I escaped to Singapore for five days in September. As I made the third day of the trip a day for museums and galleries, I visited the National Gallery Singapore to begin the day.

I went to see both Lim Cheng Hoe’s and Wu Guanzhong’s solo exhibitions, and the first one came with a free guide. Aside from guiding us thorugh the show, the guide also shared some stories about the development of Singapore with us.

National Gallery Singapore offers free guides to visitors in English and Mandarin. You can register to join at the ground floor.

Source: National Gallery Singapore: Wu Guanzhong

There are a bunch of themes in this exhibition, including My Land, Jiangnan, The Journey, Beyond the Image, Nudes in Twilight, New Rhythms of Tradition, and Landscape of Life.

The Gallery puts handwritten scripts on walls to separate each theme.

Source: National Gallery Singapore: Wu Guanzhong

Among all the works exhibited in this show, I enjoyed Jiangnan series the most, and Manners of the Hometown of Lu Xun caught my eyes. With the pale blue background and humble houses in light brown, black, and white, the scene is highlighted by tree trunks and branches, and the peaceful water also speaks of tranquility.

Manners of the Hometown of Lu Xun
Photo by Rye
An Old Wall
Photo by Rye
Another series in this exhibition, The Journey.
Photo by Rye

In another series, The Journey, A Bridge over the Seine River delivers a similar vibe. I like his use of colours in lower saturation. They make the painting peaceful and calming.

Source: National Gallery Singapore: Wu Guanzhong
Cave Households
Photo by Rye

Still, there are more themes covered in Wu’s solo exhibition.

Part of a painting from Beyond the Image series.
Photo by Rye
An Indoor Scene of A Pub in England
Photo by Rye
The Great Chaotic World
Photo by Rye

The sunset marks a good ending for this exhibition, and we were about to leave the Gallery for our next museum in Singapore.

The exhibition was about to conclude, so almost all visitors received a delicate exhibition catalogue. Lucky us!

Besides this one, I also went for another exhibition in the National Gallery Singapore, Lim Cheng Hoe: Painting Singapore, which was also an amazing one. It demonstrates the history of Singapore with the painting conceived by the Singaporean artist Lim Cheng Hoe. Why not take a look at it? Click here to read about it.

Wanna pay a visit to the National Gallery Singapore? Click here to get a cheaper ticket 😉

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