In celebration of International Women’s Day in March, we are spotlighting artists Delia Prvacki and Pacita Abad. Both artists draw upon a rich life of diverse social and cultural experiences to create bold empathic artworks.
Delia Prvacki
If you commute to SMU through Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station, you might already be familiar with one of Delia’s many public art. The artwork is titled Interchange (2001), and made in collaboration with her husband Milenko Prvacki. It draws from the cosmopolitanism of the city and salutes its rich artistic traditions including batik, blue and white porcelain, and Peranakan tiles. Crossroads, permanent movement, change and transition are elements that not only characterise Dhoby Ghaut interchange station but also that of Delia’s life, whose artistic career traverses three different countries—Romania, Yugoslavia and Singapore.
Pacita Abad
For much of her 32-year artistic career, Pacita was an itinerant painter travelling with her husband, a development economist, across the globe, living in countries like Bangladesh, Yemen, Sudan, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. Her travels significantly impacted her artistic style and were the inspiration for many ideas, techniques and materials she used in her paintings. She transformed the surface of her paintings with materials such as traditional cloth, shells, buttons, beads, mirrors and other objects she collected during her travels. Spot these different materials in her vibrant colourful paintings at School of Economics Level 5!
SMU Art Collection is now online
Get to know more about Pacita Abad and Delia Prvacki, and their artworks, on the microsite. You can also browse over 300 artworks by more than 80 artists in the Collection. And be sure to follow us on Instagram at @smu.libraries for a dose of art, culture and more.