Artist's Kumari Nahappan's Biography:
kumari is a conceptual artist based in Singapore and has contributed significantly to the artistic and cultural landscape of the country. Throughout her artistic practice, spanned over the last two decades, she has developed an extensive body of works, including paintings, sculptures and installations, which have been exhibited in Asia, Europe and the United States.
Recipient of the United Overseas Bank Painting of the Year award in 1998, and the Phillip Morris Group ASEAN Art Award, kumari has been collecting many accolades as a practicing artist. She was also the first woman and foreigner to be awarded the Ksatria Seni Award in 2004 by the prestigious Museum Rudana in Ubud, Bali.
The works of kumari are well sought after by museums, galleries and private collectors for exhibitions and / or for their own individual collection. Her bronze chillies from her Nature Borne Series were exhibited at the Mori Art Museum, as part of the Spotlight Singapore in Tokyo in 2006. In August 2008, she concluded a year long solo exhibition “Red hot on the trail of a colour” at the Museum of Cultures in Basel. In 2010, she has been invited to travel and showcase the exhibition from Basel, at the Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam.
kumari is also noted for her signature and iconic, monumental public art sculptures – the giant bronze chilli-pepper, Pedas Pedas (2006) was commissioned by and installed at the National Museum of Singapore, the Saga (2007) at the North Arrival Hall in Changi Airport Terminal 3, Singapore and most recently, the Nutmeg (2009) at the newly opened ION Orchard, Singapore and The Couple (2010) for GTower, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Artist's CV:
EDUCATION
1995
Master of Fine Arts
Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Australia
1992
Advance Diploma in Fine Arts
LASALLE College of Arts, Singapore
1976
Further Education Teacher’s Certificate
City and Guilds, London, England
1976
Diploma in Interior Design
Willesden College of Technology, London, England
SOLO EXHIBITONS
2010
Kumari Nahappan - The Synchronic Fire, Shridharani Gallery, Delhi, India
Kumari Nahappan: A solo exhibition, Chan Hampe Galleries, Singapore
Revisiting Infinity, Open Studio, Singapore
2009
Studio k, Art Singapore, Suntec City, Singapore
Unveiling Friends, La Villa, Singapore
2007/2008
Red, Hot on the trail of a colour, Museum of Cultures, Basel, Switzerland
2006/2007
Studio K, Art Singapore, Suntec City, Singapore
2005
Red, Hot & Cool, Gajah Gallery, Singapore
2004
A Pooja Through Nature, Open Studio, Singapore
Harmony, East West Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
2003
Between-ness, Plus One Plus Two Galleries, London, England
Garden Kaleidoscope, Open Studio, Singapore
2002
Merah-merah, Concorde Hotel, Shah Alam, Kuala Lumpur
Hush, Plum Blossoms Gallery, Hong Kong
Pooja, Wetterling Gallery, Sweden
Cosmic Voices, An installation of paintings Esplanade Theatres on the Bay, Singapore
2001
Maya, Installation for classical dance, Singapore
Inside, Outside and Space Between High Commission of the Republic of Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Fluid, Wetterling Teo Gallery, Singapore
Juxtaposed II, Stockholm Art Fair, Sweden
2000
Fragments, ARTNOW Gallery, Gotenberg, Sweden
Juxtaposed (An installation), ArtSingapore 2000, MITA Building, Singapore
Juxtaposed (with Cai Heng), Shakti, Wetterling Teo Gallery, Singapore
Multiples, Art Miami 2000, International Art Exposition, Miami Beach
Convention Center, Florida, USA
1999
The Temple, Installation for classical dance, Jubilee Hall, Raffles Hotel, Singapore
Rituals of Time, Wetterling Gallery, Stockholm, Sweden
1998
Rhythm in Stone, Club Rainbow – Children’s Charity Organisation, Singapore
The Third Light (with Rhett d’ Costa), Caldwell House, CHIJMES, Singapore
1997
Almanac: Entry ... 3rd Nov ‘97
360 Test Tubes from Ubi Road 2, Wetterling Teo Gallery, Singapore
Mysticism of Red and Black (with Cai Heng)
Heland Wetterling Gallery, Stockholm, Sweden
1996
Monument, Substation, Singapore
Mysticism of Red and Black (with Cai Heng), Wetterling Teo Gallery, Singapore
1995
360 Vessels from the Temple, Earl Lu Gallery, Singapore
1993
Tropical Vibrance, LASALLE Gallery, Singapore
GROUP AND INVITATIONAL EXHIBITIONS
2010
It's Now or Never #1, New Contemporary Art Acquisitions from Singapore, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore
Rood (Red), Tropenmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2009
NatureBorne, A Singapore & Korea Joint Sculpture Exhibition, Singapore Botanic Gardens
2008/2009
The Golden Grain: Exposed!
Asia on the Edge, The Arts House, Singapore
2008
Wetterling Gallery 30th Anniversary Exhibition – Part 2
Wetterling Gallery, Stockholm, Sweden
ARCO, Madrid, Spain
2007
Art Cologne, Wetterling Gallery, Germany
2006
Seeds & Blossoms icons in Red & White
A Swiss-Singaporean Celebration, National Library, Singapore
Nature Born, Langgeng Contemporary Art Festival, 2006
Langgeng Gallery, Mageleng, Indonesia
Natureborne (Spotlight Singapore in Tokyo), Mori Art Centre, Mori Museum, Tokyo, Japan
2005
Vision & resonance, Asia Contemporary Inaugural Exhibition
Asian Civilization Museum, Singapore
Art Singapore
Wetterling Teo Gallery, Singapore
You Can Touch
Singapore Arts Festival
Singapore Management University, Singapore
2004
‘The Lasalle School’ 20Years of fine Arts from LASALLE-SIA College, Singapore
3rd Asian Women Artists’ Exhibition
Seoul Art Center, Korea
The International Asian Art Fair, Armory, New York, USA
Exhibition (in conjunction with Ksatria Seni Award), Museum Rudana, Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
Art Singapore 2004, Contemporary Art Fair, Suntec Convention Hall, Singapore
SINGART, “A Brush with Lions”, an Exhibition of Wild Creativity, Paragon, Singapore
NGEE ANN 3D Art Exhibition 2004
Ngee Ann Cultural Centre, Singapore
2003
Wetterling Gallery, 25th Anniversary (Wetterling 1978-2003), Stockholm, Sweden
Philip Morris Group of Companies
Asean Art Awards 2003, Exhibition, MITA Building, Singapore
Seoul International Women’s Art Fair, Seoul, Korea
2002
Philip Morris Group of Companies, Asean Art Awards, Paragon Shopping Centre, Singapore
Post Graduate Show, Earl Lu Gallery, LASALLE-College of the Arts, Singapore
Art Singapore, Suntec City Convention Hall, Singapore
2001
Art Singapore, Suntec City Convention Hall, Singapore
SNAPSHOT, Plum Blossoms International, Hong Kong
Expressions of Self, Sky Penthouses, London, England
Women Beyond Borders, Sculpture Square, Singapore
Asean ART 2001, Earl Lu Gallery, LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts, Singapore
2000
Landscapes in South East Asian Art, Singapore Art Museum
Museum Rudana Welcomes The Third Millennium, Rome, Italy
Philip Morris Group of Companies, Singapore Art Awards 2000, ARTrium at MITA Building, Singapore
Australian Contemporary Art Fair 2000, Melbourne, Australian
Copenhagen Art Fair 2000, Denmark
Nokia Singapore Art, Singapore Art Museum
1999
Asian Art Biennale Bangladesh 1999
Shilpakala Academy, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Bali Welcomes the Third Millennium, Yayasan Seni Rudana (Rudana Museum), Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
Crisp: Works of LASALLE-SIA, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore
Indian Art Through The Ages: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow .... Caldwell House, CHIJMES, Singapore
On the Cusp, American Club, Singapore
Philip Morris Group of Companies / Singapore
ASEAN Art Exhibition 1999, Caldwell House, CHIJMES, Singapore
Praxis: The Fourth School of Fine Art Exhibition, Earl Lu Gallery, LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts, Singapore
Primary Colours – Red, Annandale Galleries, Sydney, Australia
Provocative Thins: A 3-Dimensional Experience in Singapore, (Inaugural Biennial Exhibition), Sculpture Square, Singapore
Stockholm Art Fair, Sweden
Suara IV, Caldwell House, CHIJMES, Singapore
3 Singaporean and 3 French Artists
Written forms, inscriptions in contemporary art, Alliance Francaise, Singapore
1998
Australian Contemporary Art Fair 6
Preview – Annandale Galleries, Sydney, Australia
Australian Contemporary Art Fair 6, Melbourne, Australia
Painting Now, Earl Lu Gallery, LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts, Singapore
Passed Masters, RMIT University, LASALLE-SIA Gallery, Singapore
Recent Acquisition Exhibition, Singapore Art Museum
Semiosis: Third Fine Art Department Exhibition
Earl Lu Gallery, LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts, Singapore
Stockholm Art Fair, Stockholm, Sweden
Suara III, Caldwell house, CHIJMES, Singapore
UOB Group’s 17th Painting of the Year Exhibition, UOB Plaza 1, Singapore
1997
Art Power, Caldwell House, CHIJMES, Singapore
Asean Gift and Collectables Exhibition
Trade Investment and Tourism, ASEAN Centre, Tokyo, Japan
East Meets West, Peak Premiere Dinner, Regent Hotel, WetterlingTeo Gallery and Peak
Magazine, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Look, Fine Art Faculty Exhibition, Dr Earl Lu Gallery, LASALLE College of Arts, Singapore
Philip Morris Group pf Companies / Singapore
ASEAN Art Exhibition, Caldwell House, CHIJMES, Singapore
Tresors, The International Fine Art & Antiques Fair for Asia, Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Center
1996
UOB Group’s 16th Painting of the Year Exhibition
UOB Plaza 1, Singapore
A Decade of Discovery, Grand Shell Discovery art Exhibition ’96, River House, Clarke Quay, Singapore
Philip Morris Group of Companies
Singapore Art Awards 1996, Takashimaya Art Gallery, Singapore
Referencing: 24 Clay Lamps form Serangoon Road
Melbourne International Festival of the Arts, Robert Lindsay Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
Suara II, Alumni Exhibition, Earl Lu Gallery, LASALLE, Singapore
Taipei International Art Fair, Wetterling Teo Gallery, Taiwan
UOB Group’s 15th Painting of the Year Exhibition, UOB Plaza 1, Singapore
XX Personae II, Art at Kandang Kerbau Hospital, Singapore
1995
Being there, Being here, RMIT – MFA Graduate Exhibition, Robert Lindsay Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
Faculty, Fine Arts Faculty Exhibition, LASALLE, Singapore
IMM Art Exhibition ‘95, Hall 2, Singapore
Pameran Terbuka 1994, Galeri Shah Alam, Malaysia
Singapore Art ‘95, Suntec City, Singapore
Suara ’95: Alumni Exhibition, LASALLE Gallery, Singapore
1994 Asia’s Excellence Exhibition, Changi Airport, Singapore
Confluence, An Exhibition by Five Indian Artists, Café Gallery, Boat Quay, Singapore
Defence Art Exhibition, Tuas Naval Base, Singapore
UOB 13th Painting of the Year Exhibition, Empress Place, Singapore
1992
12th Shell Discovery Art Exhibtion, Shell Tower, Singapore
Best of LASALLE Art Exhibition, LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore
Harvest: The 9th Graduation Diploma Show, Singapore
LASALLE Group Exhibition, Raffles City
Festival of Arts, Singapore
Singapore Art Fair 1992
IMM Exhibition Centre, Singapore
UOB 11th Painting of the Year Exhibition, National Museum Art Gallery, Singapore
