Sending Help to Ukrainian Artists In This Hour of Maximum Need Through A Charity NFT Art Auction

Singapore is a vibrant city-state that has a thriving arts and culture scene. Over the years, Singapore has seen the emergence of numerous talented artists who have made significant contributions to the local and international art scene. In recent years, the art scene in Singapore has experienced significant growth and development, further solidifying its position as a vibrant cultural hub. Here's a glimpse into Singapore's art and artists: Art Movements in Singapore: Compared to European and other Asian counterparts, Art is relatively young in Singapore and driven mainly by the many cultures and traditions that make up Singapore society. What makes Singaporean Art more distinct is the merging of Chinese, Malay and European Art forms with a blend of localised cultural heritage, indigenous beliefs and popular practices in Singapore. Here is an overview of the key periods and milestones in the history of visual art in Singapore: Early Art Influences (Pre-19th Century): Before the 19th century, Singapore was primarily a trading port, and the cultures of the Malay Archipelago, China, India, and the West predominantly influenced art. Traditional art forms, such as batik, sculpture, and calligraphy, were practised by local artisans. Colonial Influence (19th-early 20th century): The arrival of British colonial rule in the 19th century brought Western influences to Singapore. European artists and art teachers introduced academic art practices, such as oil painting and portraiture, to local students. Notable artists during this period include Raffles Institution founder Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles and his wife, Sophia Raffles. Nanyang Style and Cultural Identity (mid-20th century): In the 1950s, a significant art movement known as the Nanyang Style emerged in Singapore. Led by four master artists of the time, Liu Kang, Chen Wen Hsi, Georgette Chen and Cheong Soo Pieng, this movement combined Chinese ink painting techniques with Western art styles, creating a distinctive fusion. The Nanyang Style was a form of cultural expression exploring the identity of the Southeast Asian region and its people. Modern Art Society (mid-20th century): In the 1960s, the Modern Art Society was established, advocating for modern art practices and promoting local artists. This period marked a shift towards experimentation and exploring abstract and conceptual art forms. Artists like Lim Yew Kuan and Anthony Poon were instrumental in driving the development of modern art in Singapore. Contemporary Art and Global Recognition (late 20th century-present): In the late 20th century, Singapore's art scene continued to evolve and embrace contemporary art practices. The opening of institutions like the Singapore Art Museum (SAM) in 1996 and the National Gallery Singapore in 2015 provided platforms for local and international contemporary artists. Singapore's participation in international art events, such as the Venice Biennale and the Singapore Biennale, further propelled its global recognition. Most Notable Artists of Singapore Singapore has been home to many prominent Artists continuously gaining International reputations. Here are some of the most notable and significant artists from the city-state of Singapore Georgette Chen (1906-1993) was a Chinese-born Singaporean painter known for her realistic portraits and landscapes. She is considered one of the pioneers of modern art in Singapore and a key figure of the "Nanyang School" of Art. She had spent much of her early life in China, France and New York, before making Singapore her home in the year 1954 to spend later years of her life. GEORGETTE CHEN, BOATS AND SHOPHOUSES , (credit: Sotheby's) Chen Wen Hsi (1906-1991) was a Chinese-born Singaporean painter known for his lyrical landscapes and portraits. Similar to other prominent artists Chen Wen Hsi, had spent a good part of his life in China before making Singapore his permanent home. He along with four other prominent artists founded the Nanyang Style of Painting in the year 1953, creating a watershed moment for the Singapore Art scene. In 1964 he was awarded with the "Public Service Star" award. One of his paintings "Two Gibbons Amidst Vines", addorns the back of every $50 note of Singapore. The gibbons are there not only to beautify the note but they also signify a great artist who contributed his entire whole life to the art world. Cheong Soo Pieng (1917-1983) was another prominent Chinese-born Singaporean painter known for his abstract paintings. He along with Chen Wen Hsi, Georgette Chen and Liu Kang founded the Nanyang style of art, one of the most important movements of Singapore's cultural History. After migrating to Singapore in 1946, he took up Art teaching at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, and began his fervent amalgamation of Western and Chinese pictorial styles. Best known for his stylized depictions of Malay and Balinese women, he worked in a unique aesthetic that blended Hindu, Chinese, and Modernist European influences. Lim Tze Peng (born 1921) is a Singaporean painter known for his Chinese ink paintings. He is considered one of the most influential artists of his generation in Singapore. His masterpieces have been exhibited in many local and international exhibitions and prominent art centers in Singapore, including the Singapore Art Museum and Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts.. Hundred and two years old Mr Lim currently is the oldest living Artist of Singapore and was awarded the Cultural Medallion in 2003 for his vast contributions to the Art and Culture of the Country. LIM TZE PENG (courtesy South China Morning Post) Amanda Heng (born 1951): Amanda Heng is a contemporary artist known for performing art and installations. She often addresses issues of gender, identity, and social norms in her works and has exhibited her art internationally. She rose to pominance in the 1990's and is considered a pioneer of Performance Arts in Singapore. She is among the first Singaporean Artists to win the distinguished Benesse Prize and also awarded Cultural Medallion for Visual Arts in 2010. Among the many firsts that she brought to the Art scene in Singapore, includes the founding of the Artists Village in 1988 and then later in 1999 she formed the Women in The Arts (WITA) Collective, the first Artists run collective in Singapore. Tan Swie Han (born 1943) Born in Indonesia Tan Swie Han is a Singaporean multi-disciplinary Artist who migrated from Indonesia in 1946 and is known for his Chinese calligraphy and Contemporary Art Sculptures. He is also distinguished as being the most expensive artist in Singapore after he sold his painting "Moon is Orbed" for S$3.7M in the year 2012 and later again broke his own record by selling his ink on rice-paper artwork "Bada Shanren" for S$4.4M. Tan Swie Han (courtesy Straits Times) Yeo Shih Yun (born 1976): Yeo Shih Yun is a Singaporean artist known for her abstract ink paintings. She combines traditional Chinese ink painting techniques with contemporary approaches, creating bold and expressive artworks reflecting her experiences and emotions. Jane Lee (born 1963): Jane Lee is a contemporary artist known for her experimental approach to painting. She often uses unconventional materials such as epoxy paint and polyurethane foam to create textured and multi-dimensional artworks that challenge traditional notions of painting. Lee has toyed with the painting structure to create rich and tactile abstract works that frequently combine two into three dimensions. These are just a few examples of the many talented artists from Singapore who have significantly contributed to the local and international art scene. The art scene in Singapore continues to evolve and grow, with new artists constantly emerging and pushing the boundaries of artistic expression. Head on to our curated collection Inspired-By-Singapore with a selection of works created by Artists worldwide that could illustrate different sides of Singapore's cultural diversity. Part of this collection is a selection of paintings by the Australian artist Dean O'Callaghan painted and inspired by Singapore's cityscapes and exclusively available on RtistiQ.

RTISTIQ TEAM

28 May 2023

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Anna Laifalight - Digital artist since 2009. Based in Kyiv, Ukraine. RtistiQ: What is your current situation Anna? Anna: From the very beginning of the war on February 24, my family decided to stay in Kyiv. But, on the 21st day of the war, I moved with my daughter to a quieter area in western Ukraine to my parents since there were explosions in our district and a large nine-story residential building was damaged not far from the house where we live in Kyiv. My husband and many other families with children still remain in their homes in Kyiv, and constantly testify about the explosions. RtistiQ: Explain more about your art. Anna: I mainly create digital art in Adobe Illustrator. That’s why it is easy for me to take everything necessary for it with me to another place: my laptop, my wacom tablet and an external hard drive. I have been working as a digital artist since 2009. My first collaboration as an artist was with stock agencies such as Shutterstock, Creative market, Adobe stock. Lately I saw that my artworks were used around the Globe in different projects, including many commercial ones. Some of them you can be seen here: https://www.laifalight.com/custom-design . I started to get freelance orders for art from different countries from time to time. In 2020 I launched my own site https://laifalight.com where I decided to represent only exclusive artworks. Although I have never arranged personal exhibitions, I found my art printed on canvases, book covers, murals, paper glasses, and textiles worldwide. "The series of beautiful streets with fashion people '' has become my "visit card" and has been created by me in my own way since 2010. RtistiQ: What do you think of NFTs? Anna: The use of the technology (NFT / Blockchain) provides a great opportunity for fairness to the authors, as this will help to avoid theft of digital works. Thank you for supporting artists from Ukraine in such a difficult time of the war. Our country and people are in great need of support.

RtistiQ

08 Apr 2022

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Pop Art emerged as a vibrant and influential artistic movement in the mid-1950s, challenging traditional notions of art and embracing the popular culture of the time. With its bold imagery, vibrant colors, and incorporation of everyday objects, Pop Art brought art closer to the masses. This article explores the definition, key characteristics, notable artists, and lasting impact of Pop Art on the art world and popular culture. What is Pop Art? Pop Art, short for "popular art," was a movement that emerged in the United States and the United Kingdom during the 1950s and 1960s. It was a reaction against the dominant abstract expressionist movement, which focused on subjective, introspective, and non-representational art. Pop Art, on the other hand, celebrated the ordinary, the commercial, and the mundane, drawing inspiration from mass-produced consumer goods, advertising, and popular culture. What are the characteristics of Pop Art? Appropriation and Repetition: Pop Art often incorporated images and objects taken from popular culture, such as product packaging, comic books, and celebrities. Artists manipulated and repeated these images to highlight their significance and challenge the concept of originality. Bold Colors and Simplified Forms: Pop artists used vibrant, eye-catching colors to attract attention and evoke a sense of consumerism. They simplified forms and employed graphic techniques, reminiscent of advertising and comic book aesthetics. Irony and Critique: Pop Art often conveyed a sense of irony and critique by juxtaposing disparate elements, subverting traditional art forms, and challenging societal norms. It questioned the boundaries between high and low culture, art and mass production, and the commercialization of society. Leading Artists of the Pop Art Movement Andy Warhol: One of the most iconic figures associated with Pop Art, Warhol employed screen-printing techniques to reproduce everyday objects, such as Campbell's soup cans and Coca-Cola bottles. His work explored themes of consumerism, fame, and the cult of celebrity. Roy Lichtenstein: Lichtenstein is renowned for his comic book-inspired paintings, featuring bold lines, Ben-Day dots, and speech bubbles. By appropriating and enlarging comic strip panels, he elevated popular culture to the realm of high art. Claes Oldenburg: Oldenburg's sculptures took ordinary objects and transformed them into monumental works of art. His oversized sculptures of hamburgers, typewriters, and clothespins challenged the viewer's perception of scale and materiality. Richard Hamilton: Considered the father of British Pop Art, Hamilton explored the relationship between art and technology. His collage-like works incorporated images from advertising, cinema, and popular magazines, reflecting the media-saturated society. Impact and Legacy Pop Art's influence extends far beyond its initial emergence in the 1960s. Its vibrant and accessible style has had a lasting impact on contemporary art, design, fashion, and popular culture. Pop Art paved the way for subsequent art movements such as Neo-Pop, Street Art, and the appropriation art of the 1980s. It blurred the boundaries between high and low art, challenged the traditional notions of artistic value, and emphasized the democratization of art. Concluding Remarks Pop Art revolutionized the art world by breaking away from the abstract and introspective tendencies of the time. It celebrated the everyday, the commercial, and the popular culture, making art more accessible to a wider audience. Through its use of appropriation, bold colors, and irony, Pop Art continues to captivate and inspire, leaving an indelible mark on contemporary art and popular culture.

RTISTIQ TEAM

01 Jul 2023

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The multifaceted work of Ukrainian artists has been welcomed by art buyers and collectors at home and throughout the world. But the war on Ukraine has ravaged the lives of these talented and driven artists and for the entire country as well. The events taking place feel unreal. Civilians have been forced to flee their homes and leave behind what they own due to this humanitarian crisis. Is seeing it in the news enough to make a difference? We think not. The crisis demands that we stand with the people who are being impacted by it and act in our capacities with a human-centric approach. So many Ukrainian artists have lost their homes, families and everything they had. They have lost the paintings they have worked so hard to create. Their paintings were both sources of inspiration and income, and now these precious pieces are gone or destroyed. The RtistiQ team had announced last week an upcoming non-fungible token (NFT) Drop of Women Artists, but given the current situation, we have decided to postpone it for a few weeks and instead give our fullest support to the Ukrainian artists right now. Art is in our spirit and in our destiny and to support these Ukrainian artists, RtistiQ will be launching a charity NFT art auction of their works. This is a corporate social responsibility initiative auction that will run from 7-10 April. Bidding is open to everyone. There will be no commissions charged to the artists in this auction and the entire mint cost and transaction cost will be borne by RtistiQ. It is urgent and these artists need emergency aid, shelter & supplies, and that’s where the proceeds from this first-ever charity auction of NFT artworks by RtistiQ will go. We at RtistiQ aim to give Ukrainian artists hope through our online art platform. As we raise money for a noble cause, we hope that the world can show it’s support for the Ukrainian artists by participating in this deed. We are ready to step up their art into the digital world so that the world can experience the metaverse first-hand - and in the process raise vital funds for these artists who are now in dire need of them in this particularly critical time.

RtistiQ

17 Mar 2022

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Starting today, the waiting list is open for early access to a never seen before, never done before NFT. The Maharaja of all NFTs is poised as a rare opportunity to own a piece of Indian Art Legacy - the works of Raja Ravi Varma one of the greatest painters in the history of Indian art. It will be brought to you by RtistiQ in collaboration with ‘Raja Ravi Varma Heritage Foundation’ and ‘Gallery G’. The iconic Raja Ravi Varma (1848-1906) is known as ‘The Father of Modern Indian Art’. The royal brought a historic turn in the art of India and became the most iconic Indian artist of all times. He united Hindu mythological subject matter with European realism historicist painting style, depicting Indian gods and characters. Raja Ravi Varma made use of oil painting and mastered the art of lithographic reproduction to bring a wind of change by focusing on the details with his play of light, shadows and adding depth using perspective. His artworks are either part of royal collections and housed in palaces in India or owned by eminent private collectors. Just as RtistiQ has established a game changing secure physical-digital link for artists & buyers, via this auction of Raja Ravi Varma’s works and lithographs, we want to set a precedent for a rare collectible that has stepped out of history’s canvas. This is an NFT of many firsts; the first NFT of a national treasure, the first and only digital NFT for Raja Ravi Varma, first one in collaboration with a foundation and the first with a traditional gallery representation. The Indian government has declared his works nationwide treasures and non-export antiquities. With this endeavour to tokenize a chapter of Indian art, our mission is to bring to any art aficionado a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own original Raja Ravi Varma’s works regardless of where they reside. We will be revealing more on the auction and dates soon. Make sure you join the waitlist on the RtistiQ NFT drop page. Follow us on discord https://discord.gg/HNwU7gUqjS to not miss out on any update.

RtistiQ

17 Dec 2021

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The Art challenges the technology and the technology inspires the Art - John Lasseter Beyond inspiration, Technology has now moved into augmenting Art and bringing people together to cherish creativity to its truest potential. At RtistIQ we aspire to bring forward the best in class technology to the Creative Community, furthering its outreach while also helping to address some of the known challenges of the Industry. Technology today has been transforming every Industry known to humans, making it faster, better and with best of convenience. Digital Transformation has been the key driving focus for majority of industries to provide best of tools and services to the consumers at an affordable price. Internet, Mobile and Smartphones has penetrated every household in recent time, bringing together both an opportunity as well as challenges. The opportunity lies in reaching to the farthest of places and people, which wouldn't have been possible at any level of physical interaction; while bringing the challenge of being able to stand-out, provide credibility and protection from fraudulent transactions. Technology Behind RtistiQ At RtistIQ, we have brought together a combination of latest technology and artistry to give power to the creative community to expand their outreach with convenience, security and specialization. Some of the key technology put in place are as below Blockchain & NFC Powered At its core we have combined the powers of Digital Imagery, Blockchain and NFC to create a digital DNA of every artwork linking back to the original creator, offering proof of ownership, provenance history and security from forgeries. We employ advanced image scanning and robust hashing techniques to create a digital finger-print, which along with other unique information of the art as well as its transaction are stored securely into the blockchain. A tamper proof IOT device attached to the artwork provide additional security and authenticity to the physical work, which is further linked back to the platform for validation. Artificial Intelligence We harness the power of Artificial Intelligence to offer better security to the art works as well as facilitate better Art Discovery and predictability for the users based on their interests and choices. No two humans are same and so is the perception of artwork. With AI we are able to offer individuality of choices and personalize user experiences. Together with conversational AI and chatbots, helps users to interact with the platform to assist the usage and search of artworks of interest without waiting for support staffs. AI enabling is not part of the current Beta release, and is currently on learning mode to be made available in the main release. Augmented Reality And 3D Projections One of the common challenges of digital mediums in comparison to physical stores / exhibitions, has been the ability to interact with the product / artwork. This is to an extent getting eliminated through the use of AR technology, which enables users to have an in-store like experience and also see the fitment of the artwork in their living rooms. The ability to visualize a virtual representation of products in 3D, to scale and in their intended environment, enables shoppers to make better judgments, removing the need to measure and verify dimensions. Once they have made their determinations, they can buy the artwork online and have it shipped right to their door-steps with few clicks. RtistIQ further employs digital technology, social-media aggregation and other automation tools to make the marketplace engaging and convenient for both the creator and Art lovers. We strongly believe, through the application of digital channels and advanced technologies is going to change the way we look, perceive and interact with artworks for the betterment of the community in large. We strive to bring the best and most advanced technologies in its easiest forms for the Art Community to benefit from. We hope as users you would enjoy interacting with the platform as much we did to bring the platform out to you... Author: RTISTIQ Team

RtistiQ

26 Nov 2020

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