The verdict is out. After being locked up in a room for several days, the jury panel have finally selected the 15 finalists for the Asia Pacific Brewery Foundation Signature Art Prize 2011 Finalists Exhibition.

Aimed at recognising the single most outstanding contemporary visual artwork produced in the preceding three years, the award is open, by nomination, to all visual artworks, regardless of medium, subject matter and size. Into its second year running, this year’s competition saw 130 nominated artworks from 24 countries, including Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Mongolia, the Oceania islands, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and many others.

15 finalists from 14 countries emerged and their works will be showcased at the Singapore Art Museum (SAM) from the 11 November 2011 to 4 March 2012. They will be vying for the coveted Grand Prize: S$45,000 cash, three Jurors’ Choice Awards: S$10,000 each and the People’s Choice Award: S$10,000 cash.

Artitute presents our top 5 favourites;

At first glance, this artwork may seem like a scenic photography or a traditional oriental landscape painting. But at closer inspection, the image of the mountain is actually a painting of entangled bodies of millions of office workers.

This artwork is a replica of a guillotine in its actual size. Without warning, three knives fall rapidly one after another, followed by loud clanging sound. Installing fear to its viewers, while the collisions between the brass balls create rich jingling sounds to contribute to the idea of enthusiasm. Better watch your fingers when you visit the exhibition.

A truly remarkable installation by Kim Jongku. Using ground iron, the artist creates gigantic calligraphy from the iron dust. However, each word becomes a mountain, turning the calligraphy into a 3D landscape when viewed on the overhead screen, captured live on video camera.

An imaginary city, which blends science fiction with cultural studies, interweaves a number of themes in contemporary life and art in the city. Amidst the ongoing debates about urban conservation, in which two positions dominate, this artwork series facilitates a third position: remembrance and imagination through humour. Each ‘episode’ offers a glimpse into a particular context of ‘lost building.’ These contexts range from the demolition or collapse of structures to their physical disappearance and destruction by war or natural processes, and statuses of being abandoned, haunted, not built, forgotten and daydreamt. From this host of varieties of how buildings ‘get lost’ arises a mini-encyclopaedia of perceiving the life cycles of buildings and cities in refreshing ways.

The splatter patterns reveal a tension between the wanton placement of the drops of blood and the representation revealed in the exquisite foliate patterns. This contrast therefore depicts life and death in one work.

People’s Choice Award Vote now for one Finalist artwork to win the People’s Choice Award by selecting your favourite work from the list at SAM’s website. Votes can also be cast at the Finalists Exhibition in SAM from 11 November 2011. Voting closes 16 November 2011, 12 noon. (Singapore time, GMT +8).

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3. Open Call for 3rd France + Singapore New Generation Artists 2011
4. Art HK 2011 Highlights
5. UOB Painting of the Year 2011