Ben is Ben, is Ben is Ben

For Immediate Release
Flaneur Gallery is pleased to present a solo exhibition by mid-career artist, Ben PUAH. Flaneur
Gallery is an emergent art space supporting Singapore-based artists and curators.
Ben is Ben, is Ben is Ben
A Solo exhibition by Ben PUAH
Curated by Elizabeth GAN
The secret harmony of disharmony: Ben does not seek to create the sophistries of reasonable images
but what is torturously behind thought, the stirring live quality of ambiguity. He works in direct
connection to the deepest vital substratum, a quickening pulse pushing him into action. He is only
responsive to his here and now.
For this exhibition, Flaneur Gallery is proud to present 5 paintings and 2 sculptures by Ben Puah. Not
unlike his peers, Ben adopts appropriation as a nexus of operation. In this series of paintings
executed in 2014, he alludes to the impact of mass entertainment television diet of the 1990s involving Hong Kong wuxia and drama serials, Chinese legends and folklores. Ben employs these
imageries and characters symbolically - props specific to a visual moodscape. Partial towards the use
of black, Ben exudes the same distinctive attitude as a Chinese ink painter would, wherein a
monochrome system is sufficient in all its various permutation to represent his visual language and
the spirit of the subject. Yet in deliberately working with acrylic on canvas, he eschews participation in
the associations of Ink-and-Wash, favouring the potential of his art to serve as social commentary;
bold responses to the dynamic reality, agencies and social spaces that fuel such works.
Without artifice or ornamentation, his figurative sculptures serve as a touchstone that Ben’s art is a
continuous process instead of a finished work. Titled Gong-Gong (a Hokkien verb implying some
parts daftness, giddiness and muddle-headedness) and BenRat, these two subjects have also been
materialised on canvas, in performances, and are frequently revisited.
At the heart of this exhibition, one should not seek to understand these works. Ben does not want the
terrible limitation of those who live merely from what can make sense. He invents his truth. This
selection of works reflects the archetypal unease to this contemporary milieu that circumscribe Ben’s
life as an artist to-date.
Opening Reception: 2 April, Thursday, 7pm
Address: 129 Jalan Besar Singapore 208847
www.flaneur.sg | www.facebook.com/flaneurgallery
For Immediate Release
Flaneur Gallery is pleased to present a solo exhibition by mid-career artist, Ben PUAH. Flaneur
Gallery is an emergent art space supporting Singapore-based artists and curators.
Exhibition Dates: 2 – 12 April 2015
Opening Hours:
Tuesday to Friday 3pm to 7pm
Saturday and Sunday 1pm to 6pm
For media matters and further information, please contact: mike@flaneur.sg/ vincent@flaneur.sg
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About The Artist:
Ben Puah (1976) is a multi-disciplinary Singaporean artist. He graduated from the Royal Melbourne
Institute of Technology in 2000 with a BFA (with Distinction). His oeuvre run the gamut from
paintings to performance to community art. He is well-recognised for using the rat as his avatar,
having performed the Mobile Rat Tour (M.R.T) on Singapore’s Mass Rapid Transit system in 2002.
Ben’s iconography is informed by allegories from Chinese culture as well as the social environment
he navigates through daily. Since graduation, Ben has been awarded the first President’s Young
Talent (2001), exhibited extensively across the globe, and served in advisory roles to community art
initiatives such as the Yellow Ribbon Project Art Show (2007), appointed by the Ministry of
Community Development, Youth and Sports, Singapore.
Selected exhibitions include /*semble*/ (2014) – an interactive art performance organised by The
Artists Village at the former KTM Tanjong Pagar Railway Station, Singapore; In an Artist’s Heart,
Everyday is a Revolution (2013) – a solo exhibition at the Sazmanab Platform for Contemporary Arts,
Tehran, IRAN; WAI (2013) – a solo exhibition at RE-C Art Space, Chengdu , China; Ten Brothers (2012)
– a solo exhibition at Your Mother Gallery, Singapore.
His works can be found in private, public and institution collections in Thailand, Germany, Australia,
USA, France, Japan, Vietnam, Taiwan, Holland and Singapore.
For more information, please visit www.benpuah.com
About The Curator:
Elizabeth writes. She is interested to work through objects to tell human stories. Variant stories. She
wishes to pursue her Masters in Art. You can write to her at elizabeth.ganzy@gmail.com.
Address: 129 Jalan Besar Singapore 208847
www.flaneur.sg | www.facebook.com/flaneurgallery
For Immediate Release
Flaneur Gallery is pleased to present a solo exhibition by mid-career artist, Ben PUAH. Flaneur
Gallery is an emergent art space supporting Singapore-based artists and curators.
About Flaneur Gallery:
Founded by Mike Tay and Vincent Chow, Flaneur Gallery is a contemporary art gallery promoting
Singapore based artists who create brilliant art inspired by their acute observation of the urban life
in this vibrant city.
The gallery presents to art lovers, a wide range of art forms, all speaking earnestly in moving
narratives inspired by the artists' personal stories and experiences.
Residing in a beautifully restored conservation shophouse at 129 Jalan Besar, the gallery rides on the
precinct's historical past to nurture the art future of Singapore. Through showcasing artwork at
exhibitions and facilitating an ongoing dialogue between the artists and the public, the gallery strives
to promote patronage of local artists throughout the community and beyond.
Address: 129 Jalan Besar Singapore 208847
www.flaneur.sg | www.facebook.com/flaneurgallery