Various artworks by Filipino artists across the centuries are featured at the new Southeast Asia Gallery of the National Gallery Singapore.
The exhibition “Between Declaration and Dreams” traces works by the region’s artists from the 19th century up to contemporary times.
The works explore the shared artistic output from the region’s artists which the exhibition describes as “a continuous encounter with the new, inseparably linked to the region’s tumultuous social and political history… The meaning and expression of art constantly negotiated as artists of Southeast Asia sought to incorporate and reinvent local expressions and aesthetic traditions as they grappled with modernity.”
Gallery director Eugene Tan affirms the value of Filipino artworks at the exhibition saying, “The Philippines has one of the longest traditions in art.”
Filipino artworks are on exhibit in just about all of the historic periods represented in the exhibition. Artworks by the Philippines’ first National Artist for painting, Fernando Amorsolo, can be found in Galleries 3, 4 and 5, which cover the wartime periods from the 1900s to 1940s.
The art of 19th century Filipino artists Juan Luna and Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo are also on display including Luna’s “Espana y Filipinas” and Hidalgo’s “Christian Virgins Exposed to the Populace” and “La Banca.”
More contemporary art by artists such as Edgar Fernandez’ “Kinupot” presents a commentary on kidnappings during the Marcos martial law regime.
The exhibition is at Gallery 1 of the UOB Southeast Asia Gallery at the former Supreme Court building.
