The hotel entrance Mondrian Singapore Duxton sculpture by KAWS has been unveiled coinciding with the launch party on 1 September, lifting Singapore’s art bar to new heights. The 6-metre bronze sculpture will be on permanent public view, the first of its kind in Asia and a new avatar of the Lion City’s most happening precinct.
As the centrepiece of the Mondrian Singapore Duxton Art Collection and imposing proof of the hotel’s commitment to a philosophy that fuses performance, art, architecture and interior design, the Kaws piece will wow everyone from art aficionados to guests and the public, creating a new landmark in Singapore’s Chinatown. This is one of the most significant Kaws works to be on permanent public display in all of Asia.
The sculpture, titled What Party, features the artist’s popular character known as Chum. The iconic figure is the ultimate expression of Kaws’ appropriation of seminal characters from popular culture, expressed as hybridized figures that mirror our collective spirit.
What Party nudges at the viewer’s subconscious, and is the perfect enduring monument to Mondrian Singapore Duxton’s community of creatives, freethinkers and the wild at heart. The figure will inspire conversations, imaginations and creation.
Mondrian Singapore Duxton hotel, sculpture by KAWS
Positioned at the entrance to Mondrian on the corner of Neil and Craig Roads, the significant piece is representative of the eclecticism of the Duxton street culture, standing side by side with heritage Singaporean Shophouses, the Pinnacle HDB public housing, while looking to the future with the hotel’s Mondrian Singapore Duxton views of the CBD skyline.
Mondrian Singapore Duxton’s General Manager, Robert C Hauck, said securing the sculpture had been a great coup, and its unveiling had been the highlight of a brilliant grand opening event.
“What Party by Kaws is a perfect symbol of what we are all about,” said Hauck. “We are a home for the mavericks and the dreamers, the people who march to a different drum, and now we have our muse, a world class art piece that will draw people from near and far.”
“At over 6m high and weighing more than 4,114kg, it is truly a new Singapore landmark, our art collection’s flagship, and the avatar of the Duxton community.”
WHO IS Kaws?
Kaws (aka Brian Donnelly) is a New York-based artist who first made a name as a graffiti artist in his teenage years and today is a world-renowned, award-winning artist who exhibits in museums and galleries internationally.
Kaws was born in 1974 in Jersey City, New Jersey and after a stint as a freelance animator he shifted to street art, subverting images on bus shelters and billboards. His notoriety grew, and in the late 1990s, he began to design and produce limited edition vinyl toys that continue to be a global hit.
His acrylic paintings and giant sculptures are loved worldwide, and are featured in the collections of galleries including National Gallery of Victoria, the High Museum of Art, Modern Art Museum, the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum and Qatar Museums, and he has staged exhibitions from Paris to London, Shanghai and Tokyo.
The prolific artist has collaborated on collections with Dior, A Bathing Ape, Undercover, sacai, Nike, Vans, The North Face, and Comme des Garcons.
Kaws Holiday featured at Marina Bay in Singapore in 2021 and has recently journeyed to the Prambanan Temples of Indonesia. Kaws also participated in the 10th Annual Singapore Art Week at the National Gallery of Singapore in 2022, and the Light to Night festival.
Kaws statue revealed at Mondrian Duxton Singapore
Mondrian Singapore Duxton sculpture: An inspired collaboration
The Kaws piece is part of an exclusive collaboration between Mondrian Singapore Duxton and The Artling, Singapore’s premier art collection curators and tastemakers. A partnership more than two years in the making has seen a permanent collection designed in and around the hotel from the ground up, showcasing the cream of international and local talent and transcending mediums and practices.
The Artling’s founder and creative driving forces, Talenia Phua Gajardo and Kim Tay, said they were thrilled to see the Kawa piece unveiled and are very proud of the entire collection.
According to Gajardo: “We had been searching for the perfect piece for a while and when the opportunity to acquire it for the property arose, we were so excited. Something of this stature and scale is really unique, especially for a public location in Singapore, and we hope that it will evoke joy and wonder to all who come by to experience it.
“The beauty of Kaws’ work is really that it has the ability to cut across all cultures and can appeal to such a wide audience; it’s so contemporary in its form and can be serious yet playful at the same time.”
Canyon Club, Mondrian Duxton Singapore
“We were looking for a statement piece that would really engage the community, and when we came across this piece we knew it would be ideal, transforming the area and bringing people in to visit the artwork as a destination.”
Other artists represented in the Mondrian Singapore Duxton Art Collection include the legendary Tracey Emin’s neon work ‘I Longed for You’, on display at Bottega di Carna, along with Ian Davenport, best known for his ‘puddle’ paintings in major galleries around the world, US installation specialists SOFTlab, Spaniard Fares Micue, Australia’s Emma Anna, American photographer Tyler Shields, and Singaporeans Dawn Ng and Andre Wee.
