Fu Baoshi @ Met, NY

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is currently presenting a retrospective of works by Fu Baoshi, one of the most renowned modern artists in China. Drawn primarily from the preeminent holdings of China’s Nanjing Museum, Chinese Art in an Age of Revolution: Fu Baoshi (1904-1965) showcase the artist’s 40-year career with some 70 paintings and 20 seals that have never been shown outside Asia.

Gillman Barracks is another top down approach to boost the art, but is that a bad thing?

Singapore has long harbored hope of positioning itself as a contemporary art hub in Asia. With three Biennales, the opening of the Freeport and Art Stage, it has made some headways in that direction. Come May, the govermnet is hoping to add one more piece to the puzzle by opening Gillman Barracks, which is billed as a new “contemporary art destination” in the region. In its usual top down approach, various governments bodies have banded together and “curated” the space by selecting 13 contemporary art galleries as “pioneer tenants” in renovated military barracks outside the center of town.

Published - Year of the Dragon Is the Time to Strike

Each year since 2009, Panerai, an Italian watch brand known for its classic-looking sports watches, has designed a limited-edition Luminor Sealand watch dedicated to a creature from the Chinese Zodiac. The brand releases them exclusively in China with little fanfare, yet the 50 pieces have always sold out.

The latest addition to this series, released this month, is inspired by the art of Chinese paper cutting and features an etching of a dragon piercing through clouds and mist. It is etched onto a brushed steel cover that protects the watch’s sapphire crystal.

Panerai is not the only brand celebrating the Year of the Dragon, which begins next Monday. While some brands have occasionally released a special Chinese zodiac watch — especially when the animal had some broader general appeal like the tiger or horse, rather than goat or ox — everybody seems to be offering to the ever-important Chinese consumer a special edition to remember what is usually considered a very auspicious animal.

Published - Prestigious Prize Ticks Toward a New Credibility

L’Aiguille d’Or, the Golden Hand, the most prestigious prize of the Geneva Watchmaking Grand Prix, went to De Bethune in November for its DB28 model, a large-dial design featuring an ultralight titanium case.

The 2011 prize choices won rare praise from Gregory Pons, editor of Business Montres & Joaillerie, an independent Web-based newsletter, who called it “the best Grand Prix ever in terms of honesty, independence and relevance.”

That was a far cry from his comments on past awards, when he questioned the selection of winners as having been manipulated in favor of certain brands.

But with the recognition given to De Bethune in November, Mr. Pons said in a recent e-mail, the Grand Prix had finally evolved to become “credible and representative” of the industry, even though, he said, it retained “some imperfections.”

The weird world of Tian Xiaolei @ Meulensteen, NY

Beijing based Tian Xiaolei creates surreal animated videos and images that engage with the history of Chinese art and the rapidly evolving social, economic, and political realities of contemporary China.

Singapore Philatelic Museum houses Dragon exhibition

The Singapore Philatelic Museum is ushering the Chinese New Year with an "Imagine Dragons" exhibition with over 300 stamps and philatelic materials dating from 1959 to 2012 that will take children on a quest to explore the world of these imaginary creatures.

While the dragons in the west are often portrayed as evil creatures to be feared, in the east they are respected and sign good fortuner. The Chinese ‘long’ (龙) is the most common dragon in Singapore, and is made up of the parts of at least seven different animals. "Imagine Dragons" exhibition will be from 23 January until December 2012.

Rise of Singapore student at Sovereign Art Prize auction

She's completely unknown, still a student, but her painting Bob.2 was in a way the "star" lot of the Sovereign Art Prize Singapore auction. While it didn't actually fetched the top prize of the night ($20,000 achieved by Korean-born Om Mee Ai's abstract red piece), Denise Jillian Tan’s painting attracted the most spirited bidding of the night. In less than 40s, the somber portrait soared past its estimated of $2,000-$3,100 to fetch $9,000 as bidders battled it out throughout the room obviously impressed by the technical maturity the young painter is showing.. I say, she's the one to watch!!

Great fair, quality works, so why are many galleries so unhappy?

Art Stage Singapore has been a beautiful fair with plenty of fresh works by established artists and new, interesting young artists being introduced to collectors, so why are so many galleries unhappy?