from established names, but also gave visitors the change to admire the works of young and emerging artists, offering the unique opportunity to discover future stars of the art world.

Indonesian artists represented at the fair included Fx Harsono, Rudi Mantofani and I Nyoman Masriadi, together with leading Asian contemporary artists such as Ai Weiwei (China), Jitish Kallat (India), Hyungkoo Kang (South Korea), Li Hui (China), Yoshitomo Nara (Japan) and many more. New and emerging artists’ works were showcased through Project Stage, a platform dedicated to young galleries and artists actively engaged in nurturing up-and-coming talents. Some of the galleries represented were Galerie Grand Siecle (Taipei), Megumi Ogita Gallery (Tokyo), ONE AND J. Gallery (Seoul), PLATFORM3 (Bandung), Shrine Empire Gallery (New Delhi), Vanguard Gallery, (Shanghai) and Vivi Yip Art Room (Jakarta).

Looking at the impressive line-up of artists and VIP guests who attended the event, it seems that Singapore has successfully added another not-to-be-missed event to the calendar of every art enthusiast.

Only two to three hours from Jakarta, with flights leaving every hour, sometimes it

seems faster and easier to travel to Singapore than deal with the traffic in the city. Singapore is also a leading luxury shopping destination in Asia, and boasts new integrated resort casinos and a theme park. And now Singapore has invited the world to its shores for a prestigious new art event called Art Stage Singapore. Bound to become one of Asia’s premier international art fairs, the chosen venue for this prestigious art fair is the iconic Marina Bay Sands resort and casino.

During Art Stage Singapore’s opening on 12 January, the movers and shakers of the art industry attended a private viewing and had the opportunity to admire the masterpieces firsthand and meet the artists personally. From 13 to 16 January the venue was open to the public.

“Singapore has a clear vision to become a leading Asian hub for the global contemporary art scene and the goal in the next five years is to be the leading art fair in Asia and a key event on the world calendar,” said the event’s director, Lorenzo Rudolf.

At the heart of the cultural and commercial crossroads between East and West, Singapore is the perfect meeting place of both worlds. And now with Art Stage Singapore, it is a new stop for art lovers in the region.

New Homefor Asian

Art Scene

Text by Astrid Natasastra | Photo courtesy of Art Stage Singapore

Such soaring ambition appears possible looking at Mr. Lorenzo’s resume. He was the Director of Art Basel from 1991 to 2000, the founder of Art Basel Miami Beach and a Co-Founder of ShContemporary, Shanghai. His vision is for Art Stage Singapore to become the art world’s newest destination, bringing together artists, collectors, dealers and art professionals from East and West to create exciting new opportunities for the Asia Pacific.

One of the strengths of this fair will no doubt be its distinctive Asian identity, focusing on the contemporary and modern art scene and market in the Asia Pacific.

The most important factor for a good and interesting art fair is the quality of the presented works. Understanding this, Art Stage Singapore cleverly mixed 90 leading and up-and-coming galleries from around the world that best embody Asian artistic creativity. Half of the participating galleries were from the Asia-Pacific region, with the other half representing international galleries, providing a vantage point for the confluence of ideas between East and West. Art stage Singapore not only presented stunning masterpieces

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