SMALL SHIFTS AMID THE WORLD: SELECTED ABSTRACT ART FROM SINGAPORE

Curated by David Thomas

November 12 – December 13, 2026

Small shifts amid the world: selected abstract art from Singapore presents selected works by Singapore based artists: Ian Woo, Guo -Liang Tan, Adeline Kueh, Jeremy Sharma, Milenko Prvacki, Sherman, Cheong Ka Kit, Liu-Liling. With its focus on primarily abstract painting and works on paper it is the first exhibition of its kind to be presented in Melbourne/ Naarm Australia.

The exhibition is not about nationalism but more a reflection of what comes out of a vibrant community and place. It grows from my over 30 years professional and personal engagement with Singapore, where I have witnessed the growth and dynamism of its contemporary art, an art informed by specific  local and global interactions, and it  reveals how certain individuals who happen to live on an island called Singapore make art that address relevant questions about art and life. This exhibition will explore via intimately scaled abstract works, the poetics of impermanence.

The exhibition does not claim to be a comprehensive overview of Singaporean art practice and does not reflect the complexity of contemporary art practice in Singapore but it does hopes to stimulate and further the discourses and collecting between Melbourne/ Naarm and Singapore.

David Thomas

Curated by David Thomas with support from Missy Ueda, Aaron Martin, founding Co-Directors of Five Walls Gallery.