Kumari Nahappan

Kumari Nahappan is a prominent artist in Southeast Asia. Her practice encompasses interdisciplinary genres, painting, sculpture, and installations. She has forged a reputation for effectively reconciling the language of “international contemporary art” with her own vocabulary and developing a visual identity that is decisively shaped by her cultural roots and beliefs.

Kumari is celebrated for her iconic sculptures inspired by local flora in landmark locations in Singapore including Saga for Changi Airport, Nutmeg & Mace for the ION Orchard, Pedas-Pedas for the National Museum, and Pembungaan for OUE Bayfront (the largest bronze mural in Singapore at over 45m) and other sculptures for corporate developments. Her sculptures have graced sites overseas including G Tower in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), the J.Y. Campos Centre in Manila (the Philippines), and Zongshan Park in Shanghai (China).

Kumari has received commendations in the Philip Morris ASEAN Art Awards and UOB Painting of the Year. She holds the honor of being the first foreigner and woman to be conferred the Ksatria Seni Award (2004) by the Museum Rudana in Bali. In 2011, she won the Artist of the Year Award in the 15th edition of the Shanghai Art Fair and was identified as a notable female artist in the book Women Artists in Singapore (2011).

For more than two decades, Kumari’s artistic journey has seen her develop an extensive body of works, including paintings, sculptures, and installations which have been exhibited in Asia, Europe, and the United States, for example at the Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, Seoul Art Centre in Korea, Museum Rudana in Bali, Museum der Kulturen in Basel, and Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam.