Latin American art and antiques shine in Singapore spotlight

IT IS rare for Latin American art and antiquities to seize the spotlight in this part of the world. But by some fortunate celestial alignment, there are not one but two vibrant showcases of Latin American culture running simultaneously at the National Gallery Singapore (NGS) and Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM).

The two museums, standing just a block away from each other, naturally have different perspectives on the subject. NGS looks at 20th century artistic expressions from the region and features famous names such as Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera and Paul Gauguin. ACM looks at the art and antiquities dating as far back as the 16th century.

What the two exhibitions have in common, however, is that neither is looking at Latin America in isolation. Rather, they compare the region’s diverse cultural heritage spanning thousands of years to that of South-east Asia. Through this approach, they find parallels that include their complex history of colonialism, independence movements and contemporary developments.