SINGAPORE – Tang Contemporary Art’s Singapore gallery reopened on Oct 17 with a new exhibition, nine days after its Delfi Orchard space was locked by the landlord over alleged unpaid rents.
The gallery space on the sixth floor of Delfi Orchard was locked on Oct 8 and the landlord also disabled lifts to the space.
When The Straits Times visited the gallery for the opening of Dyestuff: Between Visibility And Reality, there were only four visitors in the 7,500 sq ft space. Gallery staff declined to comment on the circumstances surrounding the landlord’s closure of the premises.
The gallery previously told ST that its closure was solely for exhibition preparations. The gallery also reiterated in a now deleted Instagram post that its Singapore branch was “fully operational”.
“This temporary closure is solely due to normal exhibition change preparations and has nothing to do with operational difficulties, debt issues, or permanent closure,” the post said.
ST understands the gallery has paid three months’ rent. But Swedish artist Daniel Fleur confirmed to ST that he is still owed $7,000 from the sale of one of his works through Tang and has been unable to contact the gallery.
A visitor to the exhibition, Johnny Chiang, said he had followed the gallery for about three years and understood the difficulties facing businesses amid current economic pressures. “I’m not surprised they are facing that kind of issue. It’s everywhere. It’s not only in the arts industry, also others.”
The Singaporean entrepreneur, who runs a business in the education industry, said rising rents and manpower shortages had also affected his business.
A photographer looking at the artwork Dye 2 at the opening of Dyestuff: Between Visibility And Reality, a solo exhibition by Chinese artist Leng Guangmin, at Tang Contemporary Art Singapore on Oct 17.
ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM
Tang’s new exhibition, a solo by Chinese artist Leng Guangmin featuring 28 mixed media works, runs till Nov 7.
The mixed media paintings showcase the artist’s technique of using a knife instead of a brush to cut and scrape paint, exposing the material beneath. The exhibition examines how reality is shaped through the means by which it is presented. Its title refers to the scientific process of staining chromosomes.
Additional reporting by Clement Yong