MAM Collection 003: Sutee Kunavichayanont - Stereotyped Thailand
26 Mar - 10 Jul 2016
MAM COLLECTION 003: SUTEE KUNAVICHAYANONT - STEREOTYPED THAILAND
26 March – 10 July 2016
Curated by: Kondo Kenichi (Curator, Mori Art Museum)
“MAM Collection 003” features Sutee Kunavichayanont (b. 1965), an internationally acclaimed Thai artist. His work, with a usage of a wide range of media, from three-dimensional works and installations to participatory art projects, deals humorously with themes of Thailand’s traditions and present-day reality, history and memory, and nationalism and national identity.
The “Stereotyped Thailand” series showcased in this exhibition was first shown at 100 Tonson Gallery in Bangkok in 2005. For this solo exhibition of his, the gallery is converted into a school classroom featuring sculptures, paintings, and three-dimensional artworks that explore stereotypes of Thailand. By presenting archetypes different to the familiar ones of the Thai people as always “cheerful” and “smiling,” the artist humorously questions what is the real image of the nation.
While his work was included in the “Show Me Thai” exhibition in 2007 at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo and he was commissioned by Fukuoka Asian Art Museum to create new artworks in Fukuoka in 2002, this is the first presentation of “Stereotyped Thailand” in Japan. It is also planned to invite the artist to Tokyo for a workshop on Saturday, April 16, with local residents, the record of which will then be exhibited.
26 March – 10 July 2016
Curated by: Kondo Kenichi (Curator, Mori Art Museum)
“MAM Collection 003” features Sutee Kunavichayanont (b. 1965), an internationally acclaimed Thai artist. His work, with a usage of a wide range of media, from three-dimensional works and installations to participatory art projects, deals humorously with themes of Thailand’s traditions and present-day reality, history and memory, and nationalism and national identity.
The “Stereotyped Thailand” series showcased in this exhibition was first shown at 100 Tonson Gallery in Bangkok in 2005. For this solo exhibition of his, the gallery is converted into a school classroom featuring sculptures, paintings, and three-dimensional artworks that explore stereotypes of Thailand. By presenting archetypes different to the familiar ones of the Thai people as always “cheerful” and “smiling,” the artist humorously questions what is the real image of the nation.
While his work was included in the “Show Me Thai” exhibition in 2007 at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo and he was commissioned by Fukuoka Asian Art Museum to create new artworks in Fukuoka in 2002, this is the first presentation of “Stereotyped Thailand” in Japan. It is also planned to invite the artist to Tokyo for a workshop on Saturday, April 16, with local residents, the record of which will then be exhibited.