Synopsis:

The New Now will exhibit a unique selection of works in various mediums by 7 emerging artists, most of whom recently graduated from respected art institutions.

Through a distinct and diverse practice, Benedict Yu, Charlotte Lim, Gabrielle Tolentino, Kayleigh Goh, Kuat Zhi Hooi, Leonard Wee, and Wong Jia Yi grapple with the common issues of coming of age as an artist and taking the leap towards practicing fine arts as a vocation. To each their own, they are expanding the boundaries of an artistic practice while maintaining a presence in an increasingly pluralistic environment.

At a period where socio-political issues seem to be the apparent norm in global contemporary art practices, and at a period where most seem to be looking out to the world and its grand narratives, these seven artists are instead looking into themselves and confronting their very existence in the society – one micro narrative at a time.

The exhibition, hence, aims to explore the way they present an abstract form of truth content – with references to the self, where they stand in society, and the space which surrounds them. It will also focus on the artist as a creator, their expressive minds, and the surroundings which nurture these minds.

Further, The New Now will shed some light on how the uneventful and overlooked elements of the everyday are brought into visibility – expressing what is here, now, in all its banality, triviality, and monotony. They are a modest and sometimes ambiguous form of noticing and confronting the self, as opposed to just visually describing or depicting. Unnatural as it may seem for some, the subjects explored by these artists are familiar and relevant to many. We too, perhaps, could discover some form of truth through reflecting on theirs.