Shedding light on underappreciated artists

TWO late Modern artists, You Khin (1947-2009) of Cambodia and Chen Cheng Mei (1927-2020) of Singapore, are often neglected in the historical accounts of Singapore, Cambodia and South-east Asian art. But it's not for their lack of talent, discipline and ambition.

Both were technically virtuosic and often ventured out of their countries to paint the people and places of South Asia, Africa and other regions.

Yet art history has been unkind to them, letting their legacy and contributions be eclipsed by flashier, edgier artists.

A small, new exhibition space at the National Gallery Singapore hopes to redress this - not just for You Khin and Chen, but also other South-east Asian artists who deserve wider recognition. The space situated on the third floor of the Gallery is called Dalam South-east Asia. In Malay, "dalam" means "inside". But the word also carries connotations of "depth" and "interiority", suggesting a deeper and more thoughtful exploration into the oeuvres of these under-studied artists.

For its opening exhibition, the simple space showcases several excellent paintings by Chen and You Khin, as well as their notes, sketches and drawings created over the years.

Of the two, You Khin's art is arguably easier to admire. He displays a masterly command of colour, movement and composition as he portrays everyday scenes in various countries. They include a tailor shop in Ivory Coast, Pakistani bakers working in Qatar, and a busy marketplace in Sudan.

You Khin, who lived in Africa and the Middle East for many years, often depicts a central story within each painting. But the worlds he conjures are so startlingly rich, there are also sideshows and subplots, offering up different interpretative registers.

Distilling moments

Chen's art, on the other hand, feels less expansive. Like You Khin, she was an intrepid traveller, going with fellow artists on painting trips around South-east Asia, South Asia and Africa. But within each canvas, she often chooses to tell one distinct story.

For instance, a 1975 painting titled Market Scene, Sri Lanka shows three men carrying baskets of produce. But Chen distils what could have been an impersonal, everyday picture of a market into a warm and friendly one: The men are smiling and acknowledging each other while going about their daily work. Here, as in other paintings such Kenyan Chieftains (1991) and Trading Room (1974), she strips away the details and simplifies the visual motifs so the focus stays on a single story.

The exhibition's title The Tailors And The Mannequins is taken from one of You Khin's paintings on display. As curator Roger Nelson explains, the title unites the two artists' distinctive ways of portraying fabric and clothes: in You Khin's paintings, the clothes seem to sway and skim over his figures; Chen, on the other hand, artfully captures the way fabric hangs from and drapes around her figures' bodies.

The Tailors And The Mannequins is the first of four small-format exhibitions slated to roll out every six months till 2023. Each one promises to shed light on lesser-known artists. Though the space is small, its intentions are nothing less than noble and restitutive.

• The exhibition runs from now till Apr 10, 2022.