FIR RST DR RAFT
Young artists get gallery exposure
The nostalgia of childhood, social problems and the hardships of life — all count themselves among the themes spotlighted in an ongoing exhibition featuring selected works by Thai art students of all disciplines. In a country where art has traditionally revolved around Buddhism and the Ramayana, the famous ancient Sanskrit epic, the exhibition of young artists seeks to showcase something different — presenting art that expresses its creator’s unique perspective of the world, while still exploring the concept of Thai-ness outside its religious associations.
The Best Art Thesis 2018 event, hosted at the Queen Sirikit Gallery in Bangkok, is a collection of works selected from 39 universities and institutes with art programmes in Thailand. From each university, two outstanding works were chosen from Masters students, while three were selected from the oeuvre of Bachelor’s students.
From the sculptures to mixed media works, the exhibition paints a portrait of the next generation of artists’ bright potential.
BRIGHT BEGINNINGS
Patrons who enter the gallery will first spot an intriguing-looking sculpture resting on the floor, surrounded by paintings and mixed media works on the walls. Looking at each work, it is hard to tell these are not the creations of seasoned professionals but that of students.
The students’ work addresses several themes, treating visitors to a limitless exploration of ideas. The only prompt given to the young artists here was to express their imagination and creativity.
As far as most visitors can tell, the students have excelled at this task, offering art lovers the hope that the future of Thailand’s art scene may be as bright as the inspired creations on display.
The exhibition is spread across the four-storey gallery space. Despite the lack of a unifying concept, the works have clearly been placed strategically based on certain aesthetic and thematic similarities.
Since 2009, when the first annual art thesis exhibition was held, the event has served as a way for young artists to get exposure to the art industry. The universities and institutes that select the works nominate these students in the hopes that they will gain the attention of industry insiders.
Panya Vijinthanasarn, a National Artist who serves on the exhibition committee, said the event is an opportunity for young artists to get art lovers and professionals to notice their work.
“We use this exhibition as an agent to introduce student works to gallery owners as well as art collectors,” Mr Panya explained. “Even though these students are still quite unknown to them, people with good eyes can see the promising future of these artists through their early works. Many of the world-famous artists also start out this way. So I think it is the perfect opportunity for them to be introduced to the real world outside of school.”
SCOUTING TALENT
Mr Panya founded the annual art thesis event in Thailand. He earned his Art degree in London, the United Kingdom, which is where he also built his career in the art world. In the UK is where he first observed art exhibitions being held to showcase students’ work.
Mr Panya saw how Western countries place a high value on art and the potential of young artists, and wanted to bring that concept home