SINGAPORE — Artworks spread over king-sized beds, propped against chairs, sitting in bathtubs and balancing over the sinks — these are the unique sights at Worlds Apart Fair, Singapore’s first hotel art fair. Open today and spread over the 23rd and 24th floors of the Conrad Centennial hotel, the fair brings together some 40 galleries — 13 from Korea — showing more than 3,000 artworks. 

A hotel art fair, where galleries book hotel rooms to exhibit and sell their works, may be a novelty to Singaporean arts goers, but the format is common in other Asian cities such as Seoul, Hong Kong and Shanghai. 

Like many other events this month, Worlds Apart Fair is timed to coincide with the high-end contemporary art fair Art Stage, but its offerings are priced more accessibly at an average of about S$5,000, with the highest work reaching S$50,000. Besides galleries taking up rooms, there are also individual Singaporean artists such as photographer Mintio and arts collective Vertical Submarine selling their wares in individual rooms. 

Paintings dominate the proceedings, even if there is a smattering of photography, sculpture, video art and even jewellery from Hong Kong’s Dickson Yewn. The quality of the artworks on show also varies. Most galleries are selling unabashedly decorative pieces targetted at buyers who need to fill a hole on the wall, while some are of a more international standard and distinctive personality, appealing to the more discerning collector who wants works by emerging artists at friendly prices.

Touring the fair this morning, ARTINFO found that stand-out galleries with strong identities include Japan’s Mizuma Art Gallery, selling painted, quilted pillows by Japanese artist Yamaguchi Ai that are also available at the gallery’s Art Stage booth; Korea’s Keumsan Gallery and its quirky sculptures by Matsueda Yuki, including an ‘Exit’ sign with the running man literally straining to get out of the light box; and Gallery Som-C, with its clean, smaller pieces by artists such as Eom Yu Jeong and Cha Youngsuk.

Worlds Apart Fair is held from Jan 25 to 27, 10am to 9pm, at Conrad Centennial Singapore. Tickets cost $10 at the door.