Art Projects Gallery, in collaboration with Utterly Art, proudly present Brands and Friends Vol. 2 by well loved Singaporean artist Andre Tan who is known for his edgy pop style.
A major portion of Singapore pop artist Andre Tan's output riffs on the logos of international brands, in combination with a number of comic and cartoon characters. These animated personalities interact with the brand in anarchically improbable ways, generating a wink and a smile as recognition, then humour, strikes its audience. Both brands and characters have high recognition factors in fields as varied as fashion, film, music, animation and gaming, drawn from both Western sources as in comics and cartoons, or Eastern ones as in manga or anime. As such, they are drawn from the very fabric of contemporary popular culture, placing Andre firmly in the genre of pop art.
In Brands and Friends Vol. 2, Andre’s experimental nature continually reinterprets his appropriations of pop-culture images in eye-catching ways, to capitalize upon meanings already embedded and to add his own. A product of his personal surroundings and experiences that invite self-exploration, these interpretations also comment on consumerism and commodification in a brand-conscious society, offering fresh perspectives on the dialogues that the images create.
About the Artist:
Andre Tan obtained his Diploma in Fine Arts (Painting) from the LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts, Singapore in 2000. He furthered his studies at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University and obtained his Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art with Honours 1st Class in 2004. Continuing at the LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts, he obtained his Master of Arts in Fine Arts in 2006. He is the recipient of the Judge’s Choice for the UTGP08-Kenichiro Mogi Prize (2008, Japan), Studentship Scheme (2005) and also the Georgette Chen Arts Scholarship (1999) at the LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts, Singapore.
Andre Tan’s work is often viewed in relation to the sensibilities of Pop Art and of reproduced images from pop culture, in the commercial style of advertising and mass communication. His artworks explore popular icons and cultural motifs under a bright color palette. While his deliberation upon Pop Art’s obsession with the everyday and its critique of popular culture is seen in his selection of content for his work, his focus is less the concerns of commercialism per se as its effects and the reflective process engendered.
His artworks are collected by private collectors in Singapore, Indonesia, Japan, Italy, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Australia and the UK.
藝途畫廊，連合純粹藝術畫廊，榮幸呈現新加坡藝術家陳志偉香港首度個人展覽《品牌和朋友 第二系列》。深受愛戴的陳志偉以他的前衛流行風格而聞名。
新加坡流行藝術家陳志偉的大部分作品都與國際品牌的標誌相結合，並融匯了許多漫畫及卡通角色。這些動畫人物在不受約束的狀態下，“無法無天”的與國際品牌進行互動，得意的對著觀眾眨眼和微笑，令人覺得特別逗趣。作品裡的品牌和角色，無論是來自西方的漫畫或卡通角色，又或是來自東方的漫畫或動漫角色，在時尚、電影、音樂、動畫和遊戲等各個領域都是具有很高的識別率及知名度。藝術家從當代流行文化的最根層結構中汲取靈感，足以另其在流行藝術領域中根深地固。
是次展覽《品牌和朋友 第二系列》，藝術家陳志偉持續其實驗性的對流行文化圖像的解剖。利用已經嵌入意義的圖像，再融入藝術家想表達的意義，創作出一系列搶眼的作品。作品反映了藝術家本人所處的環境， 一個主張消費主義、商品化和注重品牌意識的社會。流行文化圖像和國際品牌標誌經藝術家一番自我探索和巧妙的解剖及結合下，為圖像創造了對話及提供了新的視角。
有關藝術家：
陳志偉於2000年在新加坡拉薩爾藝術獲得美術（繪畫）文憑。他曾在皇家墨爾本理工大學（RMIT）深造並於2004年取得美術學士學位榮獲一等獎。其後繼續在拉薩爾新藝術學院學習，2006年獲得美術碩士學位。UTGP08-Kenichiro Mogi獎（2008年，日本）的評審投選得主、學生計劃得主（2005） 以及新加坡拉薩爾新藝術學院的Georgette Chen藝術獎學金（1999）得主。
陳志偉的作品經常被視為與波普藝術和流行文化的複製圖像以及廣告和大眾傳播的商業風格相關。他的作品在明亮的調色板下探索流行的圖標和文化圖案。雖然從他的作品內容中似乎可以看出他對波普藝術的痴迷以及他對流行文化的批判；然而他的重點不在於商業化本身，而在於它的影響和反思過程的產生。
他的作品備受歡迎，私人收藏家包括來自新加坡、印度尼西亞、日本、意大利、香港、瑞士、澳大利亞和英國。
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