This past weekend, we again immersed ourselves in art appreciation by going to the Picasso exhibit at STPI (Singapore Tyler Print Institute). But first, there was that long breakfast, the star of which were some Philippine-made hotdogs flown in from Manila by Foyan.
In the afternoon, we had a leisurely walk going over to the exhibit. It was just a stone’s throw away from Apo’s flat, which gave us lots of time to have a little bit of fun.
..and discover (at least I did) that the pink bridge with colorful circles at Robertson Quay is actually the work of a Filipino artist, Pacita Abad. I’ve passed by this bridge several times in the past and didn’t quite know whose idea it was to add a little burst of color to the Singapore River. So discovering it was a Filipino was a pleasant surprise.
A few steps away from the bridge was the STPI where the master’s collection was on display. Now I don’t know much about Picasso, except the fact that he had that blue and red period, and he did cubes..a lot (memories from joining the art club in college). But this exhibit was a different one.
The collection is called the Vollard Suite. It’s named after an art dealer from whom Picasso wanted to buy works from other painters. Instead of money, the art dealer asked Picasso to give him some of his prints and the rights to pubish them. Cool, right? And just to prove how valuable the art is, I read from the brochure that Picasso paid for a house with some of his paintings.
We all agreed that the guy was a genius. If you look closely at his works on this collection, you’d know that he idolized Rembrandt, had a serious obssession with minotaurs and a fascination for women.
No picture taking was allowed inside, here’s what I managed to sneakily snap.
Afterwards, we all happily discovered that we can definitely hang out in this area. it reminded us of Greenbelt. and it seemed much more quiet and subdued than Clarke Quay. definitely one we’ll try one of these days (or nights).
