NO, THE MODERN MASTERS DO NOT REFER TO ME THOUGH EVERYONE KNOWS I AM A MODERN MASTER AND A LIVING WORK OF ART.
BUT OPERA GALLERY SINGAPORE IS HOLDING AN ART FEST TO INCREASE THEIR COFFERS AND TO CELEBRATE FORMULA 1 SINGAPORE WHICH WILL BE HELD THIS WEEKEND.
The 60 artworks are worth US$60 million so each piece averages US$1 million though some are only a few hundred thousand while others could be several millions. Personally I prefer Old Masters as I always feel Modern Masters are so easy to do since I am pretty handy with a brush and can always splash some paint on the canvas and give it a few strokes and name it "Kee's Karisma' or 'Kee's Anguish' and price it at US$ 100,000 or failing that, US$ 1,000.
Old Masters I cannot do as I have tried and it is with great sorrow that my attempts to replicate Mona Lisa have failed miserably as she just ends up looking like a grumpy old bag under my machinations. So what I cannot do, I respect more.
I once was in an art gallery in Luxembourg and saw a huge but half completed painting consisting of a stylised landscape which was really very eye-catching. But the buildings and forests occupied only one-tenth of the canvas which could occupy an entire wall and the backdrop was supposed to be totally black. Of course this could be accomplished in 50 minutes max since all she had to do was brush the remaining canvas with black paint. Easy! However I was told the artist insisted on painting the entire background dot by tiny dot! Using a toothpick or something! Naturally this might take months and years and I told the gallery owner I would die if I had to do this painstaking task which would be so tedious, mind-numbing and deadly dull. Worse, everyone looking at the painting would assume she used a thick brush and got the job done within an hour as the effect is the same.
Guess what, the gallery owner told me the artist actually died in the midst of pin painting her work! All for a worthless cause. Now the painting is two thirds complete with the unpainted canvas but it is now worth tons of money as the artist died in the process!
Anyway, the modern masters brought in by Opera Gallery Singapore all have happy endings, especially when they end up in your home!
Opera Gallery Singapore at ION Orchard presents “Modern Masters”
featuring the largest congregation of modern art
from 23 September to 23 October 2011
Opera Gallery Singapore at ION Orchard is pleased to present “Modern Masters”, an exhibition held in September 2011 during Singapore’s 4th F1 night race, bringing together an unparalleled selection of modern art in one of the most colossal exhibitions to be held in Southeast Asia.
Included in the exhibition are masterpieces from both the East and West, with an extensive collection of true masterpieces from the 20th and 21st century amidst the most prominently celebrated artists of all time. The gross estimate value of these masterpieces will be of US$60,000,000 featuring approximately 60 art works.
Along these great masters, Baltasar Lobo, a Spanish artist and sculptor will be showcased for the first time in Singapore. Famous for his unequivocal style combining roundness of volume with great perfection, Lobo’s exhibition will be staged outdoors along the promenade of the prestigious Orchard Road. Complementing Lobo would be a monumental bronze sculpture “Horse” by Colombian artist Fernando Botero, measuring at a height of 3m.
While the exhibited artists during the “Modern Masters” approach art from various vantage points in terms of intensity, socio-political engagements and painterly styles, the thread which unambiguously unites them is their persistent and unremitting Modernism, and their need for change and experimentation throughout their career, be it in terms of chosen material or themes engaged.
Opera Gallery is proud to offer collectors an unparalleled opportunity in Singapore to experience in a single exhibit - the breadth, depth and creative brilliance of these magnificent painters. The artists featured in “Modern Masters” include Braque Chagall, Dubuffet, Dufy, Leger, Miro, Picasso and just to name a few.
“Modern Masters” will be presented in Opera Gallery at ION Orchard from 23rd September to 23rd October.
Opera Gallery Singapore is open 7 days a week from 11 am to 8 pm. For more information on Opera Galleries Singapore, Paris, New York, Miami, Seoul, Hong Kong, London, Dubai, Monaco and Geneva, including visuals of our artists, please visit www.operagallery.com
Artist Biographies
Pablo PICASSO (1881-1973)
Born in Malaga, Spain, Picasso demonstrated a passion and skill for drawing from an early age. He entered the Barcelona School of Fine Arts at the age of 13 and went on to study in Madrid’s Academy of San Fernando where his stunning canvasses were noticed immediately. Revolting against the academia, he left this world to set off on his own and became best known for being a founder of the Cubist art movement. Throughout his long career, Picasso gradually developed his techniques with great potency and mercurial adaptability. Picasso’s talent was not restrained to painting; he expressed his genius also through other artistic channels from writing theatrical pieces to sculpting, ceramics and engraving.
Marc CHAGALL (1887-1985)
Born in Liozna, Vitebsk, Chagall was educated at the local Jewish religious school during a difficult period of time when his right to be educated was challenged due to numerous obstacles. Eventually finding his way into art school, Chagall discovered drawing and gradually worked on improving his enigmatic style. An emotional and beautiful artist, Chagall relishes journeys filled with exploring boundaries, constantly leading the viewers into magical lands overflowing with symbols and memories. Chagall lived extensively in Russia, Germany, France and the United States, gathering in each city a combination of impressions and emotions throughout World War I and II. He continued to create great artworks throughout the later years of his life and in the 1960s and 1970s, his stained glass art appeared in United Nations building in New York City. In 1973 a museum of his works was also opened in Nice, France, and in 1977, the Louvre, a world-famous art museum in Paris, exhibited sixty-two of his paintings, an extremely rare event for a living artist. Chagall died at the age of ninety-seven in 1985.
Joan MIRO (1893-1983)
Born in Barcelona in Catalonia, Miro is considered one of the most accomplished painters, sculptors and ceramicists to have emerged from Spain. An artist who clearly developed his personal style from an early age, Miro’s art is characterized by brilliant colors combined with simplified forms, at the same time integrating elements of Catalan folk art and poetry. Miro enjoyed international acclaim during his long and productive career, and was one of the most outstanding Spaniards to be included in museums and private collections around the world.
Jean DUBUFFET (1901-1985)
Born in Le Havre, France, Dubuffet attended local art classes from a young age and eventually moved to Paris to study at the Academie Julian. He left the academic world only after six months and met Raoul Dufy, Max Jacob, Fernand Leger and Suzanne Valadon, all of whom influenced his evolution as an artist. Dubuffet’s greatest impact however, stemmed from his interest in the teachings of Hans Prinzhorn’s analysis of psychopathic art created by asylum inmates and children, the degree of this impact was eventually visible throughout his lifetime of art. With a surprise, Dubuffet stopped painting in 1924 doubting the value of art and started working as an industrial draftsman, later moving on to take over the family wine business. Nevertheless by 1942, he committed himself to becoming an artist once again and held his first solo exhibition in Paris in 1944. Dubuffet has since been described as “a man of exceptional intelligence and maturity, (combining) a child-like style with audacious innovations accompanied by a grotesque sense of humour”.
Fernand LEGER (1881-1955)
Born in Argentan, France. Leger experimented with various art schools before working at an architectural firm. Living in Paris at the turn of the 20th century, Leger turned towards cubism and gradually became one of the founders of the Section d’Or, the French Cubist branch. Their philosophy was based on geometric shapes and vivid colors. During the World War I, he fell prey to tear gas and his sustained injuries plunged him into apathy. In 1920, he befriended Le Corbusier and worked with the architect on some of his projects. As with many up and coming artists, Léger left France for America during World War II and studied at Yale the movie industry, as well as ceramic and decorative art; all part of his artistic genius. His paintings, easily recognized with their large compositions, light colors and “tube” shapes.
Fernando BOTERO (1932- )
Born in Medellin, Antioquia, Botero’s main influences at a young age were the Baroque style of the colonial churches of his surroundings as he was isolated from the art presented in museums and other cultural institutes. From Colombia, Botero traveled to Spain and Paris before settling down in Florence where he would repeatedly revisit the Italian Quattrocentro masters, discovering techniques from a bygone era. Botero came to invent a different perspective, where men and women took on corpulent shapes, invading - and then becoming - their very own space. Botero invented a truly innovative dimension where his universe was seemingly ordinary - filled with bullfighters and prostitutes from Medellin - all in a sensual ambiance filled with joy and color. The overwhelming “roundness” of Botero’s work has since become a legend in art history
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