‘Candide’ by Schandra Singh

Nature Morte presents a solo exhibition of new paintings & drawings, entitled ‘Candide’ by New York based painter Schandra Singh.

Born in Suffern, New York, in 1977, Schandra Singh did her Bachelor of Fine Arts (1999) at the Rhode Island School of Design and went on to receive a Master of Fine Arts in Painting (2006) at Yale University. The artist has exhibited internationally and most notably in the recent "The Empire Strikes Back" exhibition at Saatchi Gallery in London.

'Candide', her first solo in Berlin, shares its name with the unlucky, naïve protagonist of Voltaire’s satirical 18th century novel, who travels the world only to be met by war, natural disaster, and religious fanaticism. Although he attempts to stay optimistic in the face of suffering, Candide’s tragic journey ends with the declaration that we should simply stay put and cultivate our garden.

A press release elaborates: "The calamities of the 18th century still plague our global village today, and Schandra Singh’s new paintings update the question posed by Candide for a contemporary audience: how do we shelter ourselves in troubled times? In these new works, she continues to depict locals and vacationers at far-flung, exotic locales.

Lounging tourists enclosed in their own private, watery paradise are rendered with fibrous striations of flesh-colored paint. Influenced by German expressionism, Singh’s subjective portraits interrogate the psychological and subsequently political implications of leisure in an era of global crisis.

A decade after 9/11, and on the back of relaxation, rides anxiety. These once-protected pools are shark-infested waters; nightmarish visions punctuate the chlorinated reveries of children in floral swimsuits and sunburnt men straddling pool noodles. The promises of sunshine, gated villas, palm trees and Pina Coladas no longer symbolize Western invincibility but instead herald its slow decay. Singh updates the painterly languages of both Soutine and Baselitz to talk about our fecund morbidity, our desperation for pleasure in the context of tragedy."

(Information courtesy: Nature Morte, Berlin)