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When it comes to the history of art, the Italian Renaissance was one of the most important periods defined by the revival of philosophy, literature and art and the Medici family was at the centre of it all. The Italian banking family was renowned for their patronage of the arts, supporting Renaissance masters including Botticelli, Da Vinci, and Michelangelo. It was during this time that some of the greatest works of art were produced.
One cannot deny the importance of arts patronage and philanthropy when it comes to the development of the arts. One such patron of the arts in the region is UOB. In the 1970s, the bank started collecting paintings by Singapore artists, which has since grown into the UOB Art Collection to include more than 2,500 artworks by established and emerging artists in Southeast Asia.
Ocean of Devotion by WolfSloth (Image: Sustainable Singapore)
“My dream is that we come up with a formula pegged to what we want to do, which is to educate, enable and transform Singapore artists to become creative technologists for causes. From that Singapore network, we will then teach the rest of the region on how to become creative technologists for causes, and allow people in Asia to raise their voices about the importance of protecting our environment and achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” explains Vasey, adding that MeshMinds is concerned with SDGs 11 to 15, which focus on sustainable cities and communities, responsible consumption and production, climate action, life below water, and life on land.
When the food at a fine dining restaurant is described as art on a plate most likely, the plate is art in itself, as in recent years, chefs have taken to bespoke tableware as the vessels for their gourmet creations. Chef André Chiang, for one, handcrafted ceramic ornaments for his now-defunct Restaurant André in Singapore, and he turned to the professionals such as husband-and-wife ceramicists Loh Lik Kian and Debbie Ng when it came to tableware.
“Our tableware serves as canvases for the chef’s plating, much like the blank canvases for the artist to paint on,” enthuses Loh, whose interest in ceramics began when he chanced upon a unique Japanese teapot more than two decades ago. “I was mesmerised by its ‘natural beauty’ wood-fired with just the raw clay body, with a glaze pattern reminiscent of a string of fired straw, and an imperfect handle.”