CHARLES & KEITH Group Foundation is pleased to be a key partner for the Singapore Pavilion at the 60th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, supporting artist Robert Zhao and curator Haeju Kim for exhibition, Seeing Forest.
At CHARLES & KEITH Group, we have always championed creativity by challenging boundaries and boldly experimenting with different expressions and styles. Extending this approach beyond business, our Foundation strives to be conduits of positive change in our industry and community. By supporting creatives across fashion design and the arts, we celebrate creativity, innovation and the transformative power of art to ignite change.
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
Seeing Forest encourages visitors to explore the ways in which urban design can shape the natural world, and vice versa, resulting in a new ecosystem of migrant species that echoes the histories, trajectories and makeup of a city’s human population. A selection of compelling scenes compiled from hundreds of hours of film and close to a decade of Zhao’s research of secondary forest culminate in three key works: a two-channel video installation; a sculptural video installation; and a photographic work.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Robert Zhao Renhui (born 1983, Singapore) is an interdisciplinary artist who explores the complex and co-mingled relationships between nature and culture. Working in installation, photography, video and sculpture, Zhao is interested in the multifarious beings and objects that constitute the living world, and whose experiences and knowledge enrich our collective existence.
Zhao held solo exhibitions The Forest Institute (2022) at Gillman Barracks, Singapore and Monuments in the Forest at Shanghart Gallery (2023) in Shanghai. His latest work is a performance installation titled Albizia (2023), commissioned by the Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay. He has also been featured in the 10th Busan Biennale (2020), 6th Singapore Biennale (2019), 9th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (2018), 11th Taipei Biennale (2018), 17th Jakarta Biennale (2017), and 20th Biennale of Sydney (2016).
He received the prestigious National Arts Council Young Artist Award (2010), Singapore’s highest award for young arts practitioners aged 35 and below, He was also a finalist of the Hugo Boss Asia Art Award (2017).
ABOUT CHARLES & KEITH GROUP FOUNDATION
Every commitment made by the CHARLES & KEITH Group Foundation is guided by this single, unifying belief: That we exist to make meaningful impact in society by playing an active role creating a more inclusive and kinder world for everyone.
In collaboration with our partners, the Foundation designs long term programmes to effect qualitative change, be it through empowering women with equal opportunities, increasing eco-consciousness within our communities, nurturing creative and entrepreneurial talents and supporting the education journey of those in need.
