Deutsche Bank, in partnership with the National Museum of Singapore, will present Cai Guo-Qiang: Head On an exhibition by renowned Chinese-born contemporary artist Cai Guo-Qiang at the National Museum of Singapore from 2ndJuly to 31 August 2010. Singapore is the first country in Southeast Asia to host this spectacular group of artwork from the Deutsche Bank Collection.

The exhibition consists of three parts: the eponymous installation Head On, where replicas of 99 life-sized wolves, run fearlessly and collide one after another into a glass wall; Illusion II, a two-channel video installation that also documents the explosion project by the same title; and Vortex, a gunpowder drawing depicting hundreds of thousands of wolves chasing one another in a circular motion.  Vortex will also be accompanied by a video that features the artist creating the drawing.

“The presentation of Head On in one of Asia’s most renowned museums reflects Deutsche Bank’s commitment to the arts in Singapore,” said Ronny Tan, Chief Country Officer Head, Deutsche Bank Singapore. “The installation also encapsulates the key elements of Deutsche Bank’s corporate collection: internationalism, diversity, and the engagement of audiences through artistic topics and social issues.” 

Ms Lee Chor Lin, Director, National Museum of Singapore said: “In each country that the dramatic artwork was presented, public feedback has been vastly different, hence, it would be interesting to see the reaction of local visitors to Head On. I had visited Cai Guo-Qiang’s show in Taipei Fine Arts Museum and was very impressed with his work. He is really an icon in contemporary art.”

The installation of the heroic wolves first premiered at the Deutsche Guggenheim Berlin in 2006 and has since been exhibited in many institutions around the world, including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York and Bilbao, the National Art Museum of China in Beijing, and the Taipei Fine Arts Museum before travelling to Singapore. What makes the installation at the National Museum of Singapore unique compared with the work’s previous sites is its presentation in a gallery completely painted in black. Not only does this dramatically complement the wolves’ silvery mane but it also invokes a new way of seeing the piece.