Greek Masterpieces from the Louvre
Location
SingaporeClient
National Heritage Board / National Museum of SingaporeSurface area
13,455 sq ft / 1,250 m²Completion date
2008
Greek Masterpieces from the Louvre brought together, for the first time in Southeast Asia, 130 masterpieces from ancient Greece. Within their traditional framework at the Louvre, these works are arranged according to materials and gallery restraints. But at the National Museum of Singapore, GSM Project was mandated to design a playfully human exhibition that would offer a cohesive overview of ancient Greek life through the art it left behind.
Objects and sculptures were treated like actors, immersed in dynamic and highly theatrical lighting that recalled the changing Mediterranean sunlight from dawn to dusk. In the thematic sections, sculptures were presented on a human scale—removed from high pedestals and without barriers— and lit with pure white light to highlight their profiles and expressions. The visitor was put into direct contact with the sculpture, and the two were left to gaze at one another.
A “meander zone” linking all sections of the exhibition provided a free space in which visitors could casually move, sketch, play, read, and listen to ancient Greek-inspired soundcapes or pause to enjoy transitional coloured lighting effects. Sightlines and transparencies invited the audience to play the role of voyeur and watch the spectacle from unexpected and strategic viewpoints.
Summary
Greek Masterpieces from the Louvre brought together, for the first time in Southeast Asia, 130 masterpieces from ancient Greece. Thrilling thousands of visitors, the exhibition far exceeded the National Museum of Singapore’s most ambitious projections.