Rina Banerjee and Zai Kuning: Dialogue

Installation view of "Rina Banerjee and Zai Kuning: Dialogue", 2021, Ota Fine Arts Singapore

Ota Fine Arts Singapore is delighted to present “Dialogue”, a duo exhibition by Rina Banerjee and Zai Kuning. This exhibition features recent works on paper by the two artists, which are characterized by their usage of bold colors and multi-layered compositions. While Banerjee‘s works depict mythical-looking figures painted in acrylic and incorporating collage elements, the new series of works on paper by Zai present abstract forms drawn in ink, watercolour and organic pigments. Through this exhibition, we hope to create a lively dialogue between the works of these two artists, which resonate strongly in the time that we live in.

Rina Banerjee (b.1963, India) is currently based in New York City. She completed her MFA in painting at Yale University School of Art, where she won several prestigious awards. Her love of materials, from heritage textiles and fashion to colonial objects, historical architecture, ethnography and mythology, coupled with the experience of growing up within communities of mixed cultural backgrounds and urban sites provide the content and context for her work. Her latest solo exhibition was held at several museums in the U.S., including Frist Art Museum (2021), Fowler Museum at UCLA (2020), San Jose Museum of Art (2019), Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (2018-19). She participated in numerous international exhibitions, such as 57th Venice Biennial (2017), Busan Biennale (2016), “Greater New York” at the MoMA PS1 (2015, 2005), the 55th Venice Biennale (2013), the 7th Asia Pacific Triennale of Contemporary Art (2012), Yokohama Triennale (2011) and the Whitney Biennial (2000). Her work is held in museum collections worldwide, including the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; Foundation Louis Vuitton pour l’Art Contemporain, Paris; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; amongst many others.  

Zai Kuning (b. 1964, Singapore) lives and works in Singapore. His recent solo exhibitions include “SeptFest 2021: Projek Orang Asli”, The Substation, Singapore (2021), “Dapunta Hyang: Transmission of Knowledge”, 72-13, Singapore (2018), “Zai Kuning”, Ota Fine Arts, Singapore (2018), “Dapunta Hyang: Transmission of Knowledge, Singapore Pavilion”, 57th Venice Biennale (2017), “Ombak Hitam”, Ota Fine Arts, Tokyo (2016), and “We are home and everywhere”, Ota Fine Arts, Singapore (2014). He has also participated in numerous group exhibitions including “Reborn-Art Festival 2019”, Ishinomaki, Japan (2019), “Collection Asian Landscapes / Awazu Kiyoshi: Makurihirogeru 5”, 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa (2018), “Two Houses: Politics and Histories in the Contemporary Art Collections of John Chia and Yeap Lam Yang”, Institute of Contemporary Arts, Singapore (2018), “In Search of Southeast Asia through the M+ Collections”, M+, Hong Kong (2018), “Mode of Liaisons”, Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, Bangkok (2017), “Secret Archipelago”, Palais De Tokyo, Paris (2015), and “Welcome to the Jungle: Contemporary Art in Southeast Asia from the Collection of Singapore Art Museum”, Yokohama Museum of Art, Yokohama (2013).