A Definitive Gallery Guide To Bangkok

The Thai capital city celebrates the spirit of arts and culture with experimental and strong South East Asia alongside international perspectives on the continent. Under the artistic direction of Professor Dr Apinan Poshyananda, the 4th edition of the Bangkok Art Biennale promises to bring diversity and explore the dynamic nature of artistic practices. The curation presented in galleries and cultural spaces across the city also brings some cutting-edge art and puts Bangkok City as a prominent and sought-after spot for global arts connoisseurs. As the 2025 global arts season picks up, here is our curated guide to some must-visit art exhibitions and curations across the city.

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1. Works By Ravinder Reddy, Amanda Coogan Choi Jeong Hwa And Others At The Bangkok Art & Cultural Centre (BACC) 

BACC forms the main venue for the Biennale as it houses about 142 artworks across 33 groundbreaking contemporary practices. Located in Pathum Wan district, this centre has been a melting pot of cultural discourses for the public since 2009. The exhibition curation includes Indian artist Ravinder Reddy’s classic female bust titled ‘Parvati’ in a blue and golden-faced radiance and sophisticated hairdo, Irish artist Amanda Coogan’s immersive living installation in association with adults having hearing disabilities alongside Serbian artist Aleksandar Timotic’s engaging performance art titled ‘Are You Hungry?’ An unmissable within BACC is Korean-based Choi Jeong Hwa’s larger-than-life inflated fruits, vegetables and a blooming lotus that draws a strong commentary on today’s consumer-frenzied world. The exhibition is on view until Feb 25, 2025.

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2. A Group Show Featuring Works By 10 Artists At The Queen Sirikit National Convention Center (QSNCC)

Located in Khlong Toei District, this convention centre presents a curation of 15 artworks by 10 contemporary artists as they reinterpret their idea of ‘Mother’. This includes French origin and Algeria-based Adel Abdessemed’s twisted and entangled disembodied parts of three planes. Their twisted forms recall the artist’s mother’s pastry-making technique, creating a comforting maternal connection. Thai-based Kanya Charoensupkul presents a muted abstract painting titled ‘Whitewash for Mother Earth’, symbolic of the healing the earth requires after our constant human interventions. Hong Kong – Berlin-based Isaac Chong Wai‘s two-channel video installation explores deeper emotions related to ideas of birth, death and motherhood. The exhibition is on display till February 25, 2025. 

3. (Brackets) At SAC Gallery

Located in Sukhumvit, SAC Gallery presents Thai artist Kitikong Tilokwattanotai’s exploration of the invisible. As one enters, one is welcomed by blocks of solid colours curated to look like a larger-than-life playground of Lego blocks or Tetris. Titled ‘(Brackets)’, Tilokwattanotai sees the space around and in between his paintings as part of the occupied space by our thoughts. Each piece, done through painting hundreds of layers of acrylic paint of varying consistency and layers of lacquer coating, offers a transitional space between the two dimensions and the three dimensions. The exhibition is on display till January 11, 2025.

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4. The Beauty Myth And Consumption Of Plastic Poem Of Contemporary Tragedy By Wishulada And Other Artists At The National Gallery

Housed in the former Royal Thai mint and located in the historic Phra Nakhon district, this monumental building presents a curation of 13 artists as they contribute to the Biennale’s overarching theme of Nurture Gaia or the goddess of life and nourishment. Filipino, Agnes Arellano presents two Devis – ‘Kali,’ the four-armed Hindu goddess of Time and Death on a mound of little girls’ limbs; and ‘Magdalene,’ Isis reborn, beloved disciple whose liaison with the Christ is much debated, on a mound of human skulls and red roses. Juxtaposed with her strong visual imagery, American-based Chitra Ganesh presents a fictional take on the Hindu myth portrayed through psychedelic comic-like posters. As one steps out to the outdoors, one is mesmerized by the larger-than-life installation by Thai social activist, Wishulada titled ‘The Illusion of Beauty and the Price of Consumption: A Plastic Elegy.’ The exhibition is on display till Feb 25, 2025.

5. Photopsia By Natt Sethana At 100 Tonson Foundation 

Nestled in Downtown Bangkok, the 100 Tonson Foundation presents a solo exhibition by Bangkok-based Natt Sethana. Curated by Suphon Niamkamnoet, the exhibition titled ‘Photopsia’ explores the concept of projection through Sethana’s photographic practice. In a white space, light projected onto quartz crystals transforms the space, where light, movement, and the visitor’s presence are a part of the image-making process. Exploring photographic abstraction’s relationship with time and space, the exhibition challenges the idea of individual perception and reconstructs images as intangible possibilities rather than predefined objects. The exhibition is on display till April 6, 2025.

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6. Urgency Of Existence By Kader Attia At The Jim Thompson Art Centre 

Situated in Pathum Wan, this arts centre presents the first-ever solo presentation in Asia by the internationally renowned French-Algerian artist Kader Attia. Titled ‘Urgency of Existence’, the exhibition dives deeper into the themes of postcolonialism and decolonization, offering a perspective shaped by the direct and indirect experiences of those oppressed and impacted by colonialism in the past century in Thailand and surrounding regions. The show includes an installation titled ‘ ‘On Silence’ and a film which delves into micro-histories and forgotten memories of the artist and two friends, all deeply impacted by colonialism. The curation examines the impact of the past on the present and the complexities of cultural memory. The exhibition is on display till March 16, 2025.

7. Eye Of Newt By Bruce Asbestos At Museum Siam 

As one enters Thailand’s Discovery Museum, Museum Siam, one is welcomed by a few green-inflated eyeballs quietly seated staring as the world passes by. An installation by British artist Bruce Asbestos, ‘Eye of Newt’  is an unmissable and whimsical highlight of the Bangkok Biennale. It is based on frogspawn and ideas of transformation, their wobbly, tactile quality encouraging physical engagement to connect with the primary form. His pop art often prompts audiences to reflect on their own cultural experiences. The exhibition is on display till Feb 25, 2025.