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Tokyo Weekender
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Tokyo Weekender
City of Others: How Asian Artists Shaped Paris' Golden Age of Modernism
There are few periods in modern art history as revolutionary and prolific as the one spanning the 1920s to the early 40s in Paris. Beginning with les années folles — 'the crazy years' — the epoch saw an explosion of experimental art, music, literature and film. Writers and painters from around the world flocked to the city in pursuit of creative freedom and collaboration, forming the École de Paris (School of Paris): a community of French and foreign-born artists associated with intersecting avant-garde movements. For decades, the legacy of this cultural zeitgeist has largely been filtered through a Eurocentric lens — Pablo Picasso's fragmented geometric creations, Salvador Dalí's psychological landscapes and Marc Chagall's lyrical, azure canvases permanently etched in our popular imagination. Moving beyond this dominant narrative, the National Gallery Singapore provides a kaleidoscopic window into the vibrant network of Asian artists in Paris, who contributed immensely to global modernism in their own ways through an extraordinary stylistic and cultural hybridity. Titled 'City of Others: Asian Artists in Paris, 1920s–1940s,' the comparative exhibition consists of six thoughtfully curated thematic sections, paying tribute to the artists' visions, lived experiences and nuanced self-reflexivity. The displays draw from over 50 lenders from around the globe and include works by Tsuguharu Foujita, Georgette Chen, Lê Phổ, Yun Gee and many more luminaries. At the heart of 'City of Others' is the question of how these artists, romanticized yet peripheral in a foreign land, shaped complex visual languages within dual spheres — one populated by a Parisian public with preconceptions of 'Asian' aesthetics and the other shaped by the increasingly cosmopolitan, rapidly shifting notions of modern art back home. List of Contents: Portraits of Self as Other Art Deco and 'Asian' Influence Colonial and Anti-Colonial Agendas The Promise of Prestige A City of Artistic Freedom and Exchange About National Gallery Singapore Related Posts Pai Un-soung. Self-Portrait (Atelier). Early 1930s. Oil on canvas, 60.5 x 51 cm. Collection of Centre culturel Français de Daejeon Georgette Chen. Self Portrait. c.1923. Oil on Canvas. 35 x 27 cm. Collection of National Gallery Singapore. Portraits of Self as Other The exhibition opens with a set of self-portraits by the artists featured throughout the exhibition, focusing on how they dealt with a new and shifting identity as 'other' while shaping their public image. Pan Yuliang, one of the few Asian female artists in Paris during the 1930s, casts a quietly confident gaze upon the viewer, rejecting exoticized portrayals of Chinese women. Korean artist Pai Un-soung appears solemn and professional in his portrait, dressed in a coat and tie. Vietnamese painter Mai Trung Thứ, on the other hand, playfully adopts the trope of a modern artist-bohemian, smoking a cigarette with an eyebrow cocked. Foujita Tsuguharu. Autoportrait au chat (Self-Portrait with Cat). 1926. Oil, pen and ink on canvas, 80.4 x 60.2 cm. Gift of the artist in 1927. Collection of Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon. © Fondation Foujita / ADAGP, Paris, 2025. Image © MBA Lyon – Photo Martial Couderette. B 1435. In his self-portrait, the aforementioned Foujita, a prominent figure of the École de Paris, illustrates his stylistic duality as a foreign-born painter, using an innovative technique of fine black sumi ink lines on a ground of chalky white. 'Self-Portrait with Cat' (1926) sets the tone for his skillful fusion of modernism and Japanese painting traditions throughout the exhibition. Art Deco and 'Asian' Influence One of the main fields in which Asian artists wielded significant influence was the decorative arts, especially pertaining to the art deco movement. Art deco (short for arts décoratifs) is often characterized by rich, bold colors, geometric shapes and material splendor. Lacquerware and lacquer art were particularly in vogue and essential to the flourishing aesthetic — and many of these luxurious ornaments were crafted by Vietnamese and Japanese artists. 'Japanese prints that have circulated in Paris for centuries set a certain audience expectation [about Japanese aesthetics],' says Phoebe Scott, lead curator of the exhibition. 'What's different about this period is that it's not just art objects coming from Asia … artists, designers and workers arrived in large numbers and actually participated in the ateliers of the decorative arts.' (From left to right) Hamanaka Katsu. six-panelled screen with mythological scene. 1939, Composition. c. 1930, Panels. c. 1925. Installation view, City of Others: Asian Artists in Paris, 1920s–1940s, National Gallery Singapore, 2025 Katsu Hamanaka, a prominent Japanese lacquer artist, was acutely aware of the French appetite for exotic motifs and textures, as evidenced by his sumptuous and elaborate pieces; yet, he avoided reductive 'Oriental' imagery by drawing from a variety of visual references. 'The era of simply introducing 'things Japanese' is over. We must create products that fit into European lifestyles, items that fulfill practical needs rather than being exotic curiosities. This is the only path forward,' he claimed. Hamanaka's rarely seen 'six-panelled screen with mythological scene' (1939), composed of lacquer and gold leaf, is a particularly striking example of his engagement with classical mythology, rendering what appears to be the Three Graces on a deep crimson backdrop. Hamanaka had no previous training in lacquer when he arrived in Paris in 1924, but the surge in demand for lacquer at the time enabled him to establish a workshop with a team of artisans, once he learned techniques from compatriot and master lacquerer Seizo Sugawara. Jean Dunand. La forêt (Forest). 1930. Gold and silver lacquer and hinges; 12 panels, total 300 x 600 cm. Collection of Mobilier National. Image courtesy of Mobilier National; photo by Isabelle Bideau, GME-7196-000. While certain Vietnamese artists, like Phạm Hậu, exhibited lacquer paintings under their own names, many Vietnamese artisans remained uncredited for their expertise. For instance, the studio of Jean Dunand, a preeminent Swiss-born lacquer artist, saw enormous growth upon employing expert workers from traditional lacquer-producing regions of Vietnam. The exhibition honors and credits some of these invisible artisans for the first time, with a rare record of their names from the French national archives. View of the Pavilion of Indochina at the International Colonial Exposition, 1931, photographed by M. Cloche. Reproduced from M. Cloche, 60 Aspects de l'Exposition Coloniale (Paris: Éditions arts et métiers graphiques, 1931), unpaginated. Collection of National Gallery Singapore Library & Archives, gift of Adrian Jones. Colonial and Anti-Colonial Agendas Although the population of Vietnamese artists in Paris was relatively small compared to those from Japan or China, their art gained prominence in the cultural sphere, partially to promote French colonialism. Paris was the site of the International Colonial Exposition of 1931, where European powers showcased their empires through art from the colonies and grand reproductions of native architectural styles. 'It was felt that the broad French public had disconnected a bit from the idea of colonialism, and the intention was to re-engage them with an excitement about the colonial setting,' Scott explains. Some eight million people visited the exposition. Activists from both France and Indochina, including Ho Chi Minh, resisted the valorization of colonialism through political cartoons, satirical images and text. Also contesting the Colonial Exposition were surrealist intellectuals and artists like André Breton and Yves Tanguy, who established an anti-colonial 'counter exposition' titled 'The Truth About the Colonies' in union with the PCF (the French Communist Party) . Lê Phổ. L'ge heureux (The Happy Age). 1930. Oil on canvas, 126 x 177 cm. Private American collection. Photo: © Aguttes. For many Vietnamese artists, like Lê Phổ and Vũ Cao Đàm, however, the exposition presented a complex 'politics of achievement,' as Scott notes. Vietnamese modern art had its first international exposure there, allowing its constituents to forge their careers in Paris. The Promise of Prestige 'City of Others' further delves into the intricacies of how Asian artists strategically positioned themselves within the competitive Parisian art scene, discussing the kinds of works that received interest and the platforms that launched careers. Navigating the practical and cultural boundaries of salons, museums and commercial galleries was no simple task; it meant balancing issues of personal and national identity, along with public appeal. (From left to right) ink works by Chen Shuren, Wang Yachen, Qi Baishi, Gao Qifeng, Zhang Daqian, Xu Beihong. Displayed at the Exhibition of Chinese Painting, Musée du Jeu de Paume, Paris. 1933. Installation view, City of Others: Asian Artists in Paris, 1920s–1940s, National Gallery Singapore, 2025 In response to the city's surge in artists from around the world and audience interest in foreign styles, a space dedicated to foreign modern art was established. The Musée du Jeu de Paume exhibited and collected the art of 'contemporary foreign schools' throughout the 1920s and 30s, showcasing Japanese and Chinese paintings among others. 'It's interesting to see that in these two exhibitions, the organizers had many choices of what to present of Japanese or Chinese art, but they purposely, unconsciously, I think, chose to focus on works done in ink,' remarks senior curator Lisa Horikawa. 'What the French audience expected to see from artists from Asia was important for the organizers.' The French audience's preconceptions of Asian art were also on the artists' minds. Xu Beihong, one of China's famed modern painters, gravitated toward oils and academic realism in the 1920s but initially chose to present his traditional ink works in Paris. 'This [duality in oil and ink] represented not only the two distinct threads in Xu's practice, but also the trends of Chinese artists in Paris in general,' curator Teo Hui Min explains. Itakulla Kanae.《赤衣の女》(Woman in Red Dress). 1929. Oil on canvas, 116.8 x 80.3 cm. Collection of Matsudo City Board of Education. Image courtesy of Matsudo City Board of Education. 'Their time in Paris was not intended to be for good. The artists had a limited time in Paris, perhaps a few years, and it was important for them that they find an opportunity to exhibit their work in Paris,' Horikawa says. Household names like Kanae Itakulla (also spelled 'Itakura'), Pai, Chen and Liu Kang were among the sea of hopefuls competing for their works to be selected for large-scale, juried salon exhibitions at places like the Salon d'Automne — having their names published in salon catalogs or winning awards became an important stepping stone toward exhibiting at commercial galleries. Liu Kang (right) and Fu Lei (back row, right) with friends in Paris 1930. Collection of the family of Liu Kang © Liu Kang Family A City of Artistic Freedom and Exchange Many Asian painters, like Xu and Itakulla, found success through figurative and academic styles, which coincided with the rappel à l'ordre ('return to order') movement in Paris at the time — a renewed interest in the classical ideals of the Greco-Roman tradition, emphasizing realism, balance and harmony. Others experimented with more avant-garde styles and Western techniques, crafting singular and beautiful modernist masterpieces. The École de Paris did not have a uniform style and celebrated a variety of new informal and progressive methods, further encouraged by the presence of independent art academies in the area. various works by Liu Kang, 1929-32. Installation view, City of Others: Asian Artists in Paris, 1920s–1940s, National Gallery Singapore, 2025 Much of this experimental spirit stemmed from the free, bohemian environment in Montparnasse, the famous artistic hub located on the Left Bank of Paris' Seine River. 'Such a community … is not composed solely of Parisians, and indeed one can find people of over 50 nationalities,' Foujita, one of Montparnasse's most famous foreign residents, mused. 'It is no wonder this environment fosters unconventional ideas and creativity.' 'The artists didn't arrive in Paris with a blank slate, but brought their own artistic trajectories that they built in their home country or elsewhere,' Horikawa notes, highlighting Chinese American modernist Yun Gee, who lived and worked in Guangdong, San Francisco, Paris and New York City, as an example. 'Place Maubert' (1929), a swirling, dreamlike rendering of a glowing Parisian night, captures his expressionist and surrealist influences. Yun Gee.《莫伯特广场》Place Maubert. 1929. Oil on canvas, 73 x 60 cm. Private collection. Image courtesy of Tina Keng Gallery. Kigai Kawaguchi, a key figure in Japan's Western-style painting tradition, likewise demonstrates his cubist influences in 'Still Life, Mandolin' (1927–31). The work's title and subject matter reference Picasso's 'Still Life with a Mandolin' (1924), while its geometric abstraction takes inspiration from the synthetic cubism of Picasso and Chagall. As the site of such unprecedented and generative cultural exchanges, Montparnasse itself — and Paris by extension — became a muse for the artists who infused it with texture and life through their brushstrokes. While the aftermath of World War II brought an end to the city's cultural prestige, visual languages and many Asian artists' Parisian tenures, their love letters to 'the crazy years' immortalize its electric atmosphere and boundless creativity. photography by Lisa Knight courtesy of national gallery singapore About National Gallery Singapore National Gallery Singapore is home to the world's largest public collection of Singaporean and Southeast Asian art and endeavors to recontextualize the region's artistic contributions within global narratives. The institution is celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2025. Beyond its extensive permanent collection and thoughtfully curated special exhibitions, the gallery embodies Singapore's unique history through its architecture. It is housed in two national monuments — the City Hall and the former Supreme Court — making it an iconic cultural landmark. Related Posts Kenzo Tange: Japan's Most Influential Architect | Spotlight Japan's Golden Legacy at the Cannes Film Festival Contemporary Artists To Watch in 2025 From Art Fair Tokyo
Korea Herald
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
‘City of Others' highlights how Asian artists in Paris influenced modern art
Korean painter Pai Un-soung's works are among the 220 artworks and 200 archival finds in the National Gallery Singapore exhibition that trace how Asian artists quietly but decisively shaped the modernist legacy of Paris SINGAPORE -- The exhibition 'City of Others: Asian Artists in Paris, 1920s–1940s' at National Gallery Singapore invites visitors to a fascinating exploration of the lives and works of Asian artists in Paris in the early 20th century. The landmark exhibition, which runs through Aug. 17, comprises over 220 works and 200 archival materials, drawing from collections across Asia and Europe to reveal the overlooked lives and practices of artists from Vietnam, China, Japan, Korea and India. These artists did not merely study in Paris -- they shaped it, challenged it and redefined its modernist legacy. 'It's not just a survey about being in Paris,' explains Phoebe Scott, senior curator and curator of research publications at the National Gallery. 'It's kind of a remapping of Paris.' Her research explores the intersections of modernism and colonialism, particularly in Southeast Asia. The exhibition opens with self-portraits -- literal and metaphorical -- by artists attempting to define themselves in a foreign environment. Georgette Chen's 'Self Portrait' (1923) captures her quiet self-assurance, while Tsuguharu Foujita's 'Self-Portrait with Cat' (1926) is both whimsical and masterfully composed, with its fine black sumi ink lines on a chalky white ground. This innovative technique demonstrated his ease with both modernism and Japanese painting traditions. The first section, titled 'Workshop to the World,' explores the critical role Asian artists played in the decorative arts, particularly lacquer -- a medium central to the Art Deco movement. One standout is Katsuki Hamanaka, whose geometric abstraction in 'Composition' (1930) modernized Japanese lacquer work. Hamanaka trained in Paris under Seizo Sougawara and later founded his own atelier. 'He didn't like the idea that lacquer should just continue to circulate Orientalist cliches. That's why you see techniques and motifs that are Art Deco-inspired or drawn from Western art history," said Scott. Nearby, the work of Vietnamese artisans comes into focus through French designer Jean Dunand. Although celebrated in Paris, Dunand relied on anonymous Vietnamese lacquerers, many of whom had migrated to France after World War I. 'A quarter of the Indochinese migrants in Paris at this time worked as lacquerers,' said Scott. Their identities, recovered from colonial police archives, are presented here for the first time. The 'Theatre of the Colonies' section examines the 1931 International Colonial Exposition in Paris, where colonial powers displayed their territories like museum specimens. Amidst this spectacle, Le Pho's "L'Age heureux" (1930) debuted as part of Vietnam's first modernist art display abroad. 'It's really difficult to know how these artists felt about having their work presented in such a colonialist platform,' Scott reflects. 'But I think we can see it within the frame of a politics of achievement.' In counterpoint, the exhibition includes materials from anti-colonial activists such as Surrealists, Communists and Vietnamese nationalists, who produced pamphlets and posters decrying the exposition. Among them is a cartoon by Ho Chi Minh, mocking the colonial display's celebration of opium and violence. One of the most revelatory aspects of the exhibition is the inclusion of Asian dance. "We began to realize that there were some interesting crossovers,' Scott shares. 'A number of dancers were artist models. A number of dancers were also trained in the visual arts. The same dynamic between an expectation of exoticism, a desire for experimental modernity, versus the expectations of the public — we see that same dynamic in dancers and visual arts.' The exhibition highlights performers like Oshi Komori, Raden Mas Jodjana and Choi Seung-hee. 'We have also been able to use Chae Song-hee (Choi Seung-hee) as a figure she turns into in exotic forms of dance. And at some point during this period, she was actually the highest-paid entertainer in the whole of Europe. So it just goes to show the popularity that foreign dancers could achieve at this time,' said the curator. Exhibiting the 'other' In the 'Sites of Exhibition' section, the focus turns to how Asian artists carved out space within the Paris art world. Liu Kang's 'View of Sacré-Cœur' (1931) and Chen's 'Well in Provence' (1935) reflect how Asian painters absorbed and adapted European techniques while maintaining distinct perspectives. Their works were shown in prestigious salons and solo shows alongside those of their European peers. Korean painter Pai Un-soung's 'Returning Home' (1938), a tranquil snowscape echoing both oil painting and the Japanese genre of ukiyo-e, and his 'Portrait of Assia Rubinstein,' reflect a refined, internationalist vision shaped by 18 years in Europe. 'Pai was also one of the artists who was able to exhibit commercially quite successfully, and he also developed an interesting relationship with the art critic Assia Rubenstein, who wrote a review of Pai's work. He wrote, 'It's customary to attribute the source of the creative works made by artists born outside the confines of Europe to a facile and somewhat confused notion of exoticism.' So it's like he's critiquing the taste for the exotic,' explained Scott. Although Pai spent most of his time in Europe in Berlin, he managed to hold a solo exhibition in Paris. The show was supported by a Franco-Japanese society or association. He later settled in North Korea after the Korean War, so not much is known about his activities after that point. In the 'Studio and Street' section, Montparnasse emerges as a zone of creative exchange. Amrita Sher-Gil's 'Woman Wearing Shawl' (1932) captures the intimate dignity of her subject -- a woman both vulnerable and resolute. Sanyu's 'Reclining Pink Nude with Raised Arms,' a lyrical and restrained canvas, blends Chinese minimalism with Parisian sensuality. Unlike Matisse or Modigliani, Sanyu's approach is quieter, inward-looking and infused with the rhythm of calligraphic line. The final section, 'Aftermaths,' considers what came next. For some artists, like Mai Trung Thu, who remained in France, the postwar years brought both opportunity and isolation. His 'Self-Portrait with Glasses' (1950), painted on silk with a thoughtful, measured touch, reflects the duality of belonging and distance in a decolonizing world. The exhibition 'City of Others: Asian Artists in Paris, 1920s–1940s' offers a thought-provoking look at how Asian artists, including Koreans, navigated their identities and artistic practices in a city that was both a beacon of creative freedom and a site of racial and cultural tension. Through their work, these artists engaged with the complexities of being 'other' in Paris, constantly negotiating their place within both the European and Asian artistic worlds. The show successfully intertwines personal, cultural and historical narratives, creating a rich and immersive experience that invites viewers to reflect on the continuing relevance of these artists' journeys in a world that is still grappling with questions of migration, identity and belonging.
Forbes
07-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
This New Landmark Exhibition Rewrites Parisian Art History By Challenging Eurocentric Perspectives
Sanyu, Reclining Pink Nude with Raised Arms, 1930s/1940s, oil on canvas, 80.5 x 129.5 cm. Collection of Leo Shih Photo courtesy of Leo Shih 'City of Others: Asian Artists in Paris, 1920s-1940s', currently on view at National Gallery Singapore until August 17, 2025, is a groundbreaking exhibition that re-examines Parisian art history through the lens of Asian artists who lived and worked there during this transformative era. Featuring over 200 artworks – including paintings, sculptures, lacquerware and decorative arts – alongside rare archival materials, it showcases the contributions of prominent figures such as Foujita Tsuguharu, Georgette Chen, Lê Phổ, Liu Kang, Xu Beihong and Sanyu. By highlighting the dynamic exchanges of esthetics and ideas between these artists and their European counterparts, the exhibition examines conventional Eurocentric narratives and offers a nuanced perspective on the cultural interactions that shaped modern art in Paris. I sit down with Phoebe Scott, Senior Curator and Curator of Research Publications at National Gallery Singapore, for insights into the exhibition. 'City of Others' is described as a re-examination of Parisian art history from Asian perspectives. How does the exhibition challenge the traditional Eurocentric narrative of Paris as the center of modern art by providing Asian perspectives researched by National Gallery Singapore, an Asian art institution? What is new about the exhibition is that it is structured based on the parts of the Paris art world where artists from Asia concentrated their activity: where they exhibited, worked or lived. So, in that way, the exhibition remaps Paris from their point of view. Coming to the exhibition, visitors won't see the same art movements that they would see if they opened a standard textbook on modern art because we are highlighting what was significant, stylistically and practically, to the populations of Asian artists in Paris at the time. It offers a story of the exchanges that took place in the workshops of the decorative arts and in the development of the Art Deco style; of the nexus between modern art and the promotion of colonialism in Paris; of the ongoing significance of Salons and nationally-themed exhibitions; and of art that was informed by the texture of social and daily life as a migrant in Paris. We also acknowledge in the exhibition that these artists often encountered Paris while moving in and out of equally dynamic and cosmopolitan modernities elsewhere. They were often making new modern work directed to a dual audience, both in Paris and in their countries of origin. Liu Kang, View of Sacré-Cœur, 1931, gouache on paper, 25 × 16.5 cm. Collection of Liu Kang Family Photo courtesy of Liu Kang Family What does the exhibition title 'City of Others' represent? Paris in the post-WWI period was experiencing a surge of migrants from around the world. Artists arriving from Asia in Paris not only experienced the 'othering' effects of making their way in a new city and culture, but also encountered other migrant populations who were equally unfamiliar with France and with one other. In this environment, difference was accentuated. The exhibition title is also our way of prominently acknowledging the significance of migrant artists in general, not only from Asia, in the art world of Paris in this time period. As the first major comparative exhibition on this topic, what are some of the most significant new insights or revelations that the exhibition brings to light that viewers will discover for the very first time? The comparative scale of this exhibition is new, which allows us to see artists from Asia in this period in a broader, as well as a more nuanced, way. It is a major exhibition of 230 artworks, including painting, sculpture, lacquerware, decorative arts, and a further 200 archives or archival images to show the presence of Asian artists in Paris. We have around 50 different lenders to the exhibition, private collections and museums, from France as well as across Asia. This scale and diversity of materials allows us to generate new insights. For instance, there has already been significant country-based research on Asian artists in Paris, especially on Japanese and Chinese artists in Paris. But by working within a comparative framework, it is really interesting to see patterns where the experiences of artists from different parts of Asia converge or diverge. One of the key insights that we notice overall is that for most artists, their period in Paris did not make their work more visibly 'French'. Actually, many began to reconsider their cultures of origin from the perspective of distance and mobilize this sense of 'Asian-ness' in a new way. This was both because of the expectations of the audience in Paris, but also artists' desire to create new modern styles that had a meaningful relationship to their cultures of origin. From this point of view, the idea of artists coming to Paris to receive 'French influence' seems like a very limited and outdated way of understanding this experience. Itakulla Kanae, Woman in Red Dress, 1929, oil on canvas, 116 × 80.3 cm. Collection of Matsudo City Board of Education Photo courtesy of Matsudo City Board of Education How is this exhibition a continuation of National Gallery Singapore's in-depth research into Asian art history? Since the Gallery's inception 10 years ago, our research and curatorial experience have focused on examining art history and Southeast Asia's connections to this narrative. We have taken this further with 'City of Others' by bringing fresh insights into this period of artistic exchange throughout our research and exhibition-making. Singapore's historical position as a cultural crossroads and its multicultural heritage make National Gallery Singapore uniquely equipped to understand and interpret the complex cultural negotiations and exchanges that the Asian artist community engaged in within the cosmopolitan city of Paris. 'City of Others' builds on the work done in previous exhibitions like 'Reframing Modernism: Painting from Southeast Asia, Europe and Beyond' (2016) and 'Minimalism: Space. Light. Object' (2019), which also recontextualized the region's artistic contributions within global narratives, allowing for a more nuanced examination of how Asian artists navigated between their cultural traditions and influences from the West.
