Crisis, Aliens and Mongolian nomads hit Bangkok's art scene

According to the Bangkok Art Map (BAM!), a guide to the city’s diverse art arena published every month and distributed free, the city's art venues are still struggling to attract patrons, despite hopes that a new decade would bring an improvement in domestic art sales.

Regardless, Bangkok’s art galleries are bringing in some incredible shows featuring the best of the region. We asked BAM! to share its top picks for the coming weeks. 

Core of Crisis, until February 21

In "Core of Crisis," on now at Galerie N, Chiang Mai-based Tawatchai Somkong has departed from the more faith-based paintings that preoccupied his early career. The latest works seem to single out global warming and the general lack of urgency, both on a state and individual level, to affect change and halt the alarming rise in temperatures. Hot and agitated, organic ducts spew like coal-burning chimneys or eruptive volcanoes from the artist’s surfaces.

Galerie N, 139/5 Wireless Road. Tel +66 (0)2 654 0522. Open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am- 7pm. MRT: Lumphini

In the house by the canal

In the house by the canal,  until March 7

In the wake of Thailand’s somewhat turbulent participation at last year’s 53rd Venice Biennale, the collaborating artists come together once more to exhibit some behind-the-scenes creativity. Under the direction of Michael Shaowanasai, the black and white photographs and video attempt to convey some of the technical challenges, bureaucratic wrangling and personality clashes that took place in the Thai Pavilion against the beautiful Venetian backdrop. 

Whitespace Lido Bldg 2F, 260 Siam Square 3. Tel +66 (0)2 252 2900. Open Tuesday-Friday, 1pm-7pm. Saturday-Sunday, 11:30am-8pm. BTS: Siam

Solid, February 13 to March 13

"Solid" is the debut exhibition in the year-long project, "3D @ Thavibu," that promotes three-dimensional art in Suite 307 at the popular gallery. It features a series of specially produced Murano glass sculptures alongside polished aluminium forms by internationally recognised artist Pinaree Sanpitak.

Suite 308, Silom Galleria F3, 919/1 Silom Rd, Soi 19. Tel: +66 (0)2 266 5454. Tuesday-Saturday, 11am-7pm. Sundays noon-6pm. BTS: Surasak

Dreaming Alien

Dreaming Alien, until March 28

Having previously shot for the likes of Men’s Vogue and National Geographic, Paris based photojournalist Alain Soldeville presents a surreal series of vacant urban-scapes of the Thai capital. Shot atmospherically at night and without digital manipulation, the haunting desolate city scenes and interiors aim to show a culture in transition, through the rapid and often awkward drive toward consumerism. 

Kathmandu Photo Gallery, 87 Soi Pan, Silom Road. Tel +66 (0)2 234 6700. Tuesday-Sunday, 11am-7pm. BTS: Chong Nonsi

The 2nd Decade of Bualuang Paintings, until March 30

Having established itself as the Annual Bualuang Painting Competition since 1974, the Bangkok Bank Foundation-organised event presents highlights of the competition from 1987-1997. On view are over 200 art works by some 50 artists, many of whom have gone on to become highly regarded painters, including Chatchai Puipia, Sakarin Krue-on and Prasong Luemuang. 

The Queen’s Gallery, 101 Ratchadamnoen Klang Road. Tel +66 (0)2-281-5360. Thursday-Tuesday, 10am-7pm.

Stream of Life

Stream of Life, until February 26

National Artist Chalood Nimsamer has been a recognised force to Thai art since the 1950s, when he began his career as a sculptor having studied under the pioneering Italian artist Silpa Bhirasri. Known for his depictions of women, Chalood was the first ever student to receive a degree from Silpakorn University, and decades later he returns to exhibit some 1,000 plus works that highlight his lengthy career.

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

Seiji Kunishima: Sculpture Wrapped Memory, February 9 to March 14

Despite spatial limitations, Ardel’s Third Place staged some interesting sculptural exhibitions in 2009 and they begin this year with an engaging exhibition of taut three-dimensional works by senior Japanese artist Seiji Kunishima. Having exhibited widely internationally since the early 1960s, Kunishima’s sculptures combine everyday objects such as coat hangers, nails and newspapers, with natural materials like stone and wood. Bound or wrapped together, the resulting works pertain to personal memory.          

The Third Place, Thonglor Soi 10. Tel: +66 (0)2 422 2092. Open daily, 10am-8:30pm. BTS: Thonglor

Wall Painting Showcase

Wall Painting Showcase, until February 28

Graffiti art rose to prominence in the 1970s as working class street culture territorially sprayed across the walls of neighbourhoods in American cities. In recent years, street painting has gained a modicum of popularity among Bangkok’s urban middle classes enamoured by the international hip-hop industry. Importing street painting into the sterility of a museum environment, this exhibition invites artists to spray and tag their own sanitised interpretations of wall painting. 

Bangkok Art & Culture Centre, 939 Rama I Rd, Pathumwan. +66 (0)2 214 6630-1. Tuesday-Sunday, 10am-9pm. BTS: National Stadium

Mongolia: Platinum Prints, until February 28

Inspired by the pioneers of ethno-photography such as Edward Curtis, who photographed indigenous American tribe folk, Hamid Sardar-Afkhami has ventured through Mongolia to capture the last nomadic tribes of the region. Following horse-breeders, bear-hunters, wolf-tamers, eagle-masters and reindeer riders, his exquisite platinum prints explore the spiritual reciprocity between animals and man in these fast-disappearing civilisations.

Serindia, OP Garden, Unit 3101, 3201, 4-6 Soi Charoen Krung 36. Tel +66 (0)2 238 6410. Tuesday-Sunday, 11am-8pm. Email: serindiagallery@gmail.com.