Design Studio White Jacket Commemorates Its 10th Anniversary with Two Art Exhibitions

White Jacket, a multiple-award-winning design studio by interior designer Patricia HoDouven, has a new home on Upper Circular Road. The space showcases some eye-catching design elements, like sophisticated blonde wood, unused stones from factories, corrugated panels, sculptural furniture and repurposed material from the White Jacket library.

Masterfully designed yet functional, the fully renovated studio is a Singapore-inspired space, filled with bespoke furniture, statement lighting and paintings designed and created by local artists. The studio also features cosy nooks, a dramatic show kitchen, a retail area and even an art gallery.

This month, White Jacket will host two art exhibitions in its customised gallery space: WJ x NAFA Showcase a partnership between White Jacket and the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA); On display are 10 wooden stools, created to complement the roundtable in the retail area. Designed by NAFA alum Chen Jia Wen, the stools are beautifully crafted with soft rounded edges and exposed wood joinery.

Eight artists and two White Jacket in-house designers were invited to give the stools their own decorative touch, based on the theme, “Lepak”. Lepak is a Malay word, meaning “to chill out and do nothing”. The artists, among them Chris Chew, Jessin Goh, Sean Lam and Grace Angel, were asked to translate this concept into visual works onto the stools.

The stools are currently displayed in the White Jacket studio. Each one will be auctioned, with sale proceeds going towards the funding of NAFA scholarships and bursaries.

A Decade commemorates White Jacket’s 10th anniversary. Nine young artists were invited to create pieces in their signature style, based on the concept of celebration and encompassing local elements and history.

Evergreen by Henry Lee, for example, depicts a blooming bonsai, which, like a company or brand, requires patience, perseverance and vision to nurture and grow. The piece represents White Jacket’s hard work over the last 12 years.

Ten Years of Work for One Minute on Stage by Tan Zi Xi features a Chinese acrobat troupe. It serves as a reminder that success does not come easy: a glorious minute on stage is the result of a decade’s work, as the famous Chinese saying goes.

Both exhibitions showcase the works of some of Singapore’s most prominent artists and designers.

They are open to the public and are expected to run until March 2022 by appointment only.

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