“Minimalism: Space. Light. Object.” a groundbreaking exhibition for Southeast Asia, showcases the evolution of Minimalism, an art form that challenges conventions.
Presented in Singapore through a partnership between the National Gallery Singapore and ArtScience Museum, Singapore, this exhibition presents significant Minimalist works from the 1950s to today. Visitors can experience over 100 pieces by 70 artists, including prominent names like Donald Judd, Mark Rothko, Mona Hatoum, Anish Kapoor, Ai Weiwei, Olafur Eliasson, and Haegue Yang.
Minimalism shifted art appreciation from passively observing framed pieces to directly engaging with the artwork and its surrounding space. Frank Stella’s renowned statement, “What you see is what you see,” perfectly encapsulates the essence of Minimalism – simplifying to the most fundamental elements.
Minimalism is characterized by the use of industrial and natural materials, along with repetitive forms. Post-Minimalism saw a shift towards softer, more fluid materials, incorporating elements of gravity and chance.
A work in black by Rothko.
The exhibition unfolds with the theme of black. At the Singtel Special Exhibition Gallery, several artworks near the entrance, created by different artists, appear almost entirely black. Mark Rothko’s No. 5 features a black rectangle within a black frame; Ad Reinhardt’s black artwork incorporates subtle hints of color; while Barnett Newman’s Queen of the Night 1 showcases his characteristic “zip” against a black background.
Patterns emerge as the next theme. Stella presents two black canvases adorned with evenly spaced lines, mirroring the width of a house painter’s brush. Yayoi Kusuma’s No. H. Red from the Infinity Nets series, starts with a black canvas meticulously covered with scarlet paint, creating an illusion of tiny black triangles against a scarlet backdrop.
The National Gallery presents compelling works:
Untitled, by Morris.
Robert Morris’s Untitled comprises mirrored cubes that constantly reflect and interact with the gallery environment and its visitors.
Mona Hatoum’s Impenetrable, initially appearing as a cube of fine black threads suspended from the ceiling, reveals itself as lines of menacing barbed wire, conveying a chilling message. Hatoum, known for exploring themes of conflict and violence, draws inspiration from Jesus Soto’s Penetrable cube installations, which visitors can walk through. Her work highlights the potential for violence within everyday life.
Light becomes a medium for Minimalist artists. Peter Kennedy’s Neon Light Installations immerses viewers in a vibrant rainbow of colors set against a deep blue background. The neon lights cast reflections on the floor, while a subtle hum from the lamps adds an auditory dimension to the experience.
Anish Kapoor, renowned for his use of the pigment often referred to as “the blackest black,” presents a geometric, bowl-shaped piece titled Void. While the outside of the bowl is noticeably dark blue, a frontal view reveals an intense blackness that obscures its concave or flat nature, prompting contemplation on emptiness and infinity.
Olafur Eliasson’s Room for One Colour challenges visual perception with its orange-toned lighting within an otherwise empty space. The installation encourages viewers to question their assumptions, transforming them into one-dimensional, monochrome figures. Upon exiting, the eye perceives everything with a bluish tint.
John McCracken’s Red Plank breaks convention by resting on the floor instead of a pedestal or plinth. This glossy red plank, inspired by the gleaming cars and surfboards of mid-1960s California, is created by applying layers of fiberglass, polyester resin, and pigment to plywood.
Rasheed Araeen’s wall-mounted lattice structures, such as (3R+2B)SW and Basant, draw inspiration from industrial architecture and the geometric patterns found in Islamic art. These acrylic-on-wood pieces were created in the early 1970s.
Singaporean artist Kim Lim utilizes repetition as a central motif in her ladder-like installation, Intervals I plus II. The work’s adaptable configuration creates varying patterns of light, shadow, and texture.
Filipino artist Roberto Chabet’s Kite Traps pays tribute to Eva Hesse, consisting of rubber strips attached to a wooden frame.
Kazuko Miyamoto’s Male I, a sculpture crafted from white thread, appears dense and solid at the top, gradually fading into near invisibility at the bottom. This interplay between visibility and disappearance connects the wall and floor, engaging with shifting shadows and patterns as viewers move around it.
Minimalism embraced the Monoha (もの派) movement in Japan for its shared principles. Monoha artists emphasized the use of natural or industrial materials in their raw form. Jiro Takamatsu’s works, Oneness of Concrete and Oneness of Wood, exemplify this approach, featuring boxes made of paper containing a granite rock, as well as concrete and wood boxes filled respectively with concrete and wood chips.
Bruce Nauman pushes boundaries by incorporating performance art in a grainy video titled _Walking in an Exaggerated Manner Around the Perimeter of a Square. Nauman’s exaggerated hip movements as he walks challenge traditional notions of art, demonstrating how the moving body can be a form of artistic expression. Positioned at the end of the corridor housing the Neon Light Installations, the monochrome video provides a stark contrast to the vibrant neon.
Perhaps the ultimate expression of Minimalism is Nam June Paik’s Zen for Film. This film, featuring eight minutes of unexposed 16mm film on loop, reveals only occasional dust particles and scratches. Paik, a friend of John Cage (composer of the famed silent piece 4′33″), explores the Zen concept of emptying the mind to enhance focus.
The exhibition reveals the transformation of everyday objects through a Minimalist lens. A chair’s empty space is preserved in resin; three slightly curved rectangular porcelain pieces resemble blank canvases, inviting viewers to project their interpretations. Liu Jianhua’s aptly titled Blank Paper embodies this concept.
Appearances can be deceiving in Wolfgang Laib’s Milkstone. A glossy white slab, initially perceived as porcelain or polished stone, is actually white marble covered with a thin layer of milk. This delicate layer needs daily replenishment, creating a tension between the ephemeral milk and the permanence of the marble.
Ai Weiwei presents two thought-provoking installations. Sunflower Seeds features a floor covered ankle-deep in meticulously handcrafted porcelain sunflower seeds, challenging perceptions of mass production and referencing China’s vast population. The sunflower, associated with the Cultural Revolution, symbolizes the Chinese people’s allegiance to their leaders.
Ton of Tea features a cube formed from a ton of compressed pu er tea, drawing inspiration from Minimalist sculptures by Morris and Richard Serra, which Ai Weiwei encountered while living in the US. The sheer scale of the work represents the vast Chinese tea trade, while the cube shape alludes to traditional Chinese tea transportation methods.
A solitary lamp in a darkened corner flickers on and off, creating an atmosphere of anticipation and minimalist interaction.
Details:
View pictures of exhibits on Facebook
Minimalism: Space. Light. Object.
Till 14 April 2019
At dual venues: Concourse Galleries and Singtel Special Exhibition Galleries at the National Gallery and at the ArtScience Museum, which houses the larger installations
There are two audio tours available at the National Gallery: Minimalism Highlights, and The More You Look At It.
Hashtag: #minimalismsg
*The guided tour was sponsored by Singtel.