17 June 2022 – Vanessa Liem’s solo show For The Time Being at Cuturi Gallery
We got to check out the preview of Vanessa Liem’s solo show For The Time Beingat Cuturi Gallery. The exhibition is a culmination of Liem’s eight-month artist residency at the gallery. You’ll notice that all the oil paintings feature striking alien-like figures, which are based on the artist’s face.
Liem in her studio space during her artist residency at Cuturi Gallery. Image courtesy of Cuturi Gallery.
Liem favours a moody dream-like palette of rich cerulean and magenta, and it’s easy to get lost in her soft, skilfully blended brushstrokes. Gazing at her paintings feels like being transported to another dimension.
There is a noticeable darkness to her works, as wistful-looking, isolated figures emerge from shadowy, surreal landscapes and dimly lit rooms. These reference the artist’s mental state and experiences with “anxiety, mania, vulnerability, and numbness.”
Check out the highlights below:
Pleasure Puppets (2021) is a striking example of Liem’s technical skill. Here, two blue figures rest in the foreground, with one tugging at another’s eyes. Lush, tropical leaves linger behind them as detailed beads of moisture catch the light and trickle down the figures’ faces. What’s impressive is how this work simply feels laden with moisture and reminds you of a late-night walk in humid Singapore. Image courtesy of Cuturi Gallery.
Red Room (2022) draws on the artist’s experiences with insomnia. Liem recounted sleepless nights where she found some solace by spending time in her sister’s room. There’s a visceral depiction of one blue-hued figure licking the head of a pink-coloured, limbless person — representing relentless insomnia nagging away at a restless victim. Image courtesy of Cuturi Gallery.
Perhaps one of the most assertive works in the exhibition, ‘Arrival’ (2022) sees three figures standing in a snowfield with the aurora lighting up the night sky. Representing power dynamics, two figures kneel at the sides of a central, upright figure. While appearing ominous with a blacked-out face, glowing crimson eyes, and the aurora in the background looking like branched-out horns, the central figure actually has her hands bound — making you wonder who might be the ones in power here. Image courtesy of Cuturi Gallery.
The artist Vanessa Liem with her oil on canvas work, Sleepwalker #5 (2022).
Liem with her large-scale, lavender-toned oil painting Black Out Days (2022).
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For The Time Being runs at Cuturi Gallery from 18 June – 10 July 2022. Click here for more details.
