This will be the first solo exhibition by the London based Malaysian artist with the gallery and his first show in Malaysia since 2010. In a series of 11 black monochrome paintings, Ipoh-born Singh, re-contextualises his research questions about space, material and knowledge.

The paintings are directly influenced by the artist's studio research and abstract sculptures and installations shown at The Institute of Contemporary Arts in Singapore between the years 2009 to 2012.

The monochromes are constructed using layers of sculpted acrylic paint on large pieces of acetate applied using an elaborate and a highly involved process used in painting automobile plastics.

Rajinder Singh’s current work is based on the notion of perceived spaces that distend from apertures and portals, such as the shrine, the prayer mat, the temple, located in real world spaces and holding the eternal promise of a latent existence of another fold in another cosmos. Rajinder’s work draws upon the physical presence of these transitional spaces which he orchestrates to create incidental and unexpected experiences. In his new paintings, he investigates how the experience of this and the otherworld is framed by built spaces in the real world.

Rajinder's background in philosophy and mathematics is the driving force behind his art practice. He is interested in the possibilities of knowledge outside the domain of traditional paradigms. Rajinder's research today is based on sculptural interventions situated somewhere between the architectural space and the materials he uses to shape it. "I am interested in sculptures that are perched in between form and formlessness, either leaking away or resolutely building some potential for site-specific systems of knowings." Rajinder sets out to traumatize the body through disrupted, dislocated architectural spaces forcing the viewer to pause and question certitudes, abandoning for a short moment the subjectivity and significance of built space.

Rajinder’s work has seen considerable exposure worldwide. He was recently selected as final worldwide 400 of ‘100 Painters of Tomorrow’, a London based initiative between Thames & Hudson and curator Kurt Beers. He was also a 2nd round selection finalist for the BP Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery in London in April 2013. He last showed in Buenos Aires Argentina in January 2014. He lives and works between London and Dublin.

-Wei-Ling Contemporary

Image: © Rajinder Singh
Courtesy of the artist and Wei-Ling Contemporary