National Gallery Singapore presents 'City of Others' on Asian artists in interwar Paris

The National Gallery Singapore has unveiled "City of Others: Asian Artists in Paris, 1920s–1940s," an exhibition resulting from five years of research and three years of curatorial development. This ambitious project re-examines Paris's formidable artistic reputation during the first half of the 20th century through the experiences of Asian artists who lived and worked there. These individuals arrived in the French capital as foreigners, artisans, students, and colonial subjects, encountering a city that presented both significant anxiety and judgment alongside substantial artistic opportunity. The exhibition specifically focuses on the period from the 1920s through the 1940s, a time when Paris held an outsized place in both popular imagination and art historical narratives. By centering Asian perspectives, the show challenges conventional narratives about this iconic artistic epoch. The artists navigated Paris as an arena where their identities shaped their experiences of both constraint and creative possibility. The National Gallery Singapore's presentation represents a significant scholarly undertaking that reframes understanding of a crucial period in modern art history.