Haridas Contemporary is thrilled to present Melissa Tan’s (b. 1989, Singapore) upcoming solo exhibition in which she debuts a new series of paintings. Tan is known for her intricately detailed metal and resin sculptures, with which she explores her long-standing interests in celestial mapping and mythology. In this new chapter — inspired by an etymological understanding of the word ‘map’, which in old Latin referred to a piece of cloth — Tan unfolds her stories from the scintillant planes of her sculptures, and transports them to vivid new worlds on canvas, where hidden maps of constellations hint at a shifting landscape and story.

In marked contrast to the elegant and steely glint characteristic of Tan’s past exhibitions, From One Sky To Another unfolds in vivid colour. Once incised into metal, Tan’s cast of characters and their stories now inhabit worlds of flesh, land, water, and sky. The palette of this series, ranging from earthy autumnal hues to crisp and clear blues, brings to mind the works of Renaissance masters such as Botticelli and Titian, both of whom Tan referenced for their representations of Greek gods and goddesses. In other works, looser brushwork and luminous colours recall the paintings of the Symbolists, imparting an enigmatic cast to the subject matter.