Singapore Art Museum - Collections and Exhibitions

Collections and Exhibitions

SAM’s galleries feature paintings, sculptures, and installations from its permanent collection of Singapore and Southeast Asian modern and contemporary art as well as touring renowned shows like the Masterpieces from the Guggenheim Museum: Scientist, Inventor, Artist. Taking over from the functions of the National Museum Art Gallery which was opened in 1976 with 93 artworks, its collection includes works from major local artists such as Georgette Chen, Liu Kang, Chen Chong Swee, Lim Tze Peng and Huang Yao. From 2001, the museum began acquiring works and accepting donations from around the region, including from regional artists like Affandi, Hendra Gunawan, Pratuang Emjaroen, Montien Boonma, Andres Barrioquinto, Le Plololooho and Bui Xuan Phai.

The museum has hosted a series of travelling exhibitions since its opening, including those featuring works by Liu Kang, Leonardo Da Vinci, Chen Chong Swee, Fan Chang Tien, Lim Tze Peng and Chen Wen Hsi.. Notable exhibitions have included the Singapore Biennale 2011: Open House, Negotiating Home, History and Nation (Two decades of contemporary art in Southeast Asia 1991 - 2011), Lee Wen: Lucid Dreams in the Reverie of the Real, Cities Here and Now: Paintings and Installation Works by Lu Hao.

The museum also regularly partners with other leading art institutions to produce exhibitions, such as his collaboration with Tokyo's Museum of Contemporary Art for Trans-Cool TOKYO (showcasting works by Japanese artists such as Yayoi Kusama and Yasumasa Morimura); Video, An Art, A History with the Pompidou Center (Bill Viola, Jean-Luc Godard, Bruce Nauman) or Singapore FringeFestival in 2011 (Emmanuel Guillaud,Lim Shengen, Maki Ueda)