• Home
  • CATEGORIES
    • ARTS & CULTURE
    • BOOKS
    • DIARY
    • EATS
    • EVENTS
    • EXPLORE
    • FUN
    • SHOP
    • TRAVEL
      • STAYCATION
      • CHINA
  • Cities
    • SINGAPORE
    • HONG KONG
    • SHENZHEN
  • About
    • Kylene & CGCS
    • Collaborations
    • Contact

City Girl, City Stories

  • Bookshelf
  • About
    • Kylene & CGCS
    • Collaborations
  • Contact

Whimsical Reality: Ah Guo Art Exhibition

22 February 2020 in ARTS & CULTURE, SINGAPORE

It’s already February of a brand new decade! It’s been a challenging start to the decade hasn’t it, with bad news coming one after the other. The two cities closest to my heart, Singapore and Hong Kong, among many others, have been dealing with the hit of the COVID-19 virus.

With all that’s been going on, and myself being in the early stages of starting a new job, I didn’t have the time or the heart to share adventures from my sunny city. However, I did something much needed this month, which was to take time off. It’s incredible how some time off, sleep, catching up with family and friends and a relaxed few days can do so much good, especially in the midst of … everything.

I like to try to focus on the positive whenever possible, so there’s still happy news, despite not going out much to avoid the spread of the virus and all. Happy news like recently winning some book vouchers (this is super exciting for me!), scoring a fantastic deal online for a dress I love which I’ve been eyeing for months and also having my blog featured in this list of the 24 Best Lifestyle Blogs in Singapore on the Best in Singapore website!

I’m delighted that the Best in Singapore team included my little personal blog in their list among so many incredible blogs, several which I read as well! :) My blog is a personal site and I do this as a hobby, so this is both wonderful news and encourages me to keep at it. Do check out my feature here, and maybe discover other Singapore lifestyle blogs to add to your reading list!

The 24 Best Lifestyle Blogs In Singapore

Moving on with the post, I wanted to share about this new art exhibition I visited recently, featuring the works of Singaporean illustrator and author Lee Kow Fong, perhaps more commonly known as Ah Guo (阿果). The exhibition is called Whimsical Reality and is currently on show at the Singapore Flyer.

City Girl City Stories: Ah Guo-Whimsical Reality exhibition
This piece is one of my personal favourites! :)
City Girl City Stories: Ah Guo-Whimsical Reality exhibition

Ah Guo is known for his colourful, happy and childlike illustrations, featuring locations and scenes of Singapore, which he sketches and then completes into watercolour paintings. These watercolour paintings are the ones on display at the exhibition.

City Girl City Stories: Ah Guo-Whimsical Reality exhibition
City Girl City Stories: Ah Guo-Whimsical Reality exhibition

According to the friendly staff who shared this with me at the exhibition, these paintings are not for sale. If you live in Singapore though, you might have come across a wide selection of merchandise featuring Ah Guo’s illustrations in bookstores and gift shops. Personally, I’m a fan of his work and have bought some of his stationery products for myself and as gifts, so I was pretty excited to see this mini exhibition dedicated to showcasing his work. Bonus: the exhibition is FREE admission! :)

City Girl City Stories: Ah Guo-Whimsical Reality exhibition
A mini section selling Ah Guo’s products.
City Girl City Stories: Ah Guo-Whimsical Reality exhibition
This was a Chinese Year New promotion, free red packets with purchase! How fun are these red packets? :)
City Girl City Stories: Ah Guo-Whimsical Reality exhibition

I really liked how the Singapore Flyer created this exhibit, with light music tinkling softly in the background and a few items of Singaporean elements on display alongside the paintings. The whole lighthearted vibe just matches the works on display, which is great!

City Girl City Stories: Ah Guo-Whimsical Reality exhibition
City Girl City Stories: Ah Guo-Whimsical Reality exhibition
City Girl City Stories: Ah Guo-Whimsical Reality exhibition
City Girl City Stories: Ah Guo-Whimsical Reality exhibition
City Girl City Stories: Ah Guo-Whimsical Reality exhibition
City Girl City Stories: Ah Guo-Whimsical Reality exhibition

I thought it was a good idea to share this post now in the midst of all the noise and worry, for a little positivity and reprieve. This exhibition just opened in January and there is no confirmed closing date for it. When I asked, the staff told me that it’ll likely be ongoing for quite a long time, depending on the response from the public. I hope you get a chance to check it out too!

Lee Kow Fong / Ah Guo
Website – Instagram – Facebook

Whimsical Reality Art Exhibition
Address: Singapore Flyer, #01-06
Opening hours: 10am – 8pm daily
Admission: Free!

City Girl City Stories: Ah Guo-Whimsical Reality exhibition
City Girl City Stories: Ah Guo-Whimsical Reality exhibition

⭐ Follow me on Instagram and Facebook for day-to-day updates and my bookstagram for bookish posts! ⭐

2 Comments
Previous 2019
Next teamLab: Future Together at Gardens by the Bay

Related Posts

Wonderland: Alice in Wonderland Exhibition

2020

Exploring Singapore: Shophouses

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Abby says

    11 March 2020 at 9:15 PM

    The artworks are really nice and very cute.
    I like it.

    Reply
    • Kylene says

      13 March 2020 at 11:50 PM

      So glad you like it too, Abby! :) I enjoy seeing how Ah Guo captures Singapore this way.

      Reply

Leave a Reply to Abby Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

HELLO, I’M KYLENE

HELLO, I’M KYLENE

I’m a Hong Kong born, Singapore raised city girl. I have lived, studied and worked in both cities and am currently based in sunny Singapore. Welcome to my personal blog, where I share my city adventures. :)
READ MORE

CURRENTLY READING

INSTAGRAM

citygirlcitystories

☀️ Snapshots of city life from Singapore!
📚 Bookstagram @sisterreads
🌷 Lifestyle blog: citygirlcitystories.com

Kylene
☀️ A day in the life: out of office edition ☀️ 

I've been enjoying browsing "a day in the life" posts shared by others, so I thought I'll share one of my own. :) Here's a day I captured, when I was out of office a few weeks ago for a much needed break. 😌 

🍳 Started the day at my neighbourhood Starbucks, eating a small breakfast and started on a bit of blogging again~ 

📚 Popped over to the bookstore @booksbeyond.borders to donate some books and browse more books & wonderful things! 

🍽 📽Off to a buffet lunch! Stuffed myself happy, then dashed to the cinema @theprojectorsg to catch a screening of Angelina Jolie's <Maria> 

🍵 Walked over to @baristartcoffee_sg inside another bookstore @bookxcess and had grand plans to read my book, but ended up contemplating my career instead. 😆 

That's a day in my life (OOO edition), how do you spend yours?
🇭🇰 Hong Kong Diaries 🇭🇰 Before we di 🇭🇰 Hong Kong Diaries 🇭🇰 

Before we dive head first into 2025, my sister @wording_art and I spent a spontaneous few days in our (other) favourite city: Hong Kong! 🌟 

After the craziness of 2024, this sister trip felt like a much needed reset. Thanks HK, for letting us live our best lives. 😄✨️ 

Some snapshots here, more to come~
🎆 January 2025 moments :) 🧧 🎆 January 2025 moments :) 🧧
⚘️ Life lately (August to September 2024): a c ⚘️ Life lately (August to September 2024): a collection of happy moments ⚘️ 

2024 has been full of surprises so far! Mostly in great ways though. 😄 This year has also been one of my busiest ones in recent memory. ☁️ 

In other news, my blog citygirlcitystories.com that I started when I graduated from university turns 10 years old next week! 🥳 Ahh, where does the time go... 😶‍🌫️ Life's demands meant that I took an unexpected hiatus from my blog, but if you'll kindly hope with me, perhaps I could return to it soon! 🍀
🌻 Weekend moments :) 🌻 (Compiled from three 🌻 Weekend moments :) 🌻

(Compiled from three weekends haha, because I have long given up on sharing anything online "on time". 😆)
The first half of 2024 was tiring... in more ways The first half of 2024 was tiring... in more ways than one. Despite that, I had a hard stop in May to take time off, flew across the world and landed in London, a city that has been on my travel list for ages!! 🇬🇧 

A week full of (mostly) British summer weather, incredible art and stunning museums, charming bookshops, the most beautiful libraries, scones and tea, I really enjoyed London! 😊💛 

I hope to catch up with Instagram/blogging soon, which I completely fell off from, and there's stuff from Singapore/Hong Kong/London I'd love to share, but for now, here's two candid photos captured by @wording_art reflecting my happiness on this trip. :) 

🌼 Looks like I'm doing a weird dance but was actually avoiding rain puddles at Kenwood House, one of my favourite places I visited! 

🖼 Visited several of London's wonderful museums and this was at the National Portrait Gallery, where I got to see the famed "Portrait of Mai (Omai)" in person! 🤩 I was following this acquisition story in the news and was especially delighted when I heard that it was on display during my trip. :) 

More soon and here's to the second half of 2024! ✨️🤞
Books are a huge passion in my life and for 2024, Books are a huge passion in my life and for 2024, I plan to try harder to bring more of my book recommendations to my blog! :) For my first rec this year, I'm excited to share "Dearest New York: A Love Letter to New York" by Deirdre Gartner @girlintheyellowtaxinyc 🚕

If you'd like to, I'd be delighted if you check out my review on citygirlcitystories.com As a bonus, I also have a Q&A with the author herself! 🤩 

I'm actually a huge fan of the @girlintheyellowtaxinyc blog and Instagram, so I loved hearing from Deirdre about life in NYC and her experience being a native New Yorker. Do check out the full author interview on my blog! (link in bio) 🍎
Load More… Follow on Instagram

FACEBOOK

FACEBOOK

Archives

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Shenzhen Travel Diary: Festival of Lights

Lucca Vudor: Comfortable Leather Shoes

Foodpanda Hong Kong

Whimsical Reality: Ah Guo Art Exhibition

Copyright © 2014-2025 KYLENE WU. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. · Theme by SheShoppes

Copyright © 2025 · Bella Banana for Genesis on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in