10 must-see exhibitions in Bangkok this June 2019

Known most famously for his satirical sketches from Germany’s beloved American humour magazine MAD, Apichai Bhakdibutr is exhibiting over 20 of his infamous pieces at WOOF PACK this month, featuring his iconic main character Alfred E. Neuman as the star. Renowned for providing a tongue-in-cheek commentary on the social and political landscape of the 1960s to 1980s, many of Bhakdibutr’s original covers will be on display, as well as a few that have been revamped to suit the modern cultural climate of the 2010s.

137 Pillars Suites & Residences Bangkok is introducing a fourth installment of their popular rotating art showcase this June, this time putting a spotlight on multi-award-winning artist Jirapat Tatsanasomboon. His pop-art style proposes a juxtaposition of iconography from traditional Thai narratives together with Western symbolism. Through his work, the artist explores the cultural interactions between East and West, as well as those between the modern and the traditional. A very interesting fusion.

Artist Tada Hengsapkul was born and raised in Korat, which is where the Royal Thai Air Force and the United States Air Force was based during the Vietnam War. Today, the legacies of the war remain visible, and are the subject and inspiration for Hengsapkul’s latest exhibition. With ‘You lead me down, to the Ocean’, the artist reveals as yet unfamiliar dimensions of the Vietnam War, as well as its lingering consequences. Curated by Thanavi Chotpradit, the exhibition offers perspective and memory through stories, writings, and unheard voices.

Aiming to provide a link between the older generation and the younger generation, artist Teerawat Nutcharoenpol takes visitors on a journey of traditional and modern belief systems, implying a sense of continuity and togetherness. The exhibition explores the art and times of Thailand’s ancestors as well more current pieces, and subsequently beautifully ties it all together with a sense of fluid connection, and indeed, a ‘whisper from the past’ to the present.

Artists Napat Pattaraponlerd, Panyawat Mahantapan, and Sompop Techamang are making us reconsider invisibility this month, with an exhibition entitled ‘IN x Visible’. Interpreting invisibility as humans being hidden or concealed, the artists are taking these notions and displaying them in an extremely open and visible form of painting, as a juxtaposition of sorts. Between themes of gender, personality, and nudity, it is an intriguing expression of human physical form, identity, and emotion.

The Tentacles Gallery is hosting artists Florence Lam, Tim Löhde, Arisa Purkpong, Thammarin Sengsong, and Thapong Srisai this month, putting together a concept based around the meaning of space. Visitors are invited to think about the space that lies in between artworks, and to question whether the pieces are connected through walls, air, tones, narrations, or actions. Balancing ideas of material construction and perception, consider it the kind of exhibition that will leave you with questions rather than solutions. But that’s kind of the point.

2019 is the 90th birthday of Professor Emeritus Chalood Nimsamer, one of the leading pioneers of Thai contemporary art. To celebrate this anniversary, the Chalood Nimsamer Collection and the ARDEL Gallery are collaborating to put together some of Nimsamer’s most impressive views towards the city, its communities, and the changes from past to present. Both well-known artworks as well as some that have never been on display will be exhibited.

Another think piece: ‘3S: Spectacle – Subconscious – Spontaneous’ is following the works and thoughts of Denpong Wongsarot, Supoj Siriratchaneekorn, and Sitthidham Rohitasuk, all from Srinakharinwirot University. The artists will be exploring topics of the subconscious through contemporary art and a series of lectures, ultimately conveying the harmonious synchrony of the three entities.

June is Pride Month, and if you’re looking to celebrate love in any and all of its forms, definitely head to this Tomboy Bangkok exhibition. Themed around the ‘tomboy’ and LGBTQ community in the city, the event is showcasing Derek Brown’s award-wining photography, alongside entertainment by DJAFFECT. Though the photographs are largely black and white, it’s sure to be a colourful event in many ways.

Farmgroup hosts a Hotel Art Fair every year, and for their 2019 rendition, they’re inviting some of Southeast Asia’s top art galleries to exhibit in a unique hotel setting once again. Held at the vibrant W Bangkok, expect works from a series of up-and-coming galleries, including Artist+Run, Chin’s Gallery, Kalwit Studio & Gallery, Korea Tomorrow, and many more.