SAM's dark Gift

SINGAPORE Art Museum's new exhibition is titled The Gift. But while most gifts bring happiness and good cheer, this Gift evokes something much darker.

Part of its somberness comes from the way the show is lit and laid out: The gallery appears a few hundred lumens dimmer than most galleries in National Gallery Singapore. And while the artists are all excellent, several of their works have taken on dramatically dark resonances when lit this way.

Take, for instance, the first work to greet you by the door: Joseph Beuys' raw and elemental piece Energiestab (Energy Staff), a 4-metre copper rod partially wrapped, somewhere near the middle, in felt.