How Asian artists made their mark on Paris

National Gallery Singapore exhibition reframes modern art history of French capital

_Workshop to the World_ section Installation view, City of Others_ Asian Artists in Paris, 1920s–1940s, National Gallery Singapore, 2025 (1).jpg

National Gallery Singapore’s “City of Others” is an ambitious “remapping” of Paris – plotted across its three galleries are the artworks and stories of Asian artists and artisans who sojourned or settled there in the early 20th century, such as Japanese lacquer artist Katsu Hamanaka. (All installation images courtesy of National Gallery Singapore)

MAX CROSBIE-JONES

May 9, 2025 08:00 JST

SINGAPORE -- Getting noticed in crowded 1920s Paris was not easy, but, judging by a landmark exhibition, Tsuguharu Foujita managed it.

In black-and-white photographs, the Japanese painter, born in Tokyo in 1886, appears every inch the natty man about town, while a self-portrait hung near the entrance does an even better job of encapsulating why he became a minor celebrity in the clubs and cafes of the bohemian Montparnasse neighborhood during the annees folles (crazy years) after World War I.