Tang Da Wu

Tang Da Wu 唐大霧 (b. 1943) was born in Singapore, the eldest of four sons in the family. He received a BA in sculpture from the School of Fine Art, Birmingham Polytechnic (now Birmingham Institute of Art and Design) in 1974 and pursued advanced studies in sculpture at Saint Martins School of Art (now Central Saint Martins) from 1974–75. In 1985, he received an MFA from Goldsmith’s College, University of London. After returning to Singapore in 1979, Tang began to work in performance art, and in 1988, cofounded the Artists Village, a collective committed to promoting experimental art through the provision of studio and exhibition space. Working through a de facto ban on performance that began in 1994 as a response to artist Josef Ng trimming his pubic hair at a public festival, the organization supports community interaction through social relevance and the hosting of public site-specific interventions. Through performance, installation, painting, and drawing, Tang explores social and environmental themes including deforestation, animal endangerment, and urban transformation.

*Prices are subject to change without prior notice.

Selected Exhibitions and Performances

1970 : Drawings and Paintings, Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Singapore
1972 : Touch Space, Midland Art 72, Dudley Museum, England
1978 : Marks – Black Powder Falling Through Muslin, ACME Gallery, England
1980 : Earthworks, National Museum Art Gallery and Sin Chew Jit Poh Exhibition Centre, Singapore
1982 : Five Days at NAFA; Five Days in Museum, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and National Museum, Singapore
1983 : Flying Marks, ALTERNATIVA III Festival of Performance, Portugal
1983 : In Between; Change, 4th Performance Platform, England
1984 : The 1984 Show, Brixton Art Gallery, England
1984 : Every Other Move, Oporto, Portugal
1985 : The Support, Woodland Gallery, England
1985 : Steaming Laundry, Brixton Art Gallery, England
1986 : No Fancy Brushes; New Life, Royal Festival Hall, England
1986 : In The End, My Mother Decided to Eat Dogfood and Catfood, Orchard Road Weekend Art Fair, Singapore
1987 : Four Days at the National Museum Art Gallery, National Museum, Singapore
1988 : In Case of Howard Lui; Incident in a City, Singapore Festival of the Arts Fringe, Singapore
1989 : The Artists Village Show Home Documentation, Art Base Gallery, Singapore
1989 : Gooseman; Open the Gate; Dancing UV; Selling Handicaps; In the End, My Mother Decided to Eat Dogfood and Catfood, The Artists’ Village 2nd Open Studio Show, Singapore
1989 : They Poach the Rhino, Chop Off His Horn and Make this Drink, National Museum Art Gallery, National University of Singapore, Singapore Zoo, Singapore
1989 : The Third Asian Art Show, Fukuoka Art Museum, Japan
1989 – 1990 : Dancing by the Ponds; Sunrise at the Vegetable Farm; The Time Show – 24 Hours Continuous Performance Show, The Artists’ Village, Singapore
1990 : The Death of the Philipino Maid, Stop That Tank One Year Anniversary of June 4th, Noah’s Ark for Plants, Serious Conversations, Festival of the Arts Fringe, Singapore
1990 : T or P? That is the Question, Empress Place Museum, Singapore
1990 – 1999 : North-East Monsoon – A Water Game, Singapore and Others
1991 : Tiger’s Whip, National Museum and Chinatown, Singapore; and Fukuoka Art Museum, Japan
1991 : Four Persons in One Suit, in the Streets of Singapore, A Sculpture Seminar, National Museum, Singapore
1991 : The Ark for Plants, The Substation, Singapore
1991 : Chinese Restaurant II; World’s Number One Pet Shop; Just in Case, National Sculpture Exhibition, National Museum, Singapore
1991 : Switch Off the Lights, Please, The Substation, Singapore
1991 : They Poach the Rhino, Chop Off His Horn and Make This Drink; In the End, My Mother Decided to Eat Dogfood and Catfood; and Tigers Whip, Asian Artist Today – Fukuoka Annual V: Tang Da Wu Exhibition, Fukuoka Art Museum, Japan
1992 : Under The Table All Going One Direction, New Art From Southeast Asia 1992, Tokyo Metropolitan Artspace / Fukuoka Art Museum/ Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art/ Kirin Plaza Osaka, Japan
1993 : And He Returns Home When You Least Expected, 2nd ASEAN Workshop, Exhibition and Symposium on Aesthetics, Philippines
1994 : Sorry Whale I Didn’t Know That You Were In My Camera, Creativity in Asian Art Now, Part 3 Asian Installation Work, Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, Japan
1994 : Contemporary Shopping, Faret Tachikawa, Japan
1994 – 1995 : Tapioca Friendship Project, Osaka International Peace Centre, Japan and Singapore
1994 : Colours Don’t Help, Artists Against AIDS, Singapore
1995 : Meeting with the Real Chiang Maian, 3rd Chiang Mai Social Installation, Thailand
1995 : I was Born Japanese, Mokosongo, Indonesia
1995 : Don’t Buy Present for Your Mother on Mother’s Day, The Substation, Singapore
1995 : Don’t Give Money To The Arts, Asian International Art Exhibition, National Museum Art Gallery and Singapore Art ’95, Suntec City, Singapore
1996 : One Hand Prayer Project, Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art, Japan
1996 : Life in a Tin; Rubber Road No U-Turn, Malaysia, Singapore and others
1998 : Contemporary Art in Asia: Traditions/Tensions, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Australia
1999 : Don’t Worry Ancestors, Singapore
1999 : Life in a Tin, The First Fukuoka Asian Art Triennale, Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, Japan
2000 : Tapioca Friendship, Kwanju Biennale, Korea
2004 : Satsuma Brilliance, Kirishima Open Air Museum, Japan
2004 : Interakcje, Trybunalski, Poland
2005 : Art Brickfest, Wheelock Place, Singapore
2005 : Situation: Collaborations, collectives and artist networks from Sydney, Singapore and Berlin, Museum of Contemporary Art Sydney, New South Wales
2006 : Tang Da Wu – Heroes, Islanders, Valentine Willie Fine Art, Singapore
2006 : Indonesian International Performance Art Event, Galeri Nasional Indonesia, Jakarta
2006 : Jantung Pisang – Heart of a Tree, Heart of a People, Jendela Visual Arts Space at The Esplanade, Singapore
2007 : Untitled, Singapore Pavilion at the 52nd Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition, Italy
2010 : Singapore Survey 2010: Beyond LKY, Valentine Willie Fine Art, Singapore
2012 : The Artists Congresses: A Congress, dOCUMENTA 13, Germany
2012 : Intersecting Histories – Contemporary Turns in Southeast Asian Art, ADM Gallery, Singapore
2012 : Detour – Visual Art Staff Show, NIE Art Gallery, Singapore
2013 : Situationist Bon Gun, The Institute of Contemporary Arts Singapore (ICAS)

For the full list of exhibitions, please get in touch with the gallery at[email protected]

Awards

1994 : Singapore International Foundation Art Grant
1995 : Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation Prize
1999 : Arts and Culture Prize, 10th Fukuoka Asian Culture Prizes