Introducing a permanent multi-disciplinary collection featuring local and international talent across the spectrum of media, from painting and photography to digital art and breathtaking sculpture pieces in the Lion City’s new centre of all things art.
Credit 1: Ian Davenport, ‘Deep Magenta, Mirrored’ (2022). Courtesy of the artist and Waddington Custot
March 9, 2023: Prepare to experience an entirely new level of integration between art, architecture and design when the Mondrian Singapore Duxton Art Collection is revealed.
The collection is the result of an exclusive collaboration more than two years in the making between Mondrian Singapore Duxton and The Artling, Asia’s premier art advisors and tastemakers.
The Mondrian Singapore Duxton Art Collection raises the bar with a permanent collection of artworks from emerging and established Singaporean and international artists. The pieces add a sense of discovery as guests journey through the property. The artworks and their placement were specifically selected for the element of surprise that they create when viewing the pieces in more detail. New media artworks provide dynamic, ever-changing perspectives, while framed artworks also create a sense of movement through their aesthetics.
Mondrian Singapore Duxton General Manager Robert C.Hauck said he was thrilled to announce the collection’s launch, cementing the Duxton neighbourhood’s growing reputation as the Lion City’s leading artistic and creative hub, offering a world class collection of multi-disciplinary art.
“I believe we are breaking new ground in hospitality in the region in assembling such a diverse collection of artists at the top of their games, and in terms of incorporating the pieces into the fabric of the hotel design process.”
Curated by The Artling’s founder Talenia Phua Gajardo and Gallery Director Kim Tay, the collection features artworks in a wide range of media from local and international artists. Phua Gajardo said she was excited to present the collection and to reveal the artists represented. These include the abstract British painter Ian Davenport, known for his “Puddle Paintings” and whose works are represented in major galleries around the world, US installation specialists SOFTlab led by Michael Szivos, American photographer Tyler Shields, Singaporeans Dawn Ng and André Wee, and more.
Dawn Ng, Waterfall IV
Credit 2: Image courtesy of Dawn Ng and Sullivan+Strumpf
“Things have evolved a lot in the past four or five years in terms of how hospitality groups value art,” Gajardo explains. “It’s not just filling a blank space on a wall, there is a real, deeper understanding of artists and their practices, with an intention to create narratives that are relevant and engaging. This is something that we see as extremely positive and great for the art scene in Singapore and beyond.”
“The collection features young emerging artists as well as established, international heavy-hitting artists who are collected by museums and who have done international shows. We believe the collection will become a destination in its own right, we want to draw people in to explore and look at the spaces and experience the hotel through the art and the artists.”
“SOFTlab’s site-specific installation, Crystallized, in Christina’s restaurant is one of the standouts, created by Michael Szivos, a mathematician/scientist/artist at the top of his game. It’s made up of diochromatic film and acrylic. It emits different qualities of light as it transforms during the day and into the night.”
Ian Davenport’s “In Deep Magenta Mirrored” is a significant addition to the collection, with lines of acrylic paint poured from the top of the painting onto the floor, where they pool and spread out. This puddle introduces a sculptural element to the picture plane, alluding to the recurring tension in Davenport’s work. Waterfall IV by celebrated Singaporean artist Dawn Ng showcases a fascinating journey into entropy as the time lapse film charts the decay of a large block of ice coloured with various pigments.
The Mandala Series by Emma Anna in the hotel’s Jungle Ballroom cocktail bar features large scale digital collages of orchids and tropical blooms, evocative of the menu inspired by the ultra-vibrancy of South East Asia. At the rooftop’s Canyon Club guests are transported to the glitz and glamour of 1970s Hollywood, with the eye-catching Water Mouths Monochrome series of images by Tyler Shields and his injection of vibrant colour and playfulness with Ferrari Legs setting the mood on arrival.
Credit 3: André Wee, Rojak (2021).
Limited edition print on wood, accompanied by digital augmented reality artwork
In the guest rooms, Singaporean André Wee’s Rojak offers something different from a typical hotel art experience. Explains Gajardo: “His piece is digitally created and is augmented reality activated with animation that shows you how the piece was conceptualized and created. It’s a physical painting that comes to life with different layers.”
Mondrian and The Artling will have an ongoing relationship to expand on the collection’s possibilities with programming in the pipeline to bring artists, gallerists and collectors together. They will connect with the local and regional art community through events, talks with artists, and making the collection accessible to the public. Mondrian will create an art map for the collection, so guests can tour it and learn about the artists, while the hotel will appoint a curator who will also offer tours and talks.
Robert C.Hauck shared that “The Artling has done a spectacular job in assembling such a significant array of local and international talent. There is also one huge name in the art world, which we are keeping a secret for now and will announce as part of the collection at a later date so watch this space.”
For more information, please visit www.sbe.com/hotels/mondrian/singapore-duxton
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www.sbe.com/hotels/mondrian/singarpore-duxton
For further information and images, please contact:
E: mondriansingapore@foxcomms.com
T: +44 (0) 203 405 9370
ABOUT MONDRIAN
The debut of Mondrian Singapore Duxton in Southeast Asia follows that of Mondrian Seoul Itaewon in 2020, which signaled the brand’s entry to Asia Pacific. The brand’s portfolio of seven hotels will more than double its footprint by 2023, with upcoming openings in Bordeaux, Cannes and Australia’s Gold Coast to name a few. Mondrian is more than a hotel: it’s a way of travel. Known for its groundbreaking design and progressive programming it is a “must” destination for locals or travelers. Mondrian is always at the heart of the most exciting cultural scenes in the world, serving up innovation and creativity for everyone. Mondrian provides a playful framework so that guests and locals alike can immerse themselves in the culture of each city it inhabits. Design is at the center of the Mondrian experience with hotels designed by some of the world’s most famous architects and designers, including Philippe Starck and Marcel Wanders. Mondrian is part of Ennismore, a creative hospitality company rooted in culture and community, with a global collective of entrepreneurial and founder-built brands with purpose at their heart. Formed in 2021, Ennismore is a joint venture with Accor, which holds a majority shareholding.
ABOUT THE ARTLING
The Artling is an international Art and Design consultancy and online gallery focused on highlighting the best of contemporary art and design. Their online platform, theArtling.com, lists thousands of artists from around the world, with new artworks and design items added to the site daily. The Artling offers consultancy services to both private and corporate clients, working with private collectors and with interior designers, architects and property developers. Sourcing from both emerging and established artists, The Artling provides end-to-end advisory service, from developing art themes and narratives, concept design development, and the commissioning of artworks to project and site specifications.