The exhibition, which continues through May 29, aims to encourage guests to see the destination through the eyes of Suwatchai, who captures the beauty and grandeur of the ancient Ayutthaya Kingdom in his paintings and sculptures, while also expressing his awe for the rich heritage of the location.

“Our boutique brand is very reflective of the destinations in which each hotel operates, providing insights into Thai culture and heritage for both domestic and global travellers. Over the next few months we are rolling out a series of art programmes to inspire our guests to delve deeper into each locale,” said Nicolas Reschke, group director of business development of Sala Hospitality.

A number of the paintings depict Wat Phutthaisawan, one of the film locations for the hit Thai drama series Buppaesanniwas (Love Destiny).

“Portraying Ayutthaya is a compilation of scenic paintings that express my sentiments of the old capital of Siam. The remnants of the exquisite period art of temples and various architectures are a reflection of civilisation and wisdom of our ancestors that are no less impressive than any other nations in the world,” said Suwatchai.

The artist has received numerous awards for his traditional Thai paintings, and his work has been showcased in solo exhibitions at Central Airport Chiang Mai and The National Gallery Bangkok.

Over the years he has also been engaged for noteworthy projects, including a work of art presented to Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn and the creation of Buddhist art dedicated to Wat Phawana Ram in Samut Prakan Province.

Find out more at http://www.salahospitality.com.

Born in Bangkok, 1970, Natee attended the College of Fine Art in 1987 and graduated from Silpakorn’s Painting and Sculpture Faculty in 1991. His solo exhibitions include “Optimism Is Ridiculous: The Altarpieces” at Ayala Museum, Manila, Philippines in 2017, “Illustration of the Crisis” at Bangkok University Gallery in 2013, “After Painting” at Singapore Art Museum, Singapore in 2010 and “The Amusement of Dreams, Hope and Perfection” at Art Centre of Chulalongkorn University in 2007.

With the theme of “Optimism is Ridiculous: Paintings on Figure of Speech, Paradoxes and Inward Journey”, the series has three cognitive components, namely; paintings of human beings, animals and objects. They come together as sentences or phrases that connect to a particular observation. This exhibition will present animal paintings by the artist, highlighting social contexts and other understandings of the outside world by contrasting Asian-ness against a post-colonial product-based inspiration.

The gallery is open from 10 am to 6pm. For more information, please visit http://www.artgallery.gov.my

A PAKISTANI-AMERICAN sculptor brings dark times, science fiction and a desire to provoke to New York’s famed Metropolitan Museum of Art for this year’s rooftop installation overlooking the Manhattan skyline.

Huma Bhabha’s “We Come in Peace” is a 3.6-metre-tall, five-headed figure weighing 1.5 tonnes alongside an even more gargantuan prostrate figure covered in a trash bag and called Benaam, which means “without name” in Urdu.

The installation unveiled on Tuesday is the sixth annual commission for the illustrious US museum’s roof garden, a popular summer spot that draws nearly half a million visitors every year.

Karachi-born Bhabha, who lives in New York state’s Hudson Valley, is the first Pakistani-American selected for the honour. Imran Qureshi, based in Pakistan, was the first Pakistani artist to present work for the commission, in 2013.

Bold, dramatic and thought-provoking, the weatherproof figures cast in bronze have political undertones, reflect social concerns and reference ancient African and Indian sculpture, according to the Met.

Huma Bhabha rejects the common interpretation that “We Come in Peace”, newly unveiled at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, refers to Donald Trump. /AFP 

“It’s what’s brewing in your head,” says Bhabha, insisting visitors should form their own interpretations.

“I don’t want to necessarily say it’s this or that because that closes the conversation, but there are lots of different scenarios that one can come up with.”

Nor does she join the chorus in Democrat-heavy New York that focuses blame on US President Donald Trump for what many in the city see as the country’s ills.

“It goes beyond Trump,” Bhabha says. “Yes, he’s made everything very vulgar and very in your face. But I think there are problems that have been existing much before he took over. I think we’re in very dark times.”

The work was at least partly inspired by the 1951 science-fiction film “The Day the Earth Stood Still”, in which an alien arrives on our planet telling humans they must live peacefully or face destruction.

“Huma’s work felt right for this particular moment,” explains Shanay Jhaveri, assistant curator of South Asian art. “There are numerous levels of meaning embedded in them and I think we just wanted people to step back and to be provoked a little bit.

“There is politics in it. What is happening under that garbage bag? What is the form?” Jhaveri says.

He urges viewers to “think through various kinds of concerns they are seeing around them in these times of anxiety and paranoia and danger and collapse”.

Bhabha specialises in figurative sculpture and has addressed themes such as colonialism, war and displacement in her work.

Her work has been exhibited at New York’s MoMA PS1, as well as the Venice Biennale and the Gwangju Biennale in South Korea, among others.

The installation will remain open until October 28, weather permitting.

When I was a kid, I used to wonder whether it was possible that the national children’s day could last longer than the second Saturday in January. There were so many fun activities at each venue that it was always impossible for any kid, myself included, to enjoy them all in one day – and it was difficult to choose just one venue to visit each year. I also used to wonder if my mum and dad were having as much fun as I was, or if they felt that it was their duty to accompany me to these events just because it was “my day”.

Two years ago when I was attending Arts on Location and Democrazy Theatre Studio’s inaugural Bangkok International Children’s Theatre Festival, or “BICT Fest”, as part of the fifth Performative Art Festival (PAF) at Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC), I found the answers to these questions – a few decades late of course.

“The Rice Child” by Crescent Moon Theatre :Photo/BICT Fest

Images of kids and adults spending quality time at performances, workshops and activities are fond memories that are still fresh. And now the biannual festival is back again as part of BACC’s seventh PAF, with more international and local partners and supporters, and a programme line-up at a greater number of venues that’s even more exciting.

Since the end of her successful first festival, festival director Adjjima Na Patalung has been attending children’s theatre festivals, mostly in East Asia and Europe, and she notes: “The amount of support from both private and public sectors for these festivals there, of course, isn’t available here and so we have to work in very different conditions.

“That said, I learned a lot from the Imaginate Festival in Edinburgh, and it’s now evolved into the Edinburgh International Children’s Festival. It’s evident that they’re not just presenting works for children and adults. With different kinds of workshops, discussions and forums, they’re also focusing on creative development – not only on how artists create works but also how they can best engage their target audience. Some of the issues discussed there include whether the adult artists are self-censoring when it comes to children’s performance taking account of the fact that children are naturally more open to new experiences and knowledge than we adults. Also, they’re wondering whether they’re too concerned with the morals in these works, making sure that the children get the pre-conceived messages or lessons instead of leaving some works open-ended.”

Primo by Alfredo Zinola and Felipe Gonzalez :Photo/Saris and den Engelsman

Adjjima notes that BICT Fest is a curated festival, not an open-call, and quality of work is one of her team’s priorities in programming.

“We always like to challenge our audience, and we always think of both children and adults at the same time,” she says.

“We’d like to show that children’s performances do not necessarily deal with simple issues and leave the young audience with certain morals. One example here is ‘Four Go Wild in Wellies’ by Scottish company Indepen-dance, two members of which have Down syndrome.”

“Horses” by kabinet k : photo/ Kurt Van der Elst

A new initiative, focusing on process rather than finished work, is the festival’s opening show “Horses”, in which the original Belgian creators kabinet k will work with Thai artists like Silpathorn artist and B-Floor’s co-artistic director Jarunun Phantachat, Pichet Klunchun Dance Company’s Sunon Wachirawarakarn and Democrazy’s Thanapol Virulhakul, as well as children selected through an open-call application process.

“Sarabande” by Noemi Boutin and Jorg Muller : Photo/ Vincent Schaub

Other international works include two nouveau cirque performances “Flaque” by Companie Defracto and “Sarabande” by Noemi Boutin and Jorg Muller, as part of the French Embassy’s “French Highlights”. Thanks to the Japan Foundation, Japanese pantomime duo Gabez will make their Thailand debut. Audiences will be amazed with “Primo” as they gather around a water tank in which two German contemporary dancers move freely – a performance that comes thanks to the support of the Goethe Institut and the German Embassy.

“Star Wars” by Babymime : photo/BICT Fest

To maintain a balance, BICT Fest also gives space on this international platform to local and regional artists, like Babymime’s audience-favourite sci-fi spoof “Star Wars”, Crescent Moon Theatre’s “The Rice Child”, and the return of Indonesia’s Paper Moon Puppet Theatre who’ll stage “Puno”, which combines puppetry and visual arts.

Apart from the performances, all participating companies will organise workshops, most of which are for adults and kids to enjoy new learning experiences together. For example, Indepen-dance’s creative dance workshop, exploring the themes of play, nature, fun, friendship and trust, at Blue Box Studio on the second floor of M Theatre, invites kids aged three to five years old along with their parents.

“Four Go Wild in Wellies” by Independance :photo/BICT Fest

In addition, BICT Fest Forum comprises a panel discussion, with international speakers including Fiona Ferguson, Imaginate’s creative development director, on the future of the international children’s theatre festival. There are also talks on such topics as “But what is the new circus?” by French cultural attache Vanessa Silvy and “Applying Circus Art in Communities” by Makhampom’s Thanupon Yindee.

In the Southeast Asian Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) meeting, there’s also an opportunity for the public to learn about the current state of Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) in six Southeast Asian countries as overviewed by professionals in the field, and for them to connect with their Japanese colleagues.

“This network is thanks to the ongoing support from the Wa Project of the Japan Foundation’s Asia Centre, which promotes the exchange between Japan and Southeast Asia,” Adjjima adds.

“Gabez” : photo/BICT Fest

With the ever-present financial difficulties, rumour is that this will be the last BICT Fest but Adjjima is quick to brush it off.

“We have a small core team all of whom have other theatre works all year round. Despite the increasing support from Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) and new supporter Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), the evidence from our first festival has not been enough to win sponsorship from local businesses. The same can be said for our Ministry of Culture, despite the fact that BICT Fest is Thailand’s only festival of its kind and one of the few in the region.

“Yes, it’s sometimes discouraging but we’ll keep going of course. We’ll wait until the end of this festival to reassess, and maybe having this as a triennial, instead of biannual, festival is not a bad idea.”

Adjjima Na Patalung : photo/BICT Fest

Two years ago, I told her that I was using Disney magic spell to turn my 20-kilogramme, four-legged son into a two-legged version so that we could enjoy the next BICT Fest together. Apparently, that spell didn’t work: it only added 10 kilogrammes and failed to reduce the number of legs, but I’m still looking forward to attending this BICT Fest.

QUALITY TIME FOR ALL THE FAMILY

“Bangkok International Children’s Theatre Festival 2018” is from May 15-27 at BACC (BTS: National Stadium), Chulalongkorn University (BTS: Siam) and Creative Industries (at M Theatre, on New Phetchaburi Road, between Thong Lor and Ekamai).

For more details and tickets, go to http://www.BICTfest.com and Facebook.com/BICTfest.

Call (081) 441 5718, or email BICTfest@gmail.com.

THE FIRST major retrospective in Paris of the great French painter Eugene Delacroix in more than half a century aims to show that there was far more to the artist than “Liberty Leading the People”.

His painting of Parisians being led over the barricades by a bare-breasted Liberty during the July Revolution of 1830 is one of the most iconic in art.

The stirring tableau is said to have inspired Victor Hugo’s masterpiece “Les Miserables”, with the boy holding two pistols on the right of the picture said to be the model for the street urchin Gavroche.

But curators who have put together the huge exhibition at the Louvre, which holds the world’s largest collection of Delacroix’s work, say the bourgeois painter was hardly a revolutionary firebrand.

“The Lion Hunt” /AFP

“There is much people do not understand about his career,” says Sebastien Allard. “He doesn’t easily fit into any single movement.”

He says the show he’s put together with Come Fabre – which will travel to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in September – attempts to demonstrate the artist’s huge range.

It extended from large-scale historical subjects to religious and orientalist themes and from animal paintings and intimate drawings to still-lifes of flowers.

Although Delacroix’s “protean genius set the bar for virtually all other French painters” who followed him, his greatest creative period was actually quite short, Allard notes.

“Liberty Leading the People” is perhaps Delacroix’s best-known painting. /AFP

Delacroix’s most famous and dramatic works – the “Massacre at Chios” (1824), the “Death of Sardanapalus” (1827) and “Liberty Leading the People” – all date from the first decade of his career.

Allard says the tension characterising Delacroix’s work reflects that “on the one hand he wanted to be original and the other wanted to fit in with the grand tradition of Flemish and Venetian artists of the 16th and 17th centuries”.

Delacroix kept journals and notebooks for much of his life. /EPA-EFE

Delacroix was also probably the great artist who wrote the most, consigning his innermost thoughts about his work and his private life to a series of diaries.

In them we learn of his attraction to the writer Georges Sand and his fears about the progress of the tuberculosis dogging the latter part of his life.

After two decades of only intermittently keeping a diary, he threw himself back into it in 1846, only to lose in a taxi his entire journal for the momentous year of 1848 – when revolutions shook Europe.

That did not, however, stop him keeping a journal religiously to the end of his life in 1863.

Delacroix, who never married, also attempted to compile a dictionary of art and translated work by Dante, Byron, Goethe and Shakespeare.

“Eugene Delacroix (1798-1863)” continues at the Louvre until July 23 and will be at the Met in New York from September 17 until January 6, 2019.