Whitestone Gallery opens new museum and gallery space in Singapore.
Interior view of Whitestone Gallery Singapore. Courtesy of Whitestone Gallery.
This week, Whitestone Gallery inaugurated their art space in Singapore’s Tanjong Pagar Distripark. The multidisciplinary art hub, designed by famed Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, houses the New Art Museum Singapore and a commercial gallery, and, according to the gallery, is now Southeast Asia’s largest art space.
As growing attention focuses on Singapore as an art capital, the collaboration established Whitestone Gallery’s first gallery in Southeast Asia. With the Singapore Art Museum recently opened nearby, the opening also cements the reputation of Tanjong Pagar Distripark as a significant art hub.
To commemorate the grand opening, Whitestone will present the largest-yet solo exhibition from Miwa Komatsu, a Japanese artist known for her vibrantly illustrated mythical beasts. Her show, “Sense of Sacredness,” emphasizes the communal sanctitude of individuals in the face of spiritual divides.
In the same building, the New Art Museum will feature work from Ronald Ventura, the first Southeast Asian artist to be represented by Whitestone. Ventura’s exhibition, “An Introspective,” showcases a dynamic evolution and self-reinterpretation through ever-adapting artworks such as his “Humanime” or “Human Study” series, all inspired by his varied cultural influences, from Western history to anime shows.
Established in Tokyo in 1967, Whitestone Gallery has championed Japanese post-war and contemporary art for more than 50 years, most notably highlighting Gutai—a Japanese avant-garde artist group founded in the Hanshin region in the mid-1950s. Since its founding, the gallery has expanded its international presence in cities such as Hong Kong, Taipei, Beijing, Seoul, and now Singapore. In 2012, the gallery opened the New Art Museum in Karuizawa, Japan.
Correction: a previous version of this article misspelt the name of the architect of the new art space. He is Kengo Kuma, not Kengo Kum.