Sculpture exhibit reveals metaphysical aesthetics

Carla Bianpoen, Contributor, Singapore

As Singapore is intent on promoting arts and culture in a comprehensive manner, public and private partnerships had started even before the master plan for sculpture placement in the city had come into full fruition. An example is One Fullerton Promenade, where sculptures have been curated by iPreciation Gallery in cooperation with the prestigious Fullerton Hotel.

The hotel's space at the waterfront, with its restaurants and cafes frequented by many, is an ideal location for the wider public to familiarize itself with art works it would otherwise not have had the chance to see. Until Jan. 19, 2003, sculptures made by renowned foreign and local sculptors are here to be seen, reflected on and enjoyed. Even if one may not be art-savvy enough to enjoy the artistic merit of these sculptures, simply viewing them from an aesthetic perspective is already sheer delight, states Helina Chan, iPreciation's managing director.

It is Singapore's first major outdoor exhibition in 2002.

Interestingly, the work of these artists is based on reflections of a metaphysical nature and perfectly blend with the aesthetical to please the eye as well. Often inspired by traditional symbols prominent in Chinese philosophy, the sculptures have a contemporary appeal through the skill that renders the depth of thought on matters of universal significance, and the material used.

Yuyu Yang's Dragon Shrill in The cosmic Void (204 centimeters (cm) high x 183 cm wide x 143 cm deep), for instance, portrays the Chinese symbol of power in an energetic spiral of movement, achieving a cyclical motion with the traditional fireball between its head and tail. The sculpture is executed in stainless steel, a material that allows mirror-like surfaces to reflect the environment.

Yuyu Yang (1927-1997) studied architecture before studying sculpture. He was a prominent sculptor in China, usually reflecting on harmonizing man and his environment, spiritually, mentally and physically. "That is why I call my sculptures lifescapes instead of environmental sculptures," he once said.

Stainless steel is also the material used by his son, Arthur Yang (born 1955) who reflects on the universe and its evolution in The Touch, which consists of three extraordinary sculptures composed of a stainless steel pyramid (300 cm x 180 cm x 180 cm) and two rectangular stainless steel pillars of different heights (280 cm and 220 cm x 100 cm x 100 cm). The bodies of the sculptures are cast in glass and use splendid lighting effects. In contrast to his father, who was an architect, Arthur was educated at the Taiwan National Institute of Arts, majoring in sculpture. After spending time in research into laser technology, the use of multimedia and laser light became his signature style.

For Sun Yu Li (born 1948 in China), an architect-turned- sculptor, the basis of his art is the quest for a universal language -- a metaphysical belief that the whole universe functions as a consorted whole and nothing is by chance.

Genesis (250 cm x 126 cm x 126 cm), an art work in fiberglass, is a sculpture of simple lines taking the shape of a tube set in a firm, robust structure. Placing his Unity (30 cm high), a sculpture comprising abstract human figures in steel, next to Genesis, forms an installation with meaning of its own. Other sculptures in this display, like Jubilation, United and United II, all in steel, testify to his sense of graceful motions. Sun Yu Li studied sculpture with Yuyu Yang in 1989.

The sculptures made by Cheung Yee (born in 1936 in China) are of a different genre. His works, titled Fortune Telling 1 (100 cm x 76 cm x 80 cm) and Fortune Telling # 2 (96 cm x 50 cm x 73 cm) are in bronze. He was inspired by tortoiseshell, the tortoise being one of the four important mythical creatures in Chinese culture with the ability to tell fortunes. Renowned for his cast paper murals, Cheung Yee, was made a Member of the Order in 1979 in recognition of his contribution to the art of Hong Kong. He also received the Sculptor of the Year Award 1988 from the Hong Kong Artists' Guild in 1988

Baet Yeok Kuan (born 1961 in Singapore), a winner of various awards, presents highly personal interpretations of objects in nature through a process of transformation, beginning from the realistic and working toward the more abstract. Changes in nature as well as in people's perceptions, wrought by the passage of time, are what intrigue him, as evident in Generation (220 cm x 10 cm x 50 cm), a work showing three objects in various sizes sitting on a knife edge, and Forward Backward (135 cm x 264 cm x 210 cm and 182 cm x 215 cm x 206 cm), a set of two wheels which may be hinting at so-called "progress", which might actually mean a step backward.

Reborn, Rejoice, Rejuvenate, as the exhibition is called, is curated by iPreciation, a fine-art company in Singapore that represents artists in the region, incorporates modern art management and renders advice and professional services to individual and corporate customers.

-- Reborn, Rejoice, Rejuvenate' Sculpture exhibition at One Fullerton Promenade, Singapore until Jan. 19, 2003.