Singapore - Credit Suisse Group has begun a three- year sponsorship of the Singapore Art Museum with an exhibition of works by Indonesian expressionist painter Affandi, the first long- term corporate partnership in the museum‘s history.
The Zurich-based bank will present a series of exhibitions through 2010, including artists from Vietnam, Indonesia, China and works by Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti, said Francois Monnet, Credit Suisse‘s head of private banking for Southeast Asia. The first, ‘‘Affandi: A Painter of Genius,‘‘ opens today and runs through Nov. 18.
‘‘We are now increasingly supporting Asian cultural institutions,‘‘ Monnet said at the opening of the exhibition. ‘‘Singapore is a major hub for Credit Suisse in Asia.‘‘ He declined to say how much the sponsorship would cost.
Boerhanoedin Affandi Koesoema was Indonesia‘s most famous artist, pioneering an expressionist and modernist style in the 1940s and 1950s. The exhibition marks the centenary of his birth. Many of the 20 works on display are from private collections and have never been seen in public before, said Seng Yu Jin, the curator. The artist died in 1990.
Affandi‘s most famous works were created by applying paint straight from the tube onto the canvas and depict swirling images of ordinary people, landscapes and buildings in the countries through which he traveled.
Five Affandi paintings were sold in September at Sotheby‘s Singapore auction at between S$126,000 and S$384,000 ($86,649- $264,035) including commission.
The title of the show comes from a 1952 article in Time magazine by art critic John Berger, who called the artist ‘‘a painter of genius,‘‘ partly because he had never had a formal art lesson.
‘‘For my father, the simplest place gave a very artistic feeling,‘‘ said Affandi‘s daughter Ibu Kartika, at the exhibition.
The Giacometti show will take place at the museum in May- June, 2008, Credit Suisse said.
Source: www.bloomberg.com (27 Oktober 2007)
