Art in Bangkok: Top picks for June

In light of the recent mayhem on the streets of Bangkok, not surprisingly there have been several exhibition postponements and cancellations. This month's edition of the Bangkok Art Map (BAM!), a guide to the city’s diverse art arena published every month and distributed free, reports that the biggest upset has been the indefinite delay to the annual Francophile cultural bonanza, La Fête. They also break the bad news on the closure of Catherine Schubert Fine Art, and what appears to be a vacant space at the long-time Chinatown art hangout, About Café.

Fortunately Bangkok’s Whitespace Gallery and Studio in Siam Square, ransacked during the protests, quickly bounced back, with their exhibition Oud Oud by Chainarong Kongklin opening on June 4. Other exhibition rosters affected include Ardel Third Place’s exhibition by Bussaporn Thongchai (now opening June 10), Eat Me’s exhibition by The Raf (now June 16), Galerie N’s exhibition by Alongkorn Lauwattana (now June 22), Surapon Gallery’s exhibition by Pongsiri Kidee (TBA), and Art Republic’s exhibition by Anne Leveque (now July/Aug).

Here are some of the other exhibitions appearing in the weeks ahead, courtesy of BAM!:

Lowrong: (Un)cover, until June 25  

Just a short hike from Sukhumvit Soi 31, Creative House is another new Bangkok art space. Located in the Interchange building, the gallery has the corporate backing of Toyota, perhaps enabling a less commercial exhibition directive. For its debut exhibition, celebrity artists Jitsing Somboon and Thaweesak Srithongdee present their interpretation of the devil that is consumerism.

Creative House, Unit 211, L Fl, 399 Interchange Building, Asoke intersection. Open daily, 11am-8pm. Tel: +66 (0)2 611 2798. BTS: Asok 

On the Edge

On the Edge, June 8 to July 8

Line as a pictorial device is the focus of this exhibition, which features eight artists from Thailand, Britain, and America. Placing emphasis on the methodology of art making, these artists use line in a variety of manners to structure their images, from the expressive to the decorative, or the descriptive to the symbolic.       

DOB Hualamphong, Resident One Property Co, Ltd, DOB Building 24F, 318 Rama IV Rd. Tel: +66 (0)85 482 3566. Open daily, 10am-7pm. MRT: Hualamphong

The Nature of Solace, until July 31

Somboon Hormtientong’s style vies between controlled geometric harmony and expressive swathes of compositional fluidity inspired by the region near his studio overlooking the Mekong River in Chiang Khan. The expressive canvases are discomforting in their deliberately awkward jarring of space and color form, while the more geometric renderings are constructed with readily identifiable layering that is cooler in mood.

H Gallery & Four Seasons Hotel: H Gallery, 201 Soi 12 Sathorn Rd. +66 (0)81 310 4428. Open daily, 10am-6pm. Tuesday by appointment. BTS: Surasak. 
Four Season Hotel, 155 Rajadamri Road. Tel +66 (0)2 126 8866. BTS: Ratchadamri

Phylum

Phylum, June 16 to July 31  

The debut exhibition by Bangkok-based Spanish artist The Raf (Rafael Andres), Phylum is a fantastical series of 30 monochromatic bestial prints evoking the pioneering 19th century British naturalist Charles Darwin. Incorporating real and bogus mythologies and urban legends, The Raf’s twisted genus of critters and parasites are born from a self-absorbed society preoccupied by a myriad of contemporary indulgences.
 
Eat Me, 1/6 Spoi Phiu Phat 2, Convent Road. +66 (0)2 238 0931. Open daily, 6pm-1am. BTS: Sala Daeng 

How to be an Angel, June 19 to July 11

In his first solo exhibition in five years, contentious Vietnamese artist Truong Tan’s new lacquer paintings continue to highlight his sexuality, but through a more tempered and reconciliatory approach to his cultural history.

Thavibu, Suite 308, Silom Galleria F3, 919/1 Silom Rd, Soi 19. +66 (0)2 266 5454. Open Monday-Saturday, 11am-7pm. BTS: Surasak 

Erased: Contemporary Australian Drawing

Erased: Contemporary Australian Drawing, until June 28

This exhibition organized by the Australian Embassy features six internationally renowned Australian artists who challenge definitions of drawing as a medium. With emphasis upon erasure as a part of the creative process, the artists explore such issues as environmental awareness, industrial relations and nationalism to more subtle statements about image-making.

Silpakorn University Gallery, 31 Na Phra Lan Rd (opp the Grand Palace). Tel: +66 (0)2 221 3841. Open Monday-Friday, 9am-7pm. Saturday, 9am-4pm 

50x50x50, June 26 until August 4 

Displaying sculpture is often a problem within the spatial constraints of Bangkok, so an exhibition of limited scale sculptures allows for greater representation, with the inclusion of works by some 50 students and professors from KMIT. Aside from the gallery, the exhibition is also displayed at KTC Touch at UBC II Building on the corner of Sukhumvit Soi 33.    

La Lanta, 245/14 Sukhumvit Soi 31. Tel: +66 (0)2 260 5381. Open Tuesday-Saturday, 10am-7pm. Sunday by appointment. BTS: Phrom Phong 

Brand New, until Jun 26 

The annual exhibition program for graduate and emerging artists and critics, Brand New, has quickly emerged as one of the best and only platforms to gain credible domestic exposure. Of the six annual outings to date, the international breakthrough of artists Yuree Kensaku, Porntaweesak Rimsakul and Arin Rungjang, is clear evidence of just how instrumental the program has become. On view this year at Chula are Itsaret Sutthisiri and Alongkorn Sriprasert.  

Chulalongkorn and Bangkok Universities: Centre of Academic Resources, Chulalongkorn University, Phaya Thai Rd. Tel: +66 (0)2 218 2965. Open Monday-Friday, 9am-7pm. Saturday 9am-4pm. BTS: Siam. Bangkok University Gallery Bldg, Kluai Nam Thai campus, Rama IV Rd. +66 (0)2 350 3626. Open Tuesday-Saturday, 10am-7pm. BTS: Ekamai