Art Seasons Gallery is pleased to announce :phunkTanaaMIX – :phunk & Keiichi Tanaami, an exhibition featuring the collaborative paintings and silkscreen prints by noted Singaporean art collective :phunk and Japanese artist Keiichi Tanaami. When :phunk, a younger generation artists, met their long time inspiration, Keiichi Tanaami, each artist’s enduring vision of utopia found a candid comrade.
Psychedelic dreamland of :phunk and Tanaami invites the viewer to an enchanting parade of eccentric characters and vibrant colors. Resulting from this collaborative project, each artist’s portrayal of a new world carries on a dialogue and manifest into a seductive utopia.
:phunk is a creative collective founded in 1994 by four members; Alvin Tan (b. 1974), Melvin Chee (b. 1974), Jackson Tan (b. 1974) and William Chan (b. 1973). Beyond their multi-cultural backgrounds, their passion for art and design, rock and roll, pulp fiction, manga, and Chinese mythology brought these Singaporean artists/designers together. :phunk’s works are internationally known for their decidedly cool and amiable characters. Their boundless multi-disciplinary approach incorporates typography, design, graffiti, animation, and sound. They have received the President’s Award (Singapore) in 2007 and their works were included in major exhibitions such as the 2007 Animamix Biennale.
Keiichi Tanaami (b. 1936) was born in Tokyo and has been active as an artist, illustrator and graphic designer since the 1960’s. During the mid 60’s, Tanaami became influenced by psychedelic culture and Pop Art, and in 1975, he was appointed as the first Art Director of Playboy (Japanese Edition). Reflecting his commitment to go beyond conventional boundaries of art, Tanaami explored in diverse spectrum of genres including film, lithography, painting and sculpture. He has been a professor of Kyoto University of Art and Design since 1991, and his work has been the subject of many major exhibitions.