Rina Banerjee and Zai Kuning: Dialogue

2 Oct - 20 Nov 2021

  • 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.

  • One of the major impacts of the pandemic is the decreased amount of human interaction in our daily lives. Rina...

    Rina Banerjee, Tropical Profit…, 2020, Acrylic on paper, 76 x 57cm

    One of the major impacts of the pandemic is the decreased amount of human interaction in our daily lives. Rina Banerjee relooks at how human beings connect with one another, and she thinks that this crisis contains room for change. In relation to this series of drawings, the artist states, “We have grown fond of each other with bodily travel, migration, commerce and like petals of a flower we open ourselves to each other’s influence. We gather to replenish our spirited brain, our boredom of life shed. We can find here a rejuvenated spring.” In the work Tropical Profit… (2020), a female figure in the center of the composition catches one’s attention. Dressed in a see-through dress and wearing a pair of black high-heel shoes, the woman seems to be wandering about in nature. In the background are coconut trees and a grey fairy-like creature who appears to be placing its hand on the sleeve of the soft dress worn by the woman. This action seems to suggest their relationship in an ambiguous way, provoking the viewers’ imagination further on the scene depicted in a tropical land.

  • Zai Kuning presents his latest drawing series titled Prodigal Pagan Hymn (2020 – present, ongoing). For nearly 2 decades, the...

    Zai Kuning, Prodigal Pagan Hymn (Ichi), 2021, Batik dye, ink, turmeric and pencil on paper, 146.5 x 141 cm

    Zai Kuning presents his latest drawing series titled Prodigal Pagan Hymn (2020 – present, ongoing). For nearly 2 decades, the artist has been working with indigenous groups of people, namely the Orang Laut and Orang Asli, and has created bodies of works inspired by his research and interactions with them. However, the pandemic made it impossible for him to travel out of Singapore to meet these people, changing the direction of his creation drastically. Zai gained an abundance of time to reflect in solitude in his studio, and slowly developed this new drawing series since 2020. His earlier drawings, especially those from the Ombak Hitam series (2016), were characterized by their monochromatic tones. In contrast, the newly-produced works embrace colors with vibrancy and depth. Using natural pigments like turmeric and chilli powder not only brought a big change to the hues in his work, but also created texture. His new works may appear different from his earlier sculptures and the drawings, but the subject of his creation still revolves around his long-ongoing theme of “Home where we belong”. As Zai explains, this series is about “resonation, voices, and broken memories of ancestral roots towards meanings and symbolic landscape.

     

    Ota Fine Arts invites you to the exhibition “Dialogue” to experience the unique worlds of the artists Rina Banerjee and Zai Kuning.

  • Installation view of "Rina Banerjee and Zai Kuning: Dialogue", 2021, Ota Fine Arts Singapore (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Installation view of "Rina Banerjee and Zai Kuning: Dialogue", 2021, Ota Fine Arts Singapore (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Installation view of "Rina Banerjee and Zai Kuning: Dialogue", 2021, Ota Fine Arts Singapore (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Installation view of "Rina Banerjee and Zai Kuning: Dialogue", 2021, Ota Fine Arts Singapore (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Installation view of "Rina Banerjee and Zai Kuning: Dialogue", 2021, Ota Fine Arts Singapore (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Installation view of "Rina Banerjee and Zai Kuning: Dialogue", 2021, Ota Fine Arts Singapore (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Installation view of "Rina Banerjee and Zai Kuning: Dialogue", 2021, Ota Fine Arts Singapore (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).

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

  • Featured Artworks

    • Zai Kuning Prodigal Pagan Hymn (Jyu-go), 2021 Batik dye, turmeric and chilli powder on paper 58.2 x 75.2 cm
      Zai Kuning
      Prodigal Pagan Hymn (Jyu-go), 2021
      Batik dye, turmeric and chilli powder on paper
      58.2 x 75.2 cm
      Enquire
    • Zai Kuning Prodigal Pagan Hymn (Nijyu-shichi), 2021 Batik dye, turmeric and chilli powder on paper 72 x 57.2 cm
      Zai Kuning
      Prodigal Pagan Hymn (Nijyu-shichi), 2021
      Batik dye, turmeric and chilli powder on paper
      72 x 57.2 cm
      Enquire
    • Zai Kuning Prodigal Pagan Hymn (Jyu-shi), 2021 Batik dye, turmeric and chilli powder on paper 57.4 x 76.4 cm
      Zai Kuning
      Prodigal Pagan Hymn (Jyu-shi), 2021
      Batik dye, turmeric and chilli powder on paper
      57.4 x 76.4 cm
      Enquire
    • Zai Kuning Prodigal Pagan Hymn (Shi), 2021 Batik dye, turmeric and chilli powder on paper 137.5 x 53.6 cm
      Zai Kuning
      Prodigal Pagan Hymn (Shi), 2021
      Batik dye, turmeric and chilli powder on paper
      137.5 x 53.6 cm
      Enquire

  • About the Artists

    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).