Bangkok Art and Culture Centre in collaboration with Tang Contemporary Art present Imply Reply : Huang Yong Ping and Sakarin Krue-on, an exhibition presented at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre. This is the first major exhibition presenting the work of renowned avant-garde Chinese (now naturalized French) artist, Huang Yong Ping, along with Sakarin Krue-On's, a distinctive contemporary artist from Thailand. The exhibition will be on view from the 12th of February through the 26th of April 2015, at Gallery 8th Floor.
With the expansion of the art world in Asia, it is apparent that there should be an exchange of art between other Asian countries and Thailand to explore critical issues originating from the region and their relationships towards global contexts. For this purpose, BACC is collaborating with Tang Contemporary Art to invite the artist Huang Yong Ping, an eminent Chinese artist residing in France to collaborate with Sakarin Krue-on, a Thai artist with prominent experience in both Thailand and overseas to create a project at BACC. In this collaboration, Tang Contemporary Art joins the BACC curatorial team in producing an exhibition with pivotal artworks of both artists representing the critical content of the exhibition.
From Huang Yong Ping, there will be notable art works borrowed from world-class collections such as the Centre Pompidou and leading private collectors. The collection of artworks comprises an artistic totality showing the artist’s strong background as a leading figure of the mid-1980s Xiamen Dada movement — a collective of artists interested in creating a new Chinese cultural identity by bridging the framework of reference in Western modernism with Chinese observances and contemporary reality - the mindset of which is still evidenced in many of his works including those up to the present. Some examples of the preeminent works viewers will come upon are “Nightmare of King George V” (2002), a monumental sculpture of an elephant mounted by a tiger which is a commentary on imperialism and hunting safaris of bygone colonial days; “Ombre Blanche (2009)”, a sculpture of a white elephant which relates subtle meanings to both local and universal contexts; the newly created piece “Tower” (2014), a set of sculptures reminiscent of tall abandoned buildings and reminding us of the remains of economic calamity. All represent an ensemble of sculptures and installations — drawing on the East/West legacies and philosophies—and juxtaposing them with traditional objects, iconic images and modern references.
Related in parallel are the works of Sakarin Krue-On, a distinctive Thai artist with a unique approach to contemporary art. With his background in traditional Thai genres, he blends Thai mythological narratives with an understanding of disciplines that allow him to navigate with his idiosyncratic approach through the multi platform format. In response to the works of Huang Yong Ping, he exemplifies various views on his continued interests in the modern conditions of the social environment, the capitalist forces, the material orientation of the Buddhist influenced society, and the underlying illusion that connects distinct Thai narratives. With key pieces such as Yellow Simple (2006), a sculpture of an extra-ordinary sized human head in a Buddha look alike shape; the new piece, Upside Down (2014), a large tapestry portraying the story of a tiger hunter derived from a local play of Southern Thailand; and Rat house (2014), a sculpture inspired by a gambling game played among Chinese-Thai people in days gone by with a silent film projected inside the art piece, they compose a body of work illustrating aesthetics and ethics with an amalgamated critical chronicle and humanistic value as their essence.
With the support from the Embassy of France for the works from France, as well as the Faculty of Painting, Sculpture and Graphic Arts, Silpakorn University for the artworks from China, the exhibition juxtaposes critical thinkings, both in local, regional and global contexts, communicating reflexive works of both artists from differing generations to present a diverse worldview with a critical-ironic potential to address vital issues. Hence, with the title “Imply Reply”, the exhibition aims to present reciprocal thinking processes between artists and audiences and an integrated provocative installation that challenges viewers to reconsider the idea of art and its relationship to national identity in recent history with current issues that are crucial to the contemporary era.
Courtesy of the artists and Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, for further information please visit http://en.bacc.or.th.
