Art Museum Gallery Visit 1

For my gallery museum visit, I went to the National Art Gallery of Singapore. They recently renovated the whole building and so when I went, everything was so new and modern. It was definitely surprising to visit such a large and amazing building, especially in Singapore. I've never truly appreciated museum galleries until this one, probably because I can finally relate to the artists since I've constantly been doing art for the past 2 years. While I was there, I went to three exhibitions: Wu Guanzhong: Beauty Beyond Reform, In/Sight: Abstract Art, and The Birth and Development of Singapore Art. These three exhibitions were very different from each other, from a variety of different mediums, to also different styles that were obviously unique to the category.

4 Takeaways:

My first takeaway is that you don't always have to complicate your artwork too much, and to look at the bigger picture more often. This piece caught my attention while I was standing close to it. At first, I couldn't really understand what the artist was trying to paint or show in this piece, because up close, it only looks like a bunch of rectangles of different sizes. As I moved further away, I could finally see the whole picture, which seems to be a painting of a housing area. It surprised me how the artist, using only black and grey tones, could make definite and obvious objects with only simple, but clear shapes. Sometimes, focusing only on shape can really help in showing what you really want or the main focus and attraction out of your piece.

My second takeaway is that lines and layering multiple times is enough to be able to create an entire artwork. These pieces were in the same exhibit as the painting above, and similarly, it caught my attention because of it's simplicity, but instead of shape, these paintings focuses more towards lines. Again, when I looked up close, all I saw were a bunch of intricate and messy lines, but as I moved back, the different layers and shapes that the lines created caused a clear picture to form.

My third takeaway is that when making complex backgrounds, it's better to look at the specific shapes and colors up close and starting from there, rather than following what it seems to look like from afar. One thing that was very interesting and special about this painting is the background. When I first looked at it, it seemed as if the people were were standing in a village or under a building in an urban area. But as I looked closer, I realized that the there were no definite shapes or things that were obviously something that I could make out as a real-life object. The background were mostly just a variety of colors that were on top or mixed in with each other, but specifically and carefully enough that altogether, it forms a background that seems like an actual photo. 

My last takeaway is that adding a lot of texture makes the piece look more realistic in ways where it looks more 3D. With this piece, you can see that the artist left a lot of paint on the page, making the surface thicker and with more texture. This made the piece more vibrant with a thicker consistency that real-life materials possess. Because the artist left a lot of texture in the finalized painting, it helps the skin and dresses of the women in the picture look more realistic.