U.S. magazine: Thai artists gaining international recognition

Long overlooked by the international art community, artists from Thailand are beginning to receive attention beyond the Kingdom’s boundaries, according to ARTNews, the New York-based publication that claims it is the oldest and most widely circulated art magazine in the world.

“Artists from Thailand have long been hard to find beyond the borders of home. Recently, however, the lack of visibility for Thai artists has started to change, thanks to key showings in biennials and group shows around the world,” the magazine said in an article entitled ‘Speaking in Code: Artists from Thailand Find International Reach.’

One of the artists gaining acclaim is Korakrit Arunanondchai who was born in Bangkok in 1986 but is currently living and working in New York City. His creations will be featured in two prestigious shows in coming months: The Venice Biennale in Italy, and the Whitney Biennial in New York.

The magazine wrote that Korakrit’s “work tends to combine footage he shoots and images he finds online, and it often weaves together quasi-spiritual musings on the world’s current political state with autobiographical narratives.”

Jane Panetta, who is curating this year’s Whitney Biennial, said Korakrit is “going back to Thailand regularly, thinking about what is happening there culturally, using that material in the work, and splicing that with footage of the American landscape and American political questions.”

Tyler Rollins, who owns several galleries in New York, said events in Thailand during the past decade have “definitely had an effect on the arts in terms of artistic practice, the market, and infrastructure.” Rollins also represents Thai artists Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook, Pinaree Sanpitak, and Manit Sriwanichpoom.