City of Others
Asian Artists in Paris, 1920s-1940s
National Gallery Singapore
2 April - 17 August 2025
《赤衣の女》(Woman in Red Dress), 1929
Oil on canvas, 116.8 x 80.3 cm
Collection of Matsudo City Board of Education
Image courtesy of Matsudo City Board of Education.
《莫伯特广场》Place Maubert, 1929
Oil on canvas, 73 x 60 cm
Private collection
Image courtesy of Tina Keng Gallery
National Gallery Singapore presents City of Others: Asian Artists in Paris, 1920s-1940s, the first major comparative exhibition dedicated to Asian artists in the French capital city during this dynamic period in modern art history. Challenging conventional art history narratives, this groundbreaking exhibition places Asian artists at the centre of focus, highlighting the relationship, interactions, and influences between the local and migrant artists, as well as the Parisian community. City of Others explores themes of identity, belonging, cultural exchange, creativity, and resilience through the lives of Asian artists who exhibited, worked, and lived in Paris as they navigated the culturally vibrant yet challenging time in interwar Paris.
Over 200 artworks – including paintings, sculptures, lacquerware, and decorative arts – along with 200 archival materials and images are on view at the Singtel Special Exhibition Gallery of the National Gallery Singapore, showcasing the presence of Asian artists in Paris during a period of global migration. City of Others offers visitors a glimpse into the experiences of these artists, highlighting their diverse journeys and creative exchanges. For the first time, visitors can uncover new connections and comparisons across diverse practices and perspectives.
Untitled (Woman Wearing Shawl). c. 1932
Oil on canvas, 42 x 33 cm
Collection of the Dabriwala family
Autoportait aux lunettes (Self-Portrait with Glasses), c. 1950
Colours on silk, 45 × 32 cm
Collection of Mai Lan Phuong
Dr Eugene Tan, Chief Executive Officer and Director of National Gallery Singapore says, “We are excited to present City of Others, a groundbreaking exhibition that challenges traditional assumptions in art historical narratives. As the Gallery celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, we seek to deepen our exploration of our region's art history within a global context by reframing narratives through a distinctly regional lens. City of Others continues our commitment to present fresh perspectives on modern art by highlighting often-overlooked figures who played important roles in shaping this significant period in art history. We are grateful for the support of our partners and sponsors who have made this exhibition possible.”
Delving into the stories of how Asian artists lived, worked and exhibited in Paris, City of Others examines what it meant to be the ‘other’. Spread across three gallery spaces in multiple sections – Preface, Workshop to the World, Theatre of the Colonies, Spectacle and Stage, Sites of Exhibition, Studio and Street, and Aftermaths – the exhibition examines the diverse experiences of these artists.
Examining the Asian artists’ experience in Paris
Self Portrait, c.1923
Oil on Canvas. 35 x 27 cm
Collection of National Gallery Singapore
The exhibition opens with Preface, introducing visitors to the different ways Asian artists in Paris, often regarded as ‘other’ or outsiders, presented themselves to European audiences. Through portraits and self-portraits by modern artists like Lê Phổ, Mai Trung Thứ, Georgette Chen, Liu Kang, and Pai Un-soung, visitors see how these artists used art to present themselves as creative individuals grappling with their identities as migrant artists while navigating public expectations and perceptions.
Portique gravity clock, 1927
Onyx (base), nephrite (columns and lintel), with platinum,
gold, coral, jade, diamonds, rubies and enamel,
23 x 12.1 x 7 cm, Cartier Collection
Credit: Nils Herrmann, Cartier Collection
© Cartier
La forêt (Forest). 1930
Gold and silver lacquer and hinges; 12 panels, total 300 x 600 cm
Collection of Mobilier National
Image courtesy of Mobilier National;
Photo by Isabelle Bideau, GME-7196-000
Workshop to the World focuses on the growing presence of Asian artists and artisans who contributed to the Art Déco movement in Paris after the 1920s. This section highlights the active involvement of Asian artists in France’s decorative arts workshops, including artists who successfully sold and exhibited under their own names and those who remained uncredited workers. The influence of Asian artisans on the Art Déco movement is shown through jewellery and objects from the Cartier Collection (the heritage collection of the Maison), as well as lacquerwares from the atelier of leading designer Jean Dunand. Newly uncovered archival documentations reveal the profiles of highly skilled artisans and labourers from Vietnam who were part of Dunand’s atelier workforce.
Theatre of the Colonies, the second section, explores Paris as a simultaneous site for colonial propaganda and anti-colonial resistance through art and visual culture. Using stills from the International Colonial Exposition of 1931 as the exhibition backdrop, visitors are transported to the government-initiated Expositions, which showcased the products of colonial empires. This provided a platform for Asian artists to present their work to an international audience. At the same time, as the capital city of a sprawling French colonial empire, anti-colonial activists often displayed their resistance by employing images, texts, and exhibitions to expose the violence and exploitation in the colonies.
The third section expands the narrative beyond the visual arts to highlight the presence and influence of Asian dancers in Paris. Spectacle and Stage showcases the significance of Asian dance in the dynamic cultural scene of the 1920s to 1940s, exploring how dancers navigated accessibility, experimentation, and exoticism to find success in Paris. In a theatre-like setting, visitors may watch dance archives, film clips, and archival images of prominent dancers such as Raden Mas Jodjana from Indonesia, Komori Toshi from Japan, and Uday Shankar from India, who developed new dance forms during their time in Paris.
Le peigne blanc (The White Comb), Undated
Ink and colour on silk, 33.5 x 24 cm
Collection of Sunseal Asia Limited
Photo © Aguttes
L'Âge heureux (The Happy Age). 1930
Oil on canvas, 126 x 177 cm
Private American collection
Photo © Aguttes
Occupying the entirety of Singtel Special Exhibition Gallery 2, Sites of Exhibition delves into the diverse platforms through which Asian artists exhibited their works in Paris, including nationally themed exhibitions, commercial galleries, and salons. Being in Paris at the height of its public “salon” exhibitions offered these artists opportunities to exhibit their work, receive critical feedback, secure sales, and attract commissions. These exhibitions served as a stage for constructing narratives of identity balancing artistic expression with public appeal. The section also presents artworks originally displayed at special exhibitions of Japanese and Chinese modern art at the Jeu de Paume museum in Paris during the 1920s and 1930s.
View of Sacré-Coeur, 1931
Gouache on paper, 25 × 16.5 cm
Collection of the family of Liu Kang
© Liu Kang Family
Montparnasse, which was known as an artistic hub in Paris, attracted artists and creatives from all over the world. Filled with art studios, informal art schools, and cafes, Asian artists would have had daily exchanges and interactions with other artists and creatives – many of whom were also migrants, often from other parts of Europe – such as Pablo Picasso, Amedeo Modigliani, and Moise Kisling. The fifth section, Studio and Street, highlights the impact that the bohemian social and artistic life of Montparnasse had on artists, notably Foujita Tsuguharu, who was a central figure in that scene. It also profiles several long-term artistic migrants to Paris – including Sanyu and Pan Yuliang – who also chose to settle in the Montparnasse area.
《仰卧裸女》Reclining Pink Nude with Raised Arms, 1930s/1940s
Oil on canvas, 80.5 x 129.5 cm
Collection of Leo Shih
Image courtesy of Leo Shih
The exhibition closes with Aftermaths which signals the impact of World War Two and subsequent decolonisation movements on the art world of Paris. Struck by the traumas of war, artists experimented with new visual language to break from the past, prompting a shift in artistic styles as artists reckoned with the cultural and geopolitical changes of the post-war world. Migrant artists sometimes faced difficult decisions about whether to return to their countries of origin. Meanwhile, decolonisation also brought a new energy to modernisms elsewhere in the world.
NATIONAL GALLERY SINGAPORE
1 St Andrew’s Road, Singapore 17895
