Neti Neti | A Solo Exhibition by Jane Lee

Gajah Gallery Singapore presents Neti Neti, a solo exhibition by Jane Lee produced in collaboration with Yogya Art Lab (YAL). Conceptualised and created over the span of the past two years, the show is Lee’s first sculptural solo exhibition in Singapore. Dating back 8,000 years, Neti Neti is a Sanskrit expression that roughly translates as not this, not this. It is a constituent of the meditative search for a non-dual awareness of reality and universal essence. The expression has been an integral part of Lee’s search for her true self—consequently shaping Lee’s approach to artmaking.

Jane Lee is one of Singapore’s prominent contemporary artists, renowned for her sublime, sculptural works filled with intricate tactile details. In 2019, Lee began collaborating with YAL to create wall-based works from modelling clay, and has since explored a diverse range of materials with the foundry, from cement to stainless steel. Challenging the boundaries between painting and sculpture, Lee’s works created at YAL assume the physicality of sculpture while maintaining the illusory depth of the painted image.

Curated by John Tung, the show unveils 14 new artworks by Lee. Though it features sculptures, it builds on the artist’s ongoing attempts to distill the essence of painting. The works reference iconic paintings in art history, and radically invert their materials, proportions, and dimensions—thus challenging the boundaries between the various realms of art. From Monet paintings printed on crumpled steel, to a ceramic jug and rattan chair quite literally popping out of Cezanne and Van Gogh replicas, the innovative mediums and meticulous labour that went behind each work transform these familiar icons into thought-provoking, original works in their own right.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Recognised for her wall-based works that blur the lines between painting and sculpture, Jane Lee (b. 1963, Singapore) masterfully highlights the tactility of her materials, whether she’s working with paper, canvas or concrete, to create illusory works that challenge and expand audiences’ perceptions of reality.

In a divergence from her existing oeuvre, Lee began collaborating with YAL in 2019 to create wall-based sculptural works from modelling clay, and later, cement. Challenging the boundaries between painting and sculpture, Lee’s works created at YAL assume the physicality of sculpture while maintaining the illusory depth of the painted image.

In her Masters series, Lee references iconic ‘masters’ in western art history, from Johannes Vermeer to Piet Mondrian, that had subconsciously influenced her while she trained as a painter. Yet, as she emphasises their colours and textures and transforms these paintings into highly tactile, three-dimensional pieces, she removes the hallowed, aloof air often surrounding the actual ‘masterpieces’ in prestigious museums, and instead encourages viewers to engage with them in a relaxed way, as if they were ingrained in the everyday.