Šπ’†π’π’• π’”π’„π’“π’Šπ’‘...
10/09/2026

πŸ”Ž π‚πŽππ…π„π‘π„ππ‚π„ π’ππŽπ“π‹πˆπ†π‡π“ #6 | π‘πžπŸπ«πšπ¦π’π§π  𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐒𝐯𝐞𝐬: π€π¬π’πšπ§ 𝐀𝐫𝐭 π‡π’π¬π­π¨π«π’πžπ¬ π‚π¨π§πŸπžπ«πžπ§πœπž πŸπŸŽπŸπŸ”

𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒔 π’˜π’‰π’†π’ 𝒂𝒏 π’‚π’π’„π’Šπ’†π’π’• π’”π’„π’“π’Šπ’‘π’• π’ƒπ’†π’„π’π’Žπ’†π’” 𝒂 𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒍 𝒇𝒐𝒓 π’’π’–π’†π’”π’•π’Šπ’π’π’Šπ’π’ˆ π’Šπ’…π’†π’π’•π’Šπ’•π’š, π’‘π’π’π’Šπ’•π’Šπ’„π’” 𝒂𝒏𝒅 π’ƒπ’†π’π’π’π’ˆπ’Šπ’π’ˆ?

πΆβ„Žπ‘Ÿπ‘œπ‘›π‘œπ‘‘π‘’π‘₯π‘‘π‘’π‘Žπ‘™ π‘…π‘’π‘π‘‘π‘’π‘Ÿπ‘’π‘ : π‘…π‘’π‘–π‘šπ‘Žπ‘”π‘–π‘›π‘–π‘›π‘” π½π‘Žπ‘€π‘– 𝑖𝑛 πΆπ‘œπ‘›π‘‘π‘’π‘šπ‘π‘œπ‘Ÿπ‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘¦ π‘π‘’π‘ π‘Žπ‘›π‘‘π‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘Ž π΄π‘Ÿπ‘‘, presented by Adin Rashid

This paper examines how contemporary Nusantara artists mobilise Jawi script to negotiate contemporary sociopolitical concerns including q***r identities, ethnonationalist anxieties, language politics, racial prejudice, and Islamophobic discourse.

Once the primary writing system across the Malay Archipelago, or Nusantara, Jawi today is often reduced to a cultural marker of Malay-Muslim identity, or confined to decorative, nostalgic, or heritage-oriented functions. While existing studies have largely examined the script through its religious, cultural, and postcolonial associations, less attention has been given to how contemporary artists reactivate Jawi as a medium through which its historical meanings are renegotiated within present realities.

Drawing on Reinhart Koselleck’s concepts of β€œspace of experience” and β€œhorizon of expectation,” alongside Dipesh Chakrabarty and Keith Moxey’s theories of heterotemporality, Jawi is approached as a temporal structure through which inherited histories, contemporary concerns, and future possibilities intersect. While these frameworks illuminate the coexistence of multiple temporalities across historical and visual contexts, they do not fully account for how script itself mediates temporal encounters and instabilities. Through formal and contextual analyses of artworks by Ezzam Rahman (Singapore), Tan Zi Hao (Malaysia), and Arahmaiani (Indonesia), the paper proposes the concept of β€œchronotextual ruptures” to describe moments in which historical associations embedded within the script encounter present realities, revealing the coexistence of multiple temporalities and in turn, opening up speculative future imaginaries beyond dominant historical, cultural, and political narratives.

πŸ“… Saturday, 26 September 2026
πŸ• 1:00–6:00 pm
πŸ“ LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore
🎟 FREE TO ATTEND
A S$10 refundable attendance deposit is required to reserve a place.

Come along, hear the research firsthand, and join the conversation about how we can continue to expand and deepen the study of Asian art histories.

LASALLE College of the Arts
@





Theresa Tan Art Galleries Association Singapore SOUTHEAST OF NOW: Directions in Contemporary and Modern Art in Asia MA Asian Art Histories - Lasalle College of the Arts LASALLE College of the Arts

Than Htay’s solo exhibition, Untitled – Memory and the Reimagining of Homeland, at Art Seasons GalleryThan Htay’s β€œUntit...
03/09/2026

Than Htay’s solo exhibition, Untitled – Memory and the Reimagining of Homeland, at Art Seasons Gallery

Than Htay’s β€œUntitled”transcend national identity to address universal questions concerning belonging, displacement and hope. They remind us that landscapes need not describe physical terrain; they may instead chart emotional and ethical worlds. His imagined Myanmar is neither nostalgic fantasy nor political manifesto. Rather, it is an act of cultural preservation through imagination, where painting becomes a space in which peace can still be envisioned even when reality appears fractured.

In this series of works, Than Htay transforms abstraction into an instrument of remembrance and reconciliation. Every brushstroke resist despair, every colour suggests renewal, and every imagined landscape preserves the possibility of a homeland yet to be realised. Seen through the eyes of a diaspora artist, Myanmar becomes not merely a place left behind but a continually evolving vision sustained by memory, compassion and unwavering hope.

E-catalogue https://qrco.de/ThanHtay2026

Art Seasons 25th Anniversary Event

Co-presented by Myanmar Ahla Art

An event of SIngapore Gallery Month.

Art Seasons
50 Genting Lane, Cideco Industrial Complex, #03-02.
Singapore 349558.

Art Galleries Association Singapore

πŸ”Ž π‚πŽππ…π„π‘π„ππ‚π„ π’ππŽπ“π‹πˆπ†π‡π“ #5 | π‘πžπŸπ«πšπ¦π’π§π  𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐒𝐯𝐞𝐬: π€π¬π’πšπ§ 𝐀𝐫𝐭 π‡π’π¬π­π¨π«π’πžπ¬ π‚π¨π§πŸπžπ«πžπ§πœπž πŸπŸŽπŸπŸ”π‘Ύπ’‰π’‚π’• 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒔 π’˜π’‰π’†π’ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’π’‡π’‡π’Šπ’„π’Šπ’‚π’ 𝒂𝒓𝒄...
02/09/2026

πŸ”Ž π‚πŽππ…π„π‘π„ππ‚π„ π’ππŽπ“π‹πˆπ†π‡π“ #5 | π‘πžπŸπ«πšπ¦π’π§π  𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐒𝐯𝐞𝐬: π€π¬π’πšπ§ 𝐀𝐫𝐭 π‡π’π¬π­π¨π«π’πžπ¬ π‚π¨π§πŸπžπ«πžπ§πœπž πŸπŸŽπŸπŸ”

𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒔 π’˜π’‰π’†π’ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’π’‡π’‡π’Šπ’„π’Šπ’‚π’ π’‚π’“π’„π’‰π’Šπ’—π’† π’‡π’‚π’Šπ’π’” 𝒕𝒐 π’“π’†π’Žπ’†π’Žπ’ƒπ’†π’“?

𝐿𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 π΄π‘Ÿπ‘β„Žπ‘–π‘£π‘’π‘ : π΄π‘™π‘‘π‘’π‘Ÿπ‘›π‘Žπ‘‘π‘–π‘£π‘’ πΉπ‘’π‘šπ‘–π‘›π‘–π‘ π‘‘ πΌπ‘›π‘“π‘Ÿπ‘Žπ‘ π‘‘π‘Ÿπ‘’π‘π‘‘π‘’π‘Ÿπ‘’π‘  𝑖𝑛 π‘†π‘œπ‘’π‘‘β„Žπ‘’π‘Žπ‘ π‘‘ π΄π‘ π‘–π‘Žπ‘› π΄π‘Ÿπ‘‘, presented by Krystina Lyon

In the absence of adequate institutional recognition and preservation, Southeast Asian women artists and their advocates have developed alternative infrastructures of memory that include artist collectives, oral histories, living archives, collecting practice and educational networks to preserve and transit marginalised histories. Although there is evidence of improvement in the recognition and contribution by contemporary women artists to Southeast Asian art histories with more group and solo exhibitions included in both institutional and gallery programming there is still an urgent need to ensure that women artists do not remain unseen, unheard and unacknowledged in the region.

Informal quantitative research within a group of Singapore and Malaysian art galleries for instance, indicate that representation and inclusion of women artists is only 1/3 that of male artists. Lyon concluded her 2020 MA thesis about women’s art collectives in Southeast Asia by exhorting a new generation of art historians to continue investigating other strategies used by women artists to navigate the lingering patriarchy that still exists in the contemporary artworld where male artists are disproportionately represented in institutions, galleries and collections.

Lyon's focus had been the collective format as demonstrated by the transnational collective, Womanifesto based in Thailand and the local Filipino collective, πΎπ‘Žπ‘ π‘–π‘π‘’π‘™π‘Žπ‘›. The interview transcripts in her thesis about the collectives’ respective journeys provide oral histories (made more poignant by the recent passing of prominent Filipino artist and educator Brenda Fajardo) that are strong examples of these alternative feminist infrastructures for women and other marginalised groups who continue to struggle for recognition and acknowledgment.

πŸ“… Saturday, 26 September 2026
πŸ• 1:00–6:00 pm
πŸ“ LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore
🎟 FREE TO ATTEND
A S$10 refundable attendance deposit is required to reserve a place.

πŸ‘‰ Reserve your seat:
https://lnkd.in/gyA_ddZM

Come along, hear the research firsthand, and join the conversation about how we can continue to expand and deepen the study of Asian art histories.

LASALLE College of the Arts







Theresa Tan Art Galleries Association Singapore MA Asian Art Histories - Lasalle College of the Arts SOUTHEAST OF NOW: Directions in Contemporary and Modern Art in Asia LASALLE College of the Arts

πŸ”Ž π‚πŽππ…π„π‘π„ππ‚π„ π’ππŽπ“π‹πˆπ†π‡π“ #πŸ’ | π‘πžπŸπ«πšπ¦π’π§π  𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐒𝐯𝐞𝐬: π€π¬π’πšπ§ 𝐀𝐫𝐭 π‡π’π¬π­π¨π«π’πžπ¬ π‚π¨π§πŸπžπ«πžπ§πœπž πŸπŸŽπŸπŸ”π‘Ύπ’‰π’‚π’• π’Šπ’Žπ’‚π’ˆπ’†π’” 𝒅𝒐 π’˜π’† 𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 π’Šπ’Žπ’‚π’ˆπ’Šπ’π’† 𝑴...
31/08/2026

πŸ”Ž π‚πŽππ…π„π‘π„ππ‚π„ π’ππŽπ“π‹πˆπ†π‡π“ #πŸ’ | π‘πžπŸπ«πšπ¦π’π§π  𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐒𝐯𝐞𝐬: π€π¬π’πšπ§ 𝐀𝐫𝐭 π‡π’π¬π­π¨π«π’πžπ¬ π‚π¨π§πŸπžπ«πžπ§πœπž πŸπŸŽπŸπŸ”

𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 π’Šπ’Žπ’‚π’ˆπ’†π’” 𝒅𝒐 π’˜π’† 𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 π’Šπ’Žπ’‚π’ˆπ’Šπ’π’† π‘΄π’‚π’π’‚π’šπ’”π’Šπ’‚β€”π’‚π’π’… π’˜π’‰π’ π’ˆπ’†π’•π’” π’Šπ’π’„π’π’–π’…π’†π’… π’Šπ’ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’‘π’Šπ’„π’•π’–π’“π’†?

π‘‡π‘œ π‘ƒπ‘–π‘π‘‘π‘’π‘Ÿπ‘’ π‘Ž π‘π‘Žπ‘‘π‘–π‘œπ‘›: π‘‡β„Žπ‘’ π‘…π‘’π‘π‘Ÿπ‘’π‘ π‘’π‘›π‘‘π‘Žπ‘‘π‘–π‘œπ‘› π‘œπ‘“ π‘€π‘Žπ‘™π‘Žπ‘¦π‘ π‘–π‘Žπ‘› 𝐼𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑑𝑦 𝑖𝑛 𝑆𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑑𝑒𝑑 π‘ƒβ„Žπ‘œπ‘‘π‘œπ‘šπ‘’π‘‘π‘–π‘Ž π‘Šπ‘œπ‘Ÿπ‘˜ π‘“π‘Ÿπ‘œπ‘š π‘Œπ‘’π‘’ 𝐼-πΏπ‘Žπ‘›π‘›, presented by Sheryl Lynne Tan

This paper investigates themes of Malaysian identity and the imagined Malaysian community through selected works from Yee I-Lann’s photomedia practice, π‘‡β„Žπ‘Ÿπ‘œπ‘’π‘”β„Ž π‘…π‘œπ‘ π‘’ πΆπ‘œπ‘™π‘œπ‘’π‘Ÿπ‘’π‘‘ πΊπ‘™π‘Žπ‘ π‘ π‘’π‘  (2002), the π‘€π‘Žπ‘™π‘Žπ‘¦π‘ π‘–π‘Žπ‘›π‘Ž series (2002), and the π‘…π‘Žπ‘ π‘Ž π‘†π‘Žπ‘¦π‘Žπ‘›π‘” series (2012-2021).

Malaysia is a multi-ethnic and multi-religious plural society that continues to grapple with issues of identity. Sabahan artist Yee explores ideas of identity and the imagined community through the use of found studio photographs and crowdsourced photographs in her work that pictures the imagined Malaysian community.

This paper situates Yee’s works in the sociopolitical contexts in which they were created, discusses the strategies that Yee uses in her work as well as examines the impact that curatorial intent and the exhibitionary context have on the reading of Malaysian identity and the imagined Malaysian community in the selected works from Yee’s practice.

πŸ“… Saturday, 26 September 2026
πŸ• 1:00–6:00 pm
πŸ“ LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore
🎟 FREE TO ATTEND
A S$10 refundable attendance deposit is required to reserve a place.

πŸ‘‰ Reserve your seat: [email protected]

Come along, hear the research firsthand, and join the conversation about how we can continue to expand and deepen the study of Asian art histories.

MA Asian Art Histories - Lasalle College of the Arts LASALLE College of the Arts







Theresa Tan MA Asian Art Histories - Lasalle College of the Arts LASALLE College of the Arts Art Galleries Association Singapore SOUTHEAST OF NOW: Directions in Contemporary and Modern Art in Asia Jeffrey Say

27/08/2026

Art Up Close with PHUNK video presented by Art Seasons and Art Galleries Association Singapore (AGAS) for the on going Singapore Gallery Month.

Catch PHUNK in the coming β€œPop after Pop: Art around Us” in the National Gallery Singapore. β€œPop after Pop: Art around Us” will be the largest group exhibition of Pop Art and its legacy ever staged in Southeast Asia. Opening on 11 December 2026, this blockbuster exhibition brings together more than 200 artworks by over 100 artists primarily from Southeast Asia and the United States, extending across four exhibitions and various public spaces throughout the Gallery. Pop after Pop: Art around Us is presented by National Gallery Singapore, and organised in collaboration with the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation in New York.

Through iconic works, larger-than-life installations and all things pop culture, β€œPop after Pop: Art around Us” invites visitors to discover how artists transformed images, objects and experiences from everyday life into powerful reflections of the societies around them. Highlights include works by renowned artists such as Roy Lichtenstein (US), Andy Warhol (US), and Barbara Kruger (US), alongside leading Southeast Asian artists including PHUNK (Singapore), Antipas Delotavo (Philippines), FX Harsono (Indonesia) and Manit Sriwanichpoom (Thailand).

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum fans

πŸ”Ž π‚πŽππ…π„π‘π„ππ‚π„ π’ππŽπ“π‹πˆπ†π‡π“ #πŸ‘ | π‘πžπŸπ«πšπ¦π’π§π  𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐒𝐯𝐞𝐬: π€π¬π’πšπ§ 𝐀𝐫𝐭 π‡π’π¬π­π¨π«π’πžπ¬ π‚π¨π§πŸπžπ«πžπ§πœπž πŸπŸŽπŸπŸ”π‘Ύπ’‰π’†π’ 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔 π’„π’‚π’π’π’Šπ’ˆπ’“π’‚π’‘π’‰π’š 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒑 π’ƒπ’†π’Šπ’π’ˆ π’˜...
25/08/2026

πŸ”Ž π‚πŽππ…π„π‘π„ππ‚π„ π’ππŽπ“π‹πˆπ†π‡π“ #πŸ‘ | π‘πžπŸπ«πšπ¦π’π§π  𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐒𝐯𝐞𝐬: π€π¬π’πšπ§ 𝐀𝐫𝐭 π‡π’π¬π­π¨π«π’πžπ¬ π‚π¨π§πŸπžπ«πžπ§πœπž πŸπŸŽπŸπŸ”

𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔 π’„π’‚π’π’π’Šπ’ˆπ’“π’‚π’‘π’‰π’š 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒑 π’ƒπ’†π’Šπ’π’ˆ π’˜π’“π’Šπ’•π’Šπ’π’ˆ 𝒂𝒏𝒅 π’ƒπ’†π’„π’π’Žπ’† π’Žπ’π’…π’†π’“π’ 𝒂𝒓𝒕?

π‘Šβ„Žπ‘’π‘› π‘†β„Žπ‘œ π΅π‘’π‘π‘Žπ‘šπ‘’ π‘€π‘œπ‘‘π‘’π‘Ÿπ‘›: π΅π‘œπ‘˜π‘’π‘—π‘–π‘›π‘˜π‘Žπ‘–, π‘€π‘œπ‘Ÿπ‘–π‘‘π‘Ž π‘†β„Žπ‘–π‘Ÿπ‘¦π‘’, π‘Žπ‘›π‘‘ π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘‡π‘Ÿπ‘Žπ‘›π‘ π‘π‘Žπ‘π‘–π‘“π‘–π‘ π‘…π‘’π‘“π‘Ÿπ‘Žπ‘šπ‘–π‘›π‘” π‘œπ‘“ π½π‘Žπ‘π‘Žπ‘›π‘’π‘ π‘’ πΆπ‘Žπ‘™π‘™π‘–π‘”π‘Ÿπ‘Žπ‘β„Žπ‘–π‘ π΄π‘π‘ π‘‘π‘Ÿπ‘Žπ‘π‘‘π‘–π‘œπ‘› (1951–1970), presented by Agnes Tan Ee Boon

Postwar Japanese calligraphy is often positioned between two limiting frames: as a continuation of traditional East Asian writing culture, or as a local response to Euro-American abstraction. This paper proposes a different reading by examining how π΅π‘œπ‘˜π‘’π‘—π‘–π‘›π‘˜π‘Žπ‘– and Morita ShiryΕ« transformed π‘ β„Žπ‘œ from a discipline of script into a modern visual language capable of participating in international abstraction. Focusing on the period from 1951 to 1970, the paper argues that Japanese avant-garde calligraphy did not merely imitate abstract painting. Rather, it reframed calligraphy itself as an experimental field where writing, image, gesture, materiality, and artistic agency converged.

Through Morita’s practice and the group’s broader activities, calligraphy was reimagined beyond legibility and inherited script conventions. The written character became a visual event: a mark that could retain traces of language while also functioning as form, movement, surface, and embodied action.

Methodologically, the paper combines visual analysis, exhibition history, and art-historical contextualisation. It reads Morita’s calligraphic abstraction not as a marginal supplement to painting, but as a serious contribution to Asian modernism and global abstraction. In doing so, it contributes to the reframing of Asian art histories by showing how postwar Japanese calligraphy challenged the boundary between writing and painting, tradition and modernity, Asia and the international avant-garde. Ultimately, the paper argues that sho became modern when the calligraphic mark ceased to function only as writing and emerged as a transpacific language of abstraction.

πŸ“… Saturday, 26 September 2026
πŸ• 1:00–6:00 pm
πŸ“ LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore
🎟 FREE TO ATTEND
A S$10 refundable attendance deposit is required to reserve a place.

πŸ‘‰ Reserve your seat:
https://forasianarthistories2026.peatix.com/

Come along, hear the research firsthand, and join the conversation about how we can continue to expand and deepen the study of Asian art histories.

LASALLE College of the Arts



Theresa Tan Art Galleries Association Singapore MA Asian Art Histories - Lasalle College of the Arts SOUTHEAST OF NOW: Directions in Contemporary and Modern Art in Asia

TICKETING CONDITIONSThe conference is a community-led initiative and will be free to atten... powered by Peatix : More than a ticket.

Come join Theresa Tan as she takes you on a visual reading and tour of From Landscape to Abstraction: The Visual Languag...
24/08/2026

Come join Theresa Tan as she takes you on a visual reading and tour of From Landscape to Abstraction: The Visual Language of Than Htay on 6 September 2026, 2 pm to 4 pm, at ART SEASONS Gallery.

RSVP: https://tinyurl.com/thanhtay060926

What happens when a landscape becomes an abstraction? When colour becomes the subject rather than a description of nature? And when a painting that looks spontaneous reveals a carefully constructed visual language?

This talk offers a close visual reading of the paintings of Myanmar artist Than Htay (b. 1958, Yangon), examining how he moves between lyrical landscapes, fragmented imagery, geometric abstraction and gestural painting.

About Theresa Tan:
Theresa Tan is a member of the UK’s Association for Art History, as well as a qualified appraiser of the International Society of Appraisers (ISA). She holds a Master of Arts (Distinction) in Asian Art Histories from Goldsmiths, University of London.

ART SEASONS 25th Anniversary Event

Co-presented by Myanmar Ahla Gallery

An event of Art Galleries Association Singapore (AGAS), Singapore Gallery Month

ART SEASONS
50 Genting Lane, Cideco Industrial Complex, #03-02
Singapore 349558.

Art Galleries Association SG

Thank you all for coming! Art Seasons celebrates its 25th Anniversary with the opening of the first special exhibition. ...
23/08/2026

Thank you all for coming!

Art Seasons celebrates its 25th Anniversary with the opening of the first special exhibition.

Than Htay’s solo exhibition, Untitled – Memory and the Reimagining of Homeland.

Co-presented by Myanmar Ahla Gallery

Than Htay’s β€œUntitled” transcend national identity to address universal questions concerning belonging, displacement and hope. They remind us that landscapes need not describe physical terrain; they may instead chart emotional and ethical worlds. His imagined Myanmar is neither nostalgic fantasy nor political manifesto. Rather, it is an act of cultural preservation through imagination, where painting becomes a space in which peace can still be envisioned even when reality appears fractured.

In this series of works, Than Htay transforms abstraction into an instrument of remembrance and reconciliation. Every brushstroke resist despair, every colour suggests renewal, and every imagined landscape preserves the possibility of a homeland yet to be realised. Seen through the eyes of a diaspora artist, Myanmar becomes not merely a place left behind but a continually evolving vision sustained by memory, compassion and unwavering

An event of Art Galleries Association Singapore Singapore Gallery Month.

Art Seasons
50 Genting Lane, Cideco Industrial Complex, #03-02
Singapore 349558.

Art Galleries Association SG Singapore Gallery Month

Address

50 Genting Lane, #03-02, Cideco Industrial Complex
Singapore
349558

Opening Hours

Wednesday 11:00 - 18:00
Thursday 11:00 - 18:00
Friday 11:00 - 18:00
Saturday 12:00 - 18:00

Telephone

+6567416366

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Art Seasons posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Establishment

Send a message to Art Seasons:

Shortcuts

Share

Category