Singapore’s pioneering art marketplace marks its third anniversary with a bold exhibition that mixes nostalgic river scenes with classic nude studies—two genres rarely shown side by side.
Art Again, the digital-first art marketplace that has reshaped how Singaporeans collect mid-century works, is throwing out the gallery rulebook. For its third anniversary, the platform is mounting Nauti: All Things Naughty and Nautical, an exhibition that pairs two seemingly opposite themes from Singapore’s artistic past: tranquil river views and unapologetic figure studies. The show runs from August 22 to 30, 2026, at vintage furniture store Objects.re in Singapore.
The pairing isn’t a gimmick. After three years of sourcing and selling mid-20th-century Singaporean art, Art Again’s curators noticed a recurring pattern. On one side, collectors constantly sought depictions of bumboats, quays, and the Singapore River—once icons of the young nation’s industrial ambition. On the other, there was a quieter but equally consistent demand for works centered on the human body: nudes, bathers, and figure studies. These two genres, though equally common in local art history, were collected and displayed in very different circles—the river paintings proudly hung in living rooms, the nudes often kept behind closed doors.
“We wanted to bring these conversations together,” says a spokesperson for Art Again. “Each theme tells a story about how Singapore saw itself—one outward-looking and celebratory, the other intimate and often hidden.”
50 Works, 15 Private Collections
Nauti is Art Again’s largest exhibition to date, assembling more than 50 works drawn from 15 private collections across Singapore. The showcase features pieces by some of the country’s most influential artists, including:
- Cheong Soo Pieng – a pioneer of the Nanyang art movement, which fused European modernism with Southeast Asian motifs
- Chua Ek Kay – master of Chinese ink and Western abstraction
- Anthony Poon – known for his geometric abstractions
- Teng Nee Cheong – celebrated for richly decorative Balinese-inspired compositions and sensual nude studies
- Lim Tze Peng – Singapore’s oldest living artist at the time of his passing, famous for his calligraphic landscapes
- Ng Eng Teng – a sculptor who explored the human form
- Sarkasi Said – a batik artist who brought textile techniques to fine art
- Jimmy Ong – known for expressive charcoal and ink figural works
- Wong Keen – a dynamic abstract expressionist
Among the highlights are works by Teng Nee Cheong, whose luscious, patterned nudes contrast sharply with the serene riverscapes of Cheong Soo Pieng. Every piece on display is available for purchase, offering collectors a rare chance to acquire museum-quality works directly from private hands.
Why This Matters
The exhibition arrives at a time when Singapore’s art market is maturing. Local mid-century works, long undervalued compared to Western contemporaries, are gaining international attention. By juxtaposing the public and the private, the nautical and the naughty, Art Again invites viewers to reconsider how they engage with art history—and how much of it remains hidden.
“These works were painted in the same decades, often by the same artists,” the spokesperson adds. “They just lived in different parts of people’s homes.”
How to Experience the Show
Nauti: All Things Naughty and Nautical will be held at Objects.re, a vintage furniture store that doubles as a gallery space. Admission is free. For those unable to attend in person, Art Again plans to release a digital catalog and a series of Instagram takeovers featuring collector stories.
What’s next? Art Again hopes to expand its model beyond Singapore, tapping into Southeast Asia’s growing appetite for mid-century art. For now, the anniversary exhibition is a reminder that the most compelling stories often come from the least expected pairings.
Follow Art Again on Instagram @artagain.co for updates and previews.