Delfi Orchard locks down Tang Contemporary Art premises after alleged failure to pay rent

SINGAPORE – Delfi Orchard has forcibly shut down international art gallery Tang Contemporary Art in the mall and disabled lifts to its sixth-floor space over alleged unpaid rent, The Straits Times has learnt.

The decision was enforced on Oct 8, when gallery staff arrived to find the entrance locked. A mall spokesman did not provide the reason but confirmed to ST that the 7,500 sq ft premises had been closed.

“We are working closely with Tang Contemporary Art on the matter,” an e-mail statement said.

“As discussions are ongoing and confidential, we are unable to comment further.”

ST understands that the Singapore branch owes at least three months’ rent to Delfi Orchard landlord CDL Draco, a subsidiary of City Developments Limited.

Artists whose works Tang brought to Singapore have also complained about a lack of communication and uncertainty over whether their artwork will be returned.

Tang, one of Asia’s big-name galleries, opened its Singapore space in 2024, its eighth gallery, following openings in Bangkok, Beijing, Seoul and Hong Kong, with founder Zheng Lin at the time touting plans for global expansion, including into Europe.

Its recent financial troubles were reported in art media after it shuttered its outpost in Hong Kong’s Wong Chuk Hang neighbourhood.

A notice, seen by ST, was affixed to the door of the Wong Chuk Hang outlet by property developer Sino Group on behalf of landlord Grand Apex. The notice said a bailiff had seized all movable property on the premises and sold it through a public auction, after which Tang still owed HK$1.6 million (S$261,000).

The gallery is also facing demands for payment from its logistics provider and artists.

Despite the gallery's main entrance being locked, Tang Contemporary Art Singapore director White He told ST on Oct 8 that a scheduled solo exhibition by Chinese artist Leng Guangmin was still set to open on Oct 17.

When ST visited the gallery on Oct 8, works by Chinese artist Yang Maoyuan from a previous exhibition were still on display.

A Tang Contemporary Art spokesperson told ST on Oct 11: “Tang Contemporary Art Singapore clarifies that the gallery is temporarily closed solely for exhibition transition. Our new exhibition will have its grand opening on Oct 17. This temporary closure is a normal operational preparation required for exhibition rotation. The Singapore branch is fully operational, with no plans for staff layoffs and no financial or debt issues.”

Swedish artist Daniel Fleur, who held an exhibition at Delfi Orchard in December 2025, said he is owed $7,000 from the sale of one of his works through Tang.

He has spoken to other artists represented by the gallery who are

engaging lawyers or seeking help from their embassies to recover what they are owed. Requests for payment have gone unanswered, except for a response from a Singapore gallery staff member who has since left.

Fleur said: “If the Singapore gallery closes, I worry that recovering the outstanding payment could become even more difficult. The way this situation has been handled was deeply disappointing.

“Tang Contemporary Art is an internationally established gallery, and as an artist, you naturally expect a certain level of professionalism, transparency and accountability from an institution of that standing.”

Indonesian artist Bernandi Desanda told ST that the gallery continues to hold 18 of his works, with no information about their return, despite the deadline for the one- year consignment period expiring in June.

Two other Indonesian artists, Uji Hahan and Rizal Hasan, are in a similar predicament. Desanda is circumspect: “I'm not in a rush, but

the news about Tang has made me worried.”

A source close to the matter told ST that the gallery's financial struggles had been going on for a while but had noticeably worsened in the past year.

“The company simply has no protocol for paying artists. They are passed from one branch to another just to ask for their own money. Some artists get paid, and some do not, and it has nothing to do with the amount,” said the source.

The gallery was founded in 1997 in Bangkok by Zheng, a Hunan-born former art teacher and curator, with a focus on Chinese and South-east Asian contemporary art. Over the years, it has built a roster of blue-chip contemporary artists, including Chinese artists Ai Weiwei and Yue Minjun, and South Korean artist Woo Kukwon.

Its branches in Bangkok, Beijing — a headquarters and two exhibition spaces — and Seoul are unaffected for now.

Tang Contemporary Art is not the only gallery that is struggling, with 2025 proving to be a bad year for prestige galleries.

https://www.straitstimes.com/life/arts/delfi-orchard-locks-down-tang-contemporary-art-premises-after-alleged-failure-to-pay-rent

Woodleigh Mall faces rising vacancies, tenant reports ‘totally unsustainable’ 30% increase in rent

Recent shop closures at The Woodleigh Mall have raised concerns among customers, as employees of remaining stalls flag high rental costs.

Simon, a 40-year-old management consultant, told Stomp that the heartland shopping centre started seeing shop closures earlier this year — its third year of operations.

After two years of “stable” business, he recalled seeing tenants leave, with replacements moving in quickly.

Recently, however, Simon observed “mass vacancy” in the mall, with store units “boarded up with no new takers.”

In recent weeks, established brands like Swee Heng Bakery and Fish & Co. have announced the closure of their outlets at The Woodleigh Mall.

Burger King, with over 60 outlets islandwide, made headlines when it shuttered its outlet at the mall. Claypot rice restaurant, Gunkee Claypot, is set to move into the space by July.

The observation was also shared in a Reddit post, with netizens baffled at the spate of closures at “yet another shopless mall”.

Heartland malls should be ‘down to earth’: Visitor

When Stomp visited the mall at 11am on May 7, over 10 units on the Basement 1 level were vacant.

Despite a steady stream of visitors at the mall, only a handful stopped to patronise food stalls.

Simon said he felt “angry and worried” at the closures, adding that shoppers now had fewer choices and could face higher prices if new stores moved in.

“There are so many HDBs around here. Woodleigh Mall is the only full-fledged mall serving the Bidadari area and Potong Pasir.

“Heartland mall should be down to earth, have more local cuisines,” he added.

Stomp has reached out to The Woodleigh Mall for comment.

Homegrown brand bemoans 30 per cent rent increase

Constance Tan, director of homegrown bubble tea brand No.17 Tea, said the brand had to relocate its Woodleigh Mall outlet to another unit on the same floor, with Luckin Coffee taking over its previous space.

“We didn’t manage to renew our existing unit as they quoted a 30 per cent increase in rental and it’s totally unsustainable,” Ms Tan told Stomp, adding that they had to downsize to a smaller kiosk-format unit within the mall instead.

The outlet had operated there since May 2023, taking over a “completely bare” unit and “investing quite heavily” in renovations.

However, Ms Tan said she and other tenants had observed dwindling footfall on weekdays, especially during non-peak hours.

“Honestly quite sad to see more local brands struggling or leaving over time, while many newer Chinese brands are coming in and replacing the spaces quite quickly,” she said.

“Retail and operating costs in Singapore have become very tough for homegrown businesses.”

‘We really need rent to be lowered’

A 70-year-old employee at a basement-level store agreed, noting that business fluctuated frequently.

“A lot of people said that rental is expensive. When rent increases, businesses will run away,” she said.

“If rent didn’t rise, maybe they could have stayed. But once it increases, there’s no need for discussion,” she added.

Another part-time worker at Kang Xiao Lu, a fried duck stall, said that business was poor.

“We really need rent to be lowered, otherwise we can’t carry on,” she said in Mandarin, stressing that cost of living has become sky-high.

Other patrons unfazed

However, other mall patrons appeared unbothered by the changes.

A 73-year-old Aljunied resident who visits the mall twice a month said she was surprised to find many stores shuttered.

But these changes did not stop her from visiting entirely, as it was one of the few malls in the area.

Another 75-year-old retiree, Mr Hoe, viewed the closures positively, saying that prices at some of the exiting stores were unaffordable.

In contrast, he felt the arrival of new businesses added variety.

The Hougang resident said he frequents the mall two or three times a week, saying the mall had a “good atmosphere” and is conveniently located near bus stops and an MRT station.

From conversations with tenants, he speculated that rising rental costs would have contributed to the exodus of many stalls.

“The market is bad now. There’s a war going on. If price increases, who want to rent?”

https://www.stomp.sg/trending-now/woodleigh-mall-faces-rising-vacancies-tenant-reports-totally-unsustainable-30-increase-rent

Who did Candice Toh vote for?

Fyi Barcook just opened at PLQ Mall last month, I reckon this therefore offsets the closure of its Tampines 1 outlet.

Becum Rape Bro liao 🤣

Haha this is what we call a self-fulfilling prophecy :P

Hawker Chan's roast pork rice now costs $8.10 instead of $5.80

No more Michelin star, no more most affordable Michelin starred food.

The price of roast pork rice from Liao Fan Hawker Chan's outlet at Plaza Singapura's Kopitiam food court has gone up from S$5.80 to S$8.10 -- a 40 per cent increase.

According to Shin Min Daily News, the customer who bought the dish was so shocked he went online to complain that the stall raised prices without informing customers, since it was quite a significant hike.

Sudden increase without notification

The customer, Liang Jianan, 40, said he buys food from the stall weekly.

Shocked by the abrupt increase in prices, he asked the stall's cashier repeatedly to confirm the 40 per cent price hike.

Liang said: "I checked and found that this rice dish is no different from what was served before, other than an extra half an egg now."

He added: "If I had known that the hike was so huge, I would have eaten at the hawker centre nearby."

A reporter visited Liao Fan Hawker Chan and found that prices of the food have gone up.

Signature soya sauce chicken rice went up from S$5.50 to S$6.80.

Char siew rice and pork ribs rice went up from S$5.50 to S$7.80.

A duo-meat platter went up from S$8 to S$12.

Price hike due to increase in everything

Liao Fan Hawker Chan's flagship store at Chinatown told Shin Min the price hike was due to increase in costs of cooking oil, pork, gas, water and electricity.

Takeaway boxes, which cost S$0.30 more now, have also seen an increase in costs too.

"We will adjust prices again when things are more stable," a spokesperson said.

An employee told Shin Min that customers have complained: "Folks would add on meat and vegetables previously, but now they only order the basic set meal."

Liao Fan Hawker Chan was awarded one Michelin Star in 2016.

https://mothership.sg/2022/07/hawker-chan-roast-pork-rice-price

Hey Yogurt has mostly shitty reviews on Google anyways, so no love lost there.

Fun fact: the company behind Ho Jia Ga is Han Tai Run Pte Ltd, previously known as Wang Ji Roast.

https://opengovsg.com/corporate/201809429C

LOL I have never heard of Xin Tekka. Is it near Tekka Centre?

Netizen wagers five thousand bucks some cafe at The Cathay will follow suit shortly:

Perhaps this is A&F's karma for treating men as sex objects.

Nobody gives a fuck. Next please.

Meidi-ya sounds rather inauspicious, machiam like Mati-ya.

No more Tokyu Hands in Jurong: Retailer announces Westgate outlet closure in August

https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/trending/tokyu-hands-jurong-westgate-singapore-closing-12896684

Poh Kim still operates numerous outlets across the island.

http://www.pohkim.com.sg/pohkim-video-branches.html

Used to love eating their garlic bread toast as a child, oh well nothing lasts forever.

Does that mean all them mudland lians working at SaSa outlets will have to balek kampong soon?

No thanks to blood-sucking REITS, the whole retail scene in SG is slowly imploding.

$50 million spent on renovation pretty much thrown down the drain.......sigh.

They sold pretty tasty peanut butter ice-cream IMO; the satay burger creation also turned out quite decent. Chilli crab buns tasted ok but were a tad expensive. Maybe the novelty has worn out, who knows.

@西廠LOL WHO CARES

Another day, another business bites the dust. Nothing new, no love lost.

How does HDL even have anything to do with its demise?

No hurry there Kenny Rogers, you can take 16 years to reopen like A&W did.

Next up: Kenny Rogers? :P

As far as I am concerned, Big Box died a long time ago. Most people use it as a 'bridge' to shutter between JEM and the hospital.

The Muslim/Indon restaurant on Level 2 had also since closed down.

The ground floor supermarket has been vacant for ages. Even before that, signs of its imminent demise were observable: many cashier lanes closed, one corner of the ground floor opposite the supermarket being converted into a playground for kids, an enquiry counter on the ground floor beneath the escalator vanished.

Shops at levels 2 and 3 still sell shitty furniture; unsurprising since the mall owner's original trade is selling furniture.

Poor mall management, impossibly hard to compete with the Capital Mall cartel in the vicinity.

Sorry dude never heard of Blu Jaz. Oh well all good things must come to an end someday.

There is only one way for rentals to stabilize at sustainable levels; restaurateurs and retailers must pack up en masse and stop pandering to the whims of these blood sucking landlords. But shortsighted fools will continue to prop up the overpriced market in SG.......until they get burnt badly and have to call it quits altogether.

Who the fuck is Chef Wan? Besides knowing now his food is left WANting.......