1. Issue No. 2 2016 MAD Museum of Art & Design
6 June - 31 August 2016 10 Tanglin Road, Singapore 247908
The black color of the charcoal is not a color
but exists as a black space. And I hope that
my mind and soul are reflected off the dust
of the charcoal piece rubbing off the surface
of the drawing.
- Lee Jae Sam
They are meditative yet powerful and
immediate – a timely reminder of the
precariousness of the epoch that we are
living in now. Stop, pause, see and listen.
- Jasmine Tay
MAD Museum of Art & Design Issue No. 2 2016
10 Tanglin Road, Singapore 247908
T: 65 6734 5688
E: info@madmuseumsingapore.com
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6 June - 31 August 2016 10 Tanglin Road, Singapore 247908
Over the years of my study of global
architectural forms and buildings has helped
me to simplify this idea of complimentary
and interdependent spaces and hence visually
the use of a depressed area and a raised area
of the Yin-Yang.
- Lakshmi Mohanbabu
Rare and incredibly gifted, she is the
exemplary of the local voice which bridges
the gap between the now and the past, whose
hypnotic painterly language evokes notions
of a transcended existence.
- Jasmine TayBY
LAKSHM
I
M
OHANBABU
INTERACTIONS
6
JUN
-31
AUG
2016
BY LEE JAE SAM I 6 JUN -31 AUG 2016
IMAGINARY LANDSCAPES

2. The black color of the charcoal is not a color but exists as a
black space. What I observe is not the object itself but the
inner image in between the objects which give formation to
silence,andtheerodedlandscapeinthe“unexplored”present
in the midst of the dark spaces within the depth of the forest.
The woods and trees stretch out in the deep black spaces but
the moonlight is revealed as a mystical “being”, wanting the
sound of its moonlight, its energy and scent to be painted
with charcoal.
AndIhopethatmymindandsoularereflectedoffthedustof
the charcoal piece rubbing off the surface of the drawing.
Artist Biography
1960 Born in Youngweol, Korea
BFA, Graduated from College of Fine Arts, Gangnung National
University
MFA, Graduated form Graduate School, Hongik University
Solo Exhibitions
2015 LOTTE Gallery, Korea
2014 ARTSIDE Gallery, Korea
2013 Space K, Korea
2013 Gallery ISM, Korea
2012 YOUNGWEOL Culture Art Center, Korea
2011 ARTSIDE Gallery, Korea
2010 JANGHEUNG Art Park, Korea
2008 Gallery ARTSIDE Beijing, China
2007 Gallery ARTSIDE, Korea
2005 IEYOUNG Contemporary Art Museum, Korea
2004 Gallery DOLL, Korea
2003 Gallery DOLL, Korea
2002 Gallery HAPPYCOLOR, Korea
2002 Gallery WOODUK, Korea
2001 Gallery La Mer, Korea
2001 Gallery ARTSIDE, Korea
2000 POSCO Art Museum, Korea
2000 Gallery ARTSIDE, Korea
1999 HANWON Art Museum, Korea
1996 Gallery JO, Korea
1994 GAAIN Gallery, Korea
1992 The 3RD Gallery, Korea
1990 Gallery SOO, Korea
1988 IL Gallery, Korea
Art Fair, Auctions
SETEC Seoul Art Show (SETEC Convention Hall, Seoul)
Art Show Busan (BEXCO, Busan)
Art Taipei (Taipei World Trade Center, Taipei)
Art Gwangju;13 (KimDaeJung Convention Center, Gwangju)
Daegu Art Fair (EXCO Hall, Daegu)
Art Dubai (Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai, UAE)
Gallery Seoul 11-Premium & New Wave
(The RAUM Social Venve, Seoul)
BAZAAR Art Jakarta (The Ritz Carlton Jakarta, Pacific Place,
Jakarta, Indonesia)
Korean Gellerises Art Fair (COEX Hall, Seoul)
United Asian Auctioneers - Modern and Contemporary Arts
(Hong Kong Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong)
CHRISTIE'sAsianContemporaryArt(ConventionHall,HongKong)
IMAGINARY LANDSCAPES: PAINTINGS BY LEE JAE SAM MAD Museum of Art & Design INTERACTIONS: PAINTINGS BY LAKSHMI MOHANBABU MAD Museum of Art & Design
Imaginary Landscapes :
Paintings by Lee Jae Sam
Betweenwhattheeyesseeandtheperceptionofthemind
lies the wondrous, languorous world of Korean artist Lee
JaeSam’slatestbodyofwork,which drawsparallelthemes
between the physical and the metaphysical – that quiet
mystery (and perhaps even more so, mastery) that binds
the world of representation and abstraction in all its
majesty.
As far as drawing his influences and thought processes
from masters in their fields like artist Auguste Rodin and
philosopher Martin Heidegger, Lee’s seemingly simple
landscape works – from the deep recesses of a fountain to
a beguiling age-old tree of life, emoting a radiance from its
quite, silent plenitude – evoke sensations that are far more
complex. Bordering on the sensitive spaces between the
positive and the negative, between “something-ness” and
“nothing-ness”, between being and transience, one could
almost see (or even hear) the heartbeat of time and
stillness emanating from these works. They ebb and flow
like the rhythm of life and of nature, but are also
punctuated with a gentle quietness which urges us to slow
down – to observe more carefully and closely, the fragility
and the beauty around us.
They are meditative yet powerful and immediate – a
timely reminder of the precariousness of the epoch that
we are living in now. Stop, pause, see and listen.
- Jasmine Tay
Interactions: Paintings by
Lakshmi Mohanbabu
Thepowerofreligionandscriptures–specificallytheirsigns
and symbols – has become increasingly pertinent in our
daily lives. Especially in these times of uncertainty where
meaning has almost disappeared from most physical
realities, it is the task of the artist to dwell deeper beyond
surface textures, but into the realms of the transcendental
instead, in an act of defiance to uncover their respective
ideals of personal and universal “truths”.
So much so that emerging Singaporean artist Lakshmi
Mohanbabu, who is from Indian descent, has gotten back to
her Kerala roots to discover the inner realms of
contemporary life. Drawing from the cross-cultural patterns
and paths of the Mandala – an influence and motif
transcending across religions and tribes seen in Hindu
temples, Buddhist stupas, Muslim mosques and Christian
cathedrals, as well as the hypnotic color schemes from the
color wheels invited by Sir Isaac Newton – to realize a bold
seriesofworksnamed“Interaction”.Patternsandlinesdrawn
fromancienttimescoalescesbeautifullywithaseriesofbold
colours – both tertiary and primary – to illustrate to us the
magical wonders of achieving balance in our lives, the Yin
and the Yang and of our personal dualities.
Rare and incredibly gifted, she is the exemplary of the local
voice which bridges the gap between the now and the past,
whose hypnotic painterly language evokes notions of a
transcended existence.
- Jasmine Tay
About the Artist
Lakshmi Mohanbabu is a Singaporean who grew up in
Kabul, Afghanistan during the 70s and 80s. She is a trained
Architect (Manipal Institute of Technology) and a Fashion
Designer (National Institute of Fashion Technology, New
Delhi). She has taught fashion design, illustration, design and
history at Lasalle School of the Arts and at NIFT- Delhi.
She has also illustrated books and manuals on disability for
VHAI (Voluntary Health Association of India) and WHO
(World Health Organization).
During the significant time she has spent in Europe and the
Asia Pacific she has studied art, architecture, jewelry and
design, which has enabled her to incorporate cross-cultural
elements in her works. She has a passion for art, not
restricting herself to painting but indulging in all aspects of
design. She has a plethora of work in various mediums such
as pen and ink, pencil color, charcoal, acrylic and watercolor.
New Season, New Creations
To echo our curatorial approach towards the finer things in life,
our newly curated menu is a meticulous fusion of the freshest ingredients and
contemporary aesthetics that are as pleasing to the eye as they do to the palette.
These delectable creations are also affordably priced to ensure that
your art-inspired dining experience with us here is an unforgettable one.
Artist Statement
I paint scenes of reflections of the moonlight on the trees,
forest and waterfall. The forest encompasses the microscopic
world seen through the microscope and the macroscopic
world seen through the telescope. It also holds the order of
the great universe where plant life and animal life coexist. It is
a cyclic space, where organisms die and come to life, as it
embraces the sky and the earth with water, air and sunlight.
Charcoaliscoalmadebyburningwoodbutit'samaterialthat
feels very new to me. After the wood burns all day in an
enclosed charcoal kiln in the absence of air, it transforms into
a blackened figure before it turns into ashes, the “sarira” of the
soul, the last remnant left behind by the forest. While the
candlelight ignites itself to emit light, the wood burns into
charcoal,arepresentationofitssoulreincarnatedthroughthe
images of the wood.
Artist Statement
ThepaintingsarebasedontheconceptoftheYinandYangof
geometry. Each painting is divided by a single continuous
linestartingandendingatthesamepoint,dividingasquarein
two sections representing male and female, creating an
illusion of a complex set of patterns, a mandala.
“Theinterdependence”ofacrestandatroughformingawave
is reflected in the two sides of the painting, with one side
raisedandtheotherreceding.Awaveiscreatedonlyifthereis
a crest and a corresponding trough, the creation of one being
dependent on the other.
As a representation of racial harmony and interaction I
decided to conceptualize my creation around the color
wheel, which essentially represents the Mandala, the
interaction of colors creating new colors, the addition of light
anddarkintherecedingandraisedspacesaddingyetanother
dimension to the hues giving it a range of values.
The series consist of groups of triads, “The Primary”, “The
Asia Top gallery Hotel Art Fair (Grand Hyatt, Hong Kong)
Korean International Art Fair (COEX Hall, Seoul)
ArtBeijing(NationalAgriculturalExhibitionCenterBeijing,China)
China International Gallery Exposition (China World Trade
Center Exhibition Hall, China)
Art Fair Chicago (The Merchandise Mart Plaza Chicago, USA)
ARCO Art Fair (IFEMA, Feria de madrid, Spain)
Art Auction Show (EXPO Convention Hall, Seoul)
Main Collections
National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea
Art Bank, Korea
Seoul Museum of Art, Korea
Gyeonggido Museum of Modern Art, Korea
Ieyoung Contemporary Art Museum, Korea
Hana Bank, Korea
NIKE Quingtao Laboratory, China
Korea Yakult Corporation, Korea
Gangnung City Hall, Korea
KOLON Group, Korea
Golf Zone, Korea
Cheongnamdae, Korea
Secondary” “The Tertiary” and so on. I have interpreted each
level of interaction with a greater degree of complexity
focusing on a different basic geometric form. The realization
oftheinterrelationshipbetweentwoelementstoformathird
unique element was the pivot in choosing the color wheel.
The traditional Hindu Shri Yantra is formed of intersecting
trianglessurroundedbylotuspetalswithinasquarewithfour
gates, I picked this idea with the use of the triad within the
color wheel which when rotated about its center gives the
nextsetoftriadsthereforetheprimarythesecondaryandthe
tertiary going on to an infinite range of possibilities.
Over the years of my study of global architectural forms and
buildings has helped me to simplify this idea of
complimentary and interdependent spaces and hence
visually the use of a depressed area and a raised area of the
Yin-Yang.Theraisedarrowsinteractwiththedepressedspace
and the depressed arrows interact with the raised space.
10 Tanglin Road, Singapore 247908
T: 65 6734 5688
E: info@madmuseumsingapore.com
madmuseumsingapore.com
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