Wenceslaus Hollar, one of the most famous of 17th century printmakers, died in 1677. His work, while brilliant and vast, could hardly be interpreted as contemporary. Yet it is the very same Hollar who has inspired a young Thai artist, Praphan Rakarin, to produce a daring, complex, enormous, imaginative, passionate and highly original painting....
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With apologies to Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, and making no excuses for my appalling play on the word “art”, I present a selection of “love art” from some of my favorite artists, as a celebration of Valentine’s Day. Though not what I would call a great romantic I have, like many, spent much of...
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Nearly five months after his removal from power the spectre of former Prime Minister Thaksin remains, sadly, front of mind. His rather absurd attempts to portray himself as the “great democrat” to the world’s media are almost as pathetic as those same media’s willingness to listen to him. In welcoming a new artist, Prasart...
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One of the benefits of having people work for me is that I can send them to many exhibitions, while I concentrate on the important stuff, like cropping artwork in Photoshop. Yesterday, my colleagues Boum and Jib, went to Number 1 Gallery to see Retrospective, by Alongkorn Lauwatthana. Alongkorn was born in 1964 in...
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Monday of this week we shipped off to Silpakorn University to see a new solo exhibition by Tintin Couper. Clearly I don’t know Tintin’s work well because somehow we ended up at a completely different exhibition, the Silpa Bhirasri Creativity Grants 2006. For those who don’t know, Silpa Bhirasri is the Thai name of...
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Zen-erQi is the unusual title of a new exhibition by Danish artist, Marianne Hvass Kure, that opened on February 2nd at Hof Art in Bangkok. The exhibition features oil and mixed media works from the last year, merging East and West perceptions of art and life. Marianne Hvass Kure works beside the sea in...
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Some of you may remember that I reported on a new project we are investing in, the Warehouse Bangkok, early in December — The Warehouse: a new arts center for Bangkok. A month has gone by and we have had some fun. A serviceable, habitable building has been deconstructed, a polite way of saying...
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A new exhibition by Pilaiporn Pethrith is running at the On Art Gallery close to Rama 6 for the next 2 weeks. Pilaiporn works across a variety of media and genres and has had more international exposure than many Thai artists. The new exhibition is entitled SOS#3 (Series of Situations) . The medium is...
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If the title is reminiscent of “Four Weddings and a Funeral”, so it should be for we just returned from a visit to one of Thailand’s more surreal vacation spots. The great surrealist, Dali, would be proud of this one. Imagine a room key hanging on the end of a bra. Imagine a room...
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We recently attended an exhibition at HOF Art, on Ratchada Road. It was a fun night with a lot of people, some great reggae, high quality paintings and — the highlight for me — a body art show. Yes, you are about to see some pictures of people naked but, no, it is not...
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Across Asia, most governments support, nurture and encourage contemporary culture. Such support is negligible in Thailand. It’s a pity because the quality of Thai contemporary art stands up to comparison with anywhere else in the world. Which is why we are pleased to announce the upcoming launch of a new contemporary cultural arts center...
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Many people ask me the advantages and disadvantages of buying property in Thailand. As I recently bought an apartment (or condominium as it is usually called here) in Bangkok I thought it might be useful for some if I shared my experience. As with many things in Thailand, that which seemed easy often became...
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A disturbing intervention by the Thai Ministry of Culture may have important consequences for the future of contemporary art in Thailand. I have decided to reproduce in full a story from yesterday’s edition of The Nation. The importance of being earnest with Thotsakan’s death Somtow challenges Culture Ministry’s opinion on ‘khon’ tradition and slams...
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A new exhibition of selected work by two of Thailand’s most talented emerging artists, Anan Pratchayanan and Nantana Phonak, begins on November 20 at the Livin’ Gallery in Bangkok. The exhibition has the rather unusual title of “In Your Face”. For the original post, click on In Your Face. When people find out that...
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I recently returned from my first visit to the Issan region of Thailand. Much of what I saw there was fascinating and beautiful. Once again I am reminded how good it is to get away from Bangkok and into Thailand's regions. You can find the full article and pictures at Road to Issan. I...
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Yesterday we attended the annual Young Thai Artist awards at The National Gallery, sponsored by Siam Cement. There are six major categories recognized: 2-dimensional art, 3-dimensional art, photography, music, and film. Here we are reviewing the first three categories. Awards are important as a motivation to any artist but we have rarely...
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Yeah, great rhyme isn’t it? I was sitting in the bar of the Koi restaurant on Suhkumvit 20 in Bangkok when news of the military coup in Thailand began to filter in. I had been celebrating a friend’s birthday. What follows is my account of that night. It’s maybe a strange read because what...
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We just returned from a fun but very wet trip to Petchabun in the north of Thailand. It was a short trip — too short I think — but we managed to capture some cool photographs and to meet a couple of interesting artists. I don’t know about you but I like to get...
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I like to get out of Bangkok when I can. I find the noise, pollution, traffic and scale of Bangkok a little wearisome. Recently I took a road trip to the Chiang Rai region in the very north of the country. It was was a lot of fun, very relaxing and we collected some...
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Neung’s mother died on March 28 and in Buddhist tradition it is time to make merit, or tambuun after 100 days. The 100 days falls on July 4. Coincidentally it’s American Independence Day and, curiously, it is the anniversary of my own father’s death almost 40 years ago. This is the last in a...
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