Kumari Nahappan

Kumari is a prominent artist in Southeast Asia. Her practice encompasses interdisciplinary genres, painting, sculpture, and installations. She has forged a reputation for effectively reconciling the language of “international contemporary art” with her own vocabulary and developing a visual identity that is decisively shaped by her cultural roots and beliefs. 

For more than two decades, Kumari’s artistic journey has seen her develop an extensive body of works, including paintings, sculptures, and installations which have been exhibited in Asia, Europe, and the United States, for example at the Monograph by T.K. Sabapathy in Kumari Nahappan Fluxion: Art and Thoughts, 2013, Editions Didier Millet, Singapore. In 2013, she enjoyed critical and popular acclaim for her installation Anahata, a monumental work comprising 4000kg of saga seeds for the Singapore Biennale 2013. Her works have been exhibited at the Mori Art Museum, Tokyo and Singapore Art Museum, Seoul Art Centre in Korea, Museum Rudana in Indonesia as well as in gallery exhibitions in Sweden, Germany, London, Italy, New York, Australia, Hong Kong, and China. 

Kumari is celebrated for her iconic sculptures in landmark locations in Singapore including Saga for Changi Airport, Nutmeg & Mace for the ION Orchard, Pedas- Pedas for the National Museum and Pembungaan for OUE Bayfront (the largest bronze mural in Singapore at over 45m) and other sculptures for corporate developments. Her sculptures have graced sites overseas including G Tower in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), the J.Y. Campos Centre in Manila (the Philippines), and Zhongshan Park in Shanghai (China). Kumari has received commendations in the Philip Morris ASEAN Art Awards & UOB Painting of the Year. She holds the honor of being the first foreigner and woman to be conferred the Ksatria Seni Award (2004) by the Museum Rudana in Bali. In 2011, she won the Artist of the Year Award in the 15th edition of the Shanghai Art Fair and was identified as a notable female artist in the book Women Artists in Singapore.