Why you should visit MAD Museum of Art and Design Singapore

As I told you in my previous post , the grand opening of MAD Museum of Art and Design Singapore was a hit, as far as I’m concerned.

So why should you visit MAD?

Because MAD is playful and wow

The playfulness and WOW factor were already visible in the invite (as shown in that previous post) and also in the Media Kit. Have a look; how cool and original is this approach? A Media Kit in a wooden box.

Because MAD is more then ‘just’ a museum

The two floors and 19.000 sq ft of the new space for MAD intend to be more then ‘just’ a museum or gallery. The bigger, bolder and better MAD has other amenities and aspirations too.
There is a merchandise store, a sculpture garden, an exclusive cigar bar and lounge as well as a cafe that boasts a menu that will be refreshed regularly.
So not only aims the museum to become a must-go destination for the arts and culture (with shows, exhibitions, workshops and talks), it also wants to be a good spot for leisure as well as a great venue for events and launches.

Because MAD is modern and spacious, yet intimate

And you know what? I am sure that they will succeed in all that. The space is huge, modern with an industrial vibe. It provides the perfect backdrop to showcase art and design. Because of the large spaces and a lot of natural light, the whole MAD feels light and spacious. Kudoos to the MAD team because they made the space look modern and minimalistic, but warm and inviting as well. Playful and happy are other words that come to mind.

Because there is a lot of innovative art exhibited

At the moment, to celebrate MAD’s new chapter, there is an exhibition with works from 18 artists, coming from 10 different countries.

I will walk you around. That way you will get an idea of what the space looks like AND of of some of the art currently on display.

Here we go:

We start our walk in this cheerful room.

The art on the wall is by Singaporean Jeffrey Ho.

The rest is work from Thai artist Saran Yen. His works are my favorites, especially the “Cheap Ass Elites”, mass-produced plastic chairs with contradicting classical details and the ironic use of the world Elite on them. I’m a sucker for art with a sense of humor!

Another room that I would like to show you is this one, with works from Chinese oil painter Li Shi Guang. His paintings are very realistic with mixed metaphors and references from both the West and the East.

What do you think of these antlers?
Chinese artist Wu Yong Ping has a background in sculpture, but extended his materials to porcelain, wood, glass-reinforced plastic and many, many more materials.
I really like the antlers. OK, I admit I am an antler fan in general. But these ones are special. The antlers themselves look like they have been made of ice and the ‘heads’ appear to be e.g. a huge broken egg-shell or a pebble. Intriguing!

The porcelain sculptures and structures by Hsu Yung-Hsu (Taiwan) look complicated and fragile. They also remind me of bones and skeletons. Did you have that same association?

What a contrast with the playful, colorful art of famous Chinese artist Song Wei! In his series ‘Beary Ambitious’, Song Wei combines bears and burgers (icons of the west) with Chinese heritage icons, like blue and white pottery and patterns.

So do you like it? I kinda do, especially when displayed as part of a small group, like it’s presented here at MAD.

These models are wearing clothes made of fabric that is designed by Yuji Mizuta, a Japanese artist, known for his ultra-fine drawings. The pattern of this textile is very rich in symbols and imagery. The models are not bad-looking either;-).

What do you think of this pottery? It is by Singaporean designer Hans Tan and is named ‘Spotted Nyonya’ and “Striped Ming”. Nyonya is a term of one of the local heritage cultures: the Peranakan culture.

I particularly like the dotted pottery, the blue-black pattern on floor and wall and the cabinet…oh my…how I would love such a cabinet! Only I would paint it in colors matching the spotted vases and pots. Or wait…I would paint it in exactly the same colors and dots as the pottery. That would be so cool!

This was a very dark room (no pun intended) with the art of Australian celebrity hair stylist Kim Robinson. The vibrant paintings are raw expressions of love, desire and sexuality.

Because it’s cigar bar, cafe and shop look inviting and promising

As I mentioned before, the MAD museum aims to be more than a gallery. It also wants to be a fabulous event space. Parts of the museum can be closed of and used for smaller of bigger private events.

Here we see the cigar-lounge bar, a space with a cosy club-lounge atmosphere. I love the art works here and also funny quotes, like ” A woman is an occasional pleasure, but a cigar is always a smoke” from Groucho Marx. Man, that guy was a walking quote-machine! And how about this one: “When a man and a woman share a love of cigars, it creates a unique intimacy” by Julie Ross.

This seating area feels like a living room. I love it! I presume that it is used for receiving guests and clients.

And then there is the cheerful store with lots of cool stuff.

Wrap it all up for me, please. Hahaha…. If I were a rich girl, ta-da-dee-da etc…..
But seriously, I think that I have to check back for that Robo Card. And Nara’s Gummi Girl. Want!

Now it’s your turn. Tell me:

• would you visit this museum?
• which one of the featured art/artists is your favorite?
• who’s quote do you prefer: Grouchos or Julies?
• what kind of art do you like?
• do you often go to musea or galleries?

I would love to hear back from you!