National Gallery Singapore to stage SEA's biggest Pop Art exhibition

National Gallery Singapore is turning the spotlight on Pop Art with what it says is Southeast Asia's largest group exhibition dedicated to the movement and its legacy.

Opening on 11 December, "Pop after pop: Art around us" will bring together more than 200 artworks by over 100 artists, primarily from Southeast Asia and the United States. Organised in collaboration with the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation in New York, the exhibition marks the first partnership between the two institutions.

Running until 4 April 2027, the exhibition will span four galleries and various public spaces across National Gallery Singapore, showcasing paintings, sculptures, prints, installations and moving image works from the Gallery's collection, loans from the Guggenheim, and private and institutional collections.

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Visitors can expect works from internationally recognised Pop Art figures including Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol and Barbara Kruger alongside leading Southeast Asian artists such as Singapore's Ming Wong, the Philippines' Antipas Delotavo, Indonesia's FX Harsono and Thailand's Manit Sriwanichpoom.

While Pop Art is often associated with its origins in Britain and the United States, "Pop after pop: Art around us" aims to shift the conversation by highlighting how artists across Southeast Asia adopted and reinterpreted the movement through their own cultural, political and social lenses.

Drawing inspiration from mass media, advertising, popular culture and everyday life, artists from the region transformed familiar imagery into commentary on urbanisation, identity and political realities, offering fresh perspectives on one of the 20th century's most influential art movements.

The exhibition will be held across the Singtel Special Exhibition Galleries 1 and 2, Special Exhibition Gallery 3 on Level 3, the Ngee Ann Kongsi Gallery on Level B1, as well as public spaces throughout the Gallery.

Special exhibition tickets are priced at SG$15 for Singaporeans and permanent residents, and SG$25 for foreign residents and tourists.

Gallery Insiders members will enjoy unlimited complimentary access to the exhibition through memberships priced at SG$20 for Singaporeans and permanent residents, and SG$35 for foreign residents and tourists.

"Pop after pop: Art around us" is supported by Series Partner Singtel and Lead Partner J.P. Morgan.

The exhibition also comes months after Singtel renewed its partnership with National Gallery Singapore for another 10 years, extending a collaboration that has been in place since the Gallery opened in 2015.

Under the renewed agreement, Singtel will remain a founding partner, with Special Exhibition Galleries 1 and 2 continuing to bear the telco's name.

At the time, Singtel group CEO Yuen Kuan Moon said the partnership reflects a shared ambition to make art more accessible, while National Gallery Singapore CEO and director Eugene Tan said the telco's continued support would enable the Gallery to present more large-scale international exhibitions and deepen public engagement with the arts.

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