Buzzing among art aficionados all over the town, Bangkok Art Biennale 2020 (BAB 2020), the Thai capital long-awaited contemporary art festival has officially opened its curtain under the theme of “Escape Routes”. This time around, the mixed-use real estate projects in the heart of the city, One Bangkok and The PARQ, will join in hosting the event by providing venues on their premises, including The Prelude, BAB Box and BAB Café at The PARQ, for the exhibitions of artworks by several acclaimed international artists.

Bringing together a lineup of more than 200 contemporary pieces of art from 82 Thai and international artists, Bangkok Art Biennale 2020 will invite visitors to experience, discover and interpret highly emotive and meaningful pieces of art, which can open our eyes to solutions to global issues that affect societies, economies, politics and the environment. The forms of art displayed at Bangkok Art Biennale 2020 encompass a wide variety of mediums including paintings, sculptures, photographs, prints, installation artworks, videos, mixed media projects, and blueprints.

The Prelude, BAB Box in One Bangkok and The PARQ are three of the venues for the Bangkok Art Biennale 2020 out of a total of 10 landmarks in the city. Some of the highlights on display in The Prelude, BAB Box and The PARQ that no art lover should miss are:

The Prelude

Dusit Thani Province 1 by Prateep Suthatongthai: This artwork investigates the history of Dusit Thani, a utopian city founded on the vision of King Rama VI. The artist explores the structural plan and meaning of the city, reconstructs its blueprints and recreates old photographs of the city through realistic painting techniques.

BAB Box

• DO A TO MII Doll 1939, Doll 2020 by Lolay: This installation includes paintings and sculptures that embody the physical conditions of society, the community, the city, the country, and the world. The cyborg characters incarnate symptoms that people worldwide endure from the effects of catastrophes like epidemics, political strife and social conflicts.
• Martyrs: Earth, Wind, Fire, Air by Bill Viola: The video installation depicts four Martyrs (Earth, Air, Fire and Water) and their capacity to endure pain and hardships in order to remain faithful to their values, beliefs, and principles.
• Devi/The River (After Aristide Maillol) by Thanet Awsinsiri: The artwork explores various contexts of the female body as the artist borrows ideas from a world-famous painting Gabrielle Estrées and One of Her Sisters and Ingmar Bergman’s film Persona, reinterpreting them in a way to offer viewers new sensations and perspectives.

The PARQ

• A Child’s World in the Days of Adults by Narongyot Thongyu: Narongyot Thongyu is invested in “the truth to materials” and revealing their essence. The installation encourages viewers to compare reality with imagination. The artist uses the process of inventing toys as a way to return to his childhood memories.
• Tooth Clinic by Note Kritsada: Note Kritsada expands on his childhood visits to the dental clinic and takes viewers into a mutually shared experience to open up new perspectives.
• Rising by Marina Abramović: A VR artwork by Marina Abramović, Rising is designed to reflect the tragedy of climate change and is to be shown for the first time in Southeast Asia.
• Bleu Blanc Rouge by Yuree Kensaku: Yuree reimagines Liberty Leading the People by Delacroix, which depicts the fight and dedication of the people of France, in her recognisable style. The iconic woman raising the flag and embodying the power of the mass is now turned into a loveable and cute character in electrifying colors, a rich sense of humor and candy-coated cartoon characters.
• Sphere with Rectangle Hole, Sphere with Triangle Hole, Sphere with Square Hole and Sphere with Oval Hole by Anish Kapoor: This series of polished metal objects created by one of the world’s most prominent sculptors who specializes in conceptual art creates illusions that will take us on an escape route and allow us to enter into new dimensions of truth through rectangular, triangular, square and oval shapes.

Beyond these, dozens of more celebrated artworks for the Bangkok Art Biennale 2020 are waiting for visitors to explore at The Prelude, BAB Box and The PARQ, among other venues. The festival is open without admission fees from today until 31 January 2021.

For more information and latest updates of Bangkok Art Biennale 2020, please visit www.bkkartbiennale.com or Facebook and Instagram: @bkkartbiennale