Ubi Techpark? I double-checked the address to see if I had got it wrong. An industrial estate is the last place you would expect to find an art museum.

And yet here it is. The Art Retreat is a private museum, nestled on the ground floor of Lobby C (dead centre) of the industrial estate. The setup is just like any art gallery or museum. Warm, dim lights. Quiet ambience. And artworks waiting for you to be enjoyed.

Why a techpark? I ask Teo Han Wue, the executive director of the museum. His answer is a cryptic, “Why not?” The museum, the only private art museum of modern Asian and European art in Singapore, was set up by an Indonesian patron Kwee Swie Teng as a non-profit effort to make art accessible to the public.

In particular, what makes a museum is its focus in collaborating with private collectors to display their collections. The current show, Fashioning Modernity: 7 Indonesian Masters brings under one roof paintings from eight different collectors. Fashioning Modernity explores the art of seminal Indonesian artists in post-colonial Indonesia through the zeitgeist of independence and articulations of nationhood. This show ends in March. So you should catch it now. Like, now.

But for those who might not get a chance to, here’s a little sneak of some of the artworks, pictures courtesy of The Art Retreat.

New Move by Sindudarsono Sudjojono
Whimsical fashion is the order of the day, as ladies parade themselves in the bright colours and fashion of the day. The painting is juxtaposed with the the young boy and the old man observing in the corner, both too young and old to appreciate the fashions of this new time.

Mt Merape by Widayat
Widayat evokes the memory of the Indonesian landscape – before the ideation of the Indonesian motherland, there was just the land. Volcanoes play an important part in the memory of that land – and a recurring theme for Widayat’s paintings.

Cremation by Basoeki AbdullahFashioning Modernity ends on 31st March, so go catch it while you still can!