“This compendium—including monographic articles, catalogue essays, newspaper features and exhibition reviews, conference papers, and public speeches—reflects (Sabapathy's) highly eclectic but always thoughtful take on Southeast Asia’s modern art developments. Drawing on the theoretic and iconographic methods of Western scholars such as Michael Baxandall, E.H. Gombrich, Rosalind Krauss, Herbert Read, Barbara Rose, and Michael Sullivan (all amply cited in his texts), Sabapathy demonstrates an acute sensitivity to the visual, tactile, and symbolic qualities of artistic mediums.”

Art in America

“An unparalleled documentation of the contemporary Southeast Asian art scene since the 1970s.”

ArtRepublik

"A new anthology that covers over four decades of Sabapathy's erudite, sometimes esoteric, opinions. . . . . Reading this anthology is a revelation, like encountering a Chinua Achebe novel or listening to Gayatri Spivak speak for the first time. It opens up a new and exciting world populated by artists with exotic names and imagery that are both foreign and seemingly familiar. . . .  Writing the Modern is a seminal publication on art practices in the region, articulated through the voice of a formidable scholar and intellectual."
 

Mekong Review

“Writing the Modern collates the octogenarian’s efforts, which have inarguably set the course for Southeast Asian art history today.”

ArtAsiaPacific

“Writing the Modern collates the octogenarian’s efforts, which have inarguably set the course for Southeast Asian art history today.”

ArtAsiaPacific

“Writing the Modern, more than a tender work of homage, is also an anthology of significant value for readers interested in the historiography of modern and contemporary art in Southeast Asia… the fluidity and reach of Sabapathy’s writings testify to an undertaking that is akin to public art history even before such a field found a name for itself.”

Sojourn: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia