Cyril Kongo at Gillman Barracks, home-grown opera Beacon and concert by Chinese orchestra

Journey Of Knowledge And Chromatic Craft at The Columns Gallery. Photo The Straits Times

SINGAPORE – The Columns Gallery at Gillman Barracks presents a solo exhibition by French-Vietnamese artist Cyril Kongo, bringing some of his works as well as his collaborations with luxury brands like Hermes to Singapore from Seoul, where he has just completed his first solo exhibition.

Kongo’s street art-inspired work is characterised by his trademark explosion of colours, shapes and ciphers, and the show here includes a work directly spray-painted onto aluminium shutters, overlaid with neon lights.

Kongo, who first gained attention as a tagger and graffiti artist in Paris, has in the last two decades become an internationally recognised figure and a sought-after artist for fashion collaborations.

Two dresses he worked on for Chanel’s Paris-New York 2018/19 Metiers d’art collection take pride of place, alongside his Hermes scarves from the brand’s 2011 collection. Each piece is a whirl of ancient symbols with contemporary graffiti – a combination of spray paint, stencils, ink and markers on linen that is its unique brand of kitschy beauty.

The exhibition is titled Graffiti Alchemist: Journey Of Knowledge And Chromatic Craft, and comes after Kongo launched his first studio in Singapore on May 30. – The Straits Times