Sompob Butraj, Daeng Buasaen, Thanachai “Pod Moderndog” Ujjin, Manop Suwanbinta, Yossanan “Suntur” Wuthikornsombatkul, Nakrob Moonmanat, Wisanupong Noonun, and noted photographer Chamni Thipmanee and his photographer team from Chamni’s Eye are among the artists expressing their deepest loyalty through different art genres from drawings, prints, sculptures, photographs to motion pictures, music and poetry.

At the opening ceremony on October 9 at 6.30pm, national artist Naowarat Pongpaiboon will read his poem to honour the late King.

Brand-new art and creative space Yelo House is located on Soi Kasemsan 1 (BTS: National Stadium station). For more information, visit the “yelohouse” page on Facebook.

The exhibition, which runs through October 17 at the National Gallery of Indonesia in Jakarta, features seven works from the artist’s Optimism is Ridiculous series, which began in 2012 and has been featured in various galleries in Asia.

The Altarpieces is Natee’s critique of Western modernism. It is a satire of modernism and capitalism, and tells of its seduction of local customs and traditions. Consisting of a total of 12 works, the “altarpieces” are composed of multiple panels forming a diptych, triptych, or polyptych, following the tradition of classical religious paintings with elaborate frames and settings.

Natee’s interest in Western religious painting stems from his appropriative approach to classical art.

“In my paintings I offer an interpretation of the world and various beliefs that appear in the Western world from my own Asian perspective,” he says.

“Optimism Is Ridiculous: The Altarpieces” is a travelling exhibition and the National Gallery of Indonesia as its second stop. It was presented in Ayala Museum in Makati City, Philippines in February and after Jakarta will be travelling to Singapore.

The National Gallery of Indonesia is located at Jl Medan Merdeka Timur No 14, Central Jakarta, Indonesia.

For more information, visit http://www.RKFineArt.com

Andalusia-based Antonio Andrade Flamenco Company made its debut appearance at Bangkok’s International Festival of Dance and Music on September 22 with “Torera”, a new work that had its world premiere earlier this year in Malaga. This was a rare opportunity for local audiences to watch what our Spanish counterparts are also watching and applause goes to the festival’s programmer for taking a risk.

With influences from other genres, the music wasn’t entirely traditional; likewise, the strong presence of, and the dramaturgical meaning of, the bull character, interpreted by Brazilian artist Akin Santos, made this very different from other flamenco performances we’ve seen – a real treat for both ears and eyes. One setback was the fact that, except for the opening scene when the dancers were in the auditorium’s aisles, the entire performance was behind the proscenium arch, which because of the Thailand Cultural Centre’s large forestage, reduced the work’s impact.

Torera

Last Thursday, Swiss illusionist Peter Marvey made a return to the festival after five years with “WOW: World of Wonders”. Before the performance, Tony Hassin, president of International Magicians Society (IMG), was onstage to present the Swiss master with the Merlin Award for Most Original Illusionist of the Century. Later, Marvey’s wide array of tricks lived up to the show’s title and his new award, and “Wow” was among the audience’s favourites of this year’s festival.

Peter Marvey

His strong interest in levitation or flying was explained in the introductory video and evidenced in many acts including the grand finale “Icarus”. His spectacular acts with large props had a strong impact on all and Marvey charmed with his accented yet fluent Englishlanguage conversation with the audience. Plus, he invited – and he knew how to pick them in accordance with the nature and restriction of each act – men and women, adults and kids, on to the stage to experience his tricks, one of the most stunning of which was called “Three-card match”. In “Strongest Girl”, “Not too much,” he politely asked a goodlooking and physically strong audience member who seemed to be more than a volunteer participant. His strong and beautiful three dancers, or contortionists, served well as his accomplices and our distractions. His technical director was also deft in using the forestage area to make sure that Marvey’s acts, except those that should not be, were always close to the audience.

Now that the festival’s teenage years are almost over, it’s more difficult to please everyone. One festival fan was heard questioning if this has become festival of dance and magic; another wished Marvey had made a tuk tuk fly the same way he did a chariot in Zurich and Tokyo, as seen in the introduction video. That said, in a time when boundaries among performing arts genres have already blurred and our festival continues to be more diverse to attract a wider audience, performing arts may be a good substitute for dance and music in the title here.

The 19th Bangkok’s International Festival of Dance and Music is made possible through the kind support of Crown Property Bureau, Ministry of Culture, Bangkok Bank, Bangkok Dusit Medical Services, B Grimm Group, BMW, Dusit Thani Bangkok, Indorama Ventures, Nation Group, PTT Group, Singha Corporation, Tourism Authority of Thailand, Thai Airways International and Thai Union.

Last four programmes

– “Bangkok’s 19th International Festival of Dance and Music” continues to October 19 at the Thailand Cultural Centre. Tonight, don’t miss Malandain Ballet Biarritz’s “La belle et la bete”. – This weekend, the international touring production of Broadway musical “West Side Story” is back in town. The Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra takes the stage on October 14, and Stuttgart Ballet’s “Taming of the Shrew” on October 18 and 19. Tickets are from Bt1,000 to Bt5,000, at http://www.ThaiTicketMajor.com.

Bangkok Art and Culture Centre’s (BACC) fourth floor studio, the main venue for its ongoing sixth annual Performative Art Festival (PAF#6), is once again opening doors and lending its support not only to professional dance and theatre groups but also less seasoned performers.

Last month, a mere five days after Anatta Theatre Group’s “Love Astray” had ended its run as the festival opener, Thammasat University’s Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts staged the documentary theatre work “The Voyage”.

Veteran director and dean of the faculty Parichat Jungwiwattanaporn pulled together four family history narratives that proved how contemporary Thai society is more multiracial and multicultural than we realise, with sociocultural links not only with neighbouring countries but also China and Indonesia. While the work sounded like a research presentation at times and occasionally looked overstaged due to the frequent accompaniment of videos and still images, “The Voyage” still delivered its point and both entertained and engaged the audience.

It made me think back to my university days when most of my classmates were choosing to major in French, German, Spanish and Japanese and ignoring Mandarin. Today the opposite is true, though many of my students are shunning Southeast Asian languages that the government is trying to promote. Going back another decade, I still recall how some Thai-Chinese classmates tried to hide the fact that they had to miss classes on Chinese New Year Day, which is now, though not officially, almost a public holiday. And when a French friend asked me to take him to Chinatown for Chinese food, I replied, “No, we don’t have to go there: just tell me what you’d like to have – we can have wonton soup at many Thai restaurants.”

While many other drama departments shun collaboration with professional artists by focusing more on their research and theories they believe in, Thammasat University’s continues to do the opposite, which was also evidenced in their annual production “Typhoon” a few years ago. It also makes sure that academia is linked with the real professional world and that their students can make a smooth transfer after graduation. Here, Silpathorn artist and B-Floor Theatre’s coartistic director Jarunun “Jaa” Phantachat and B-Floor member Wasu Wanlayangkoon lent their choreography to the physical movements, which student performers could handle without difficulty while seasoned actress Farida Jiraphan blended well with the 10-member cast.

Ending its run last night at the same venue was the revival of B-Floor Theatre’s “Ceci n’es pas la politique” (“This is not politics”) written by Pattareeya Puapongsakorn, which was awarded best original script by the International Association of Theatre Critics (IATC) Thailand chapter in 2015.

Jaa didn’t simply restage this production but deftly revived it with significant changes so as to more clearly convey the main message to the audience. In the original production, the audience watched allegorical play “Chitra’s Death and the Disappearing Dogs”, in which six relatives, friends and employees of the late millionaire Chitra are all suspects in her murder for different motives. The play paused at times and the audience was asked to vote on questions both directly and indirectly relevant to the play and as a result some characters were taken off the stage while the play continued. In this revival, Jaa went further and had the lighting designer and surtitle operator removed as well, in part thanks to our votes, and as a result, our perception of the play was more highly affected.

The performance was in Thai and English with slightly different cast members, from B-Floor Theatre and other theatre groups, on alternate evenings. As I watched the Thai version last year, I chose to watch the English one this time, also inviting two Singaporean friends to come along. While all of us had a good theatre-going evening, one Singaporean theatre-goer wondered, interestingly, whether the Thai version would be more fun. The number of English-speaking stage works performed by nonnative speakers here has reached an alltime high. In this play, some cast members, like B-Floor Theatre’s Sasapin Siriwanij, were more comfortable with their second language, English, than the others, though all cast members were well united in their frequent physical movements, evidence of ample rehearsal time together.

The two visitors, who earlier that day enjoyed the automated immigration lane at our airport, were also somewhat confused when all of a sudden the lighting didn’t change and we voted without knowing what we actually voted for. After a whispered explanation, their fun continued. This was probably because the director failed to clearly introduce the lighting designer and the surtitles operator by the beginning and only diehard fans would recognise them when they were taken from their booth in the back of the audience.

Another major change was the production design. Instead of simple lines on the floor, the play featured the structure of a house with many rooms, which allowed the lighting designer, when he was still working at his booth, to play with light and shadows.

And in the end, the audience was reminded, again and more effectively now than in 2015, that in this supposedly democratic country where everyone has the right to cast their votes, all too frequently these don’t count – or are not counted properly. Also that occasionally we vote blindly without putting much thought into it, simply to exercise our right.

It also brought to mind the political turmoil we’ve been through over the years and how a number of people simply disappear – and we are not talking about those with a residence overseas and a spare foreign passport. In any case, and notwithstanding the efficiency of traditional and social media we have, we never learn the truth.

The fest rolls along!

– BACC’s “PAF#6” continues until December though at a much quieter pace this month.

– Next up is “Asiatopia: Performance workshop, public lecture and performance by Bartolome Ferrando” from October 17 to 19. Soon afterwards is Bangkok Theatre Festival 2017, the largest and most international ever in its 16-year history, from November 2 to 19.

-Find out more at http://www.BFerrando.com, http://www.BangkokTheatreFestival.com and http://www.BACC.or.th.

The event features a two-day discussion forum on December 9 and 10 and the first retrospective exhibition of internationally acclaimed textile artist Junichi Arai from December 11 to February 28.

The 2017 discussion forum will be titled “Fabpublic – Talking about Textile, Community and Public Space”. Internationally renowned artists, designers, textile specialists, curators, scholars and cultural practitioners from a wide range of disciplines and expertise will gather in Hong Kong to discuss the role of the community within contemporary living, exploring the value and impact that textiles, and their related production, can bring to traditional “brick and mortar” neighbourhoods. Speakers will also engage in and learn about the challenges in energising and reactivating communities through art and textiles

Keynote speakers include Spanish designer Alvaro Catalan de Ocon, founder of PET Lamp, an upcycling anthropological project accentuating preservation of craft knowledge and tradition; and Dutch designer Petra Blaisse, founder of Inside Outside, who works at the intersection of architecture, interior design, textiles and urban landscaping, including collaborations with Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Piper Auditorium Harvard University and Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

The discussion forum will take place at Lu Guan Qiu Lecture Theatre inside the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. It will be conducted in English. Seats are limited and registration must be completed by November 28.

The second part is the first retrospective exhibition of the textile Japanese master Junichi Arai (1932 – 2017) in Hong Kong. Titled “Self-Organisation: Junichi Arai’s Textile Anthology”, this is dedicated to honouring and presenting Arai’s lifelong efforts and achievements. The venue is the Fashion Gallery at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Deploying traditional textile-making techniques into experimental production processes, Arai is known for creating pieces that combine contemporary Western technologies with Eastern methodologies. The quality of Arai’s avant-garde craftsmanship has been recognised and led to significant collaborations with Issey Miyake and Rei Kawakubo (Comme des Garçons) among others.

Find out more at www.Mill6.org.hk.

Moynihan says she is honoured to have her first exhibition at Bangkok’s Cassia Gallery.

“There was no leader in the world that I admired more than King Bhumibol” she says. “He was a visionary humanitarian who devoted his life to the welfare of his people, a gifted artist who excelled in science and statecraft, and a diplomat and soldier who faithfully preserved the ancient rites of Siamese kingship.”

She was inspired to paint a series of portraits of the King working from iconic photographs that for decades have hung everywhere from Buddhist temples to markets and Thai household.

“I loved and admired Thailand’s ‘People’s King’, a catalyst of modern Asia who steered his nation through massive social, economic and political transformations, whose vision and energy made Thailand the most stable and prosperous country in Southeast Asia. When I joined the tens of thousands of Thai citizens at Sanam Luang on October 22, 2016, to sing the royal anthem under the baton of Somtow Sucharitkul, I was profoundly moved by the love and respect the Thai people felt for this great and good man,” said Moynihan.

Moynihan first visited Thailand in the 1970s when her father, Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, served as the US Ambassador to India. Her love for the people and culture of Thailand continues to this day. “King Bhumibol was a great inspiration to Thai painters: after his passing on October 13th 2016 I attended many art expositions about the King throughout Thailand, and decided to express my appreciation for this unique monarch by painting my own series of portraits, which allowed me to study the astounding range of his talents and interests in greater detail; truly, his was one of the most remarkable lives of our times.”

Moynihan spent many years working with the artist Andy Warhol at Interview Magazine and “Andy Warhol’s TV”. Warhol launched Moynihan’s career as an artist and musician. She has held many art exhibitions in Asia and the USA, and recorded three albums: “Yoga Hotel”, “Bombay Superstar” and “Bangkok Taxi”, inspired by Thailand’s capital city. She has published two best-selling works of fiction and spent many years as a contributor for Radio Free Asia and the Asian Age.

Cassia Gallery is located in Sukhumvit 31. For more information, visit (02) 258 4607.

It features a selection of the most intimate and evocative images from the collection featured in Andrea Pistolesi’s book of the same name, which is dedicated to the diversity and intensity of the religious experiences in this part of the world. These include depictions of nats spirits worship in Myanmar (known by other names in all of the other countries) and the sak yant tattoo scene in Thailand, all falling under the embracing umbrella of the Theravada Buddhist spirituality.

The images depict a varied yet homogeneous cultural reality of a region that, even in a fast modernising era is still profoundly connected to its ancestral history. The photos capture not only deeply intense moments of prayer and worship, but also temples, architecture and the environment that contribute to creating this unique experience.

Pistolesi has been publishing photographic essays on Asia for the past 40 years. During this time, he has lived in Thailand for long periods, ensuring a detached, yet insider’s view.

His style of composition, strongly influenced by his Florentine origins, is combined with his very personal rendering of natural light. One of the pioneers of digital photography, he uses colour as one of his most personal traits. He is an enthusiastic supporter of digital fine art printing and has exhibited both in Italy and abroad.

The exhibition, which honours the memory of HM the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, runs through October 15.

Find out more at Facebook.com/ItalianFestivalThailand.

According to the catalogue of Geneve-Encheres auction house, the vase, 60cm tall which depicts three blue dragons against a yellow backdrop, is from the 20th century but it beats an unverified mark most likely of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

A heated bidding battle was played out on Thursday by two bidders who believed the vase was created during the 18th century. The vase was sold to an amateur bidder from Asia.

The auctioneer at Geneve-Encheres said exact age of the vase was difficult to evaluate, which led to their conservative estimate of the final selling price. The final price was 10,000 times more than the original estimate.

“This is the hammer price so with the commission added it is a total of 6.08 million Swiss francs ($6.1 million),” said auctioner Olivier Fichot.

The vase was also the highest bid ever made in Geneva outside of jewelry and watches, added Fichot. The previous record was held by a bronze Buddha statue sold for 550,000 Swiss francs ($570,000).

In an age dominated by the images of advertising and the spectacle of the Jumbo-tron, they are extending traditional analogue printmaking techniques like wood-block, mezzotint and screen-printing in tour de force works that address contemporary issues. The resulting work is both highly conceptual and visually seductive.

While Canada is geographically and culturally isolated, its artists are acutely aware of world graphic traditions, drawing freely on Asian and European models. The hybrid images found in this exhibition speak of Canadian artists` search for identity within diversity.

The participating artists are Derek Besant, Elmyna Bouchard, Sean Caulfield, Steven Dixon, Karen Dugas, Alexandra Haeseker, Libby Hague, Florin Hategan, Liz Ingram, Walter Jule, Davida Kidd, Guy Langevin, Marlene MacCallum, Marc Siegner, Robin Smith, Otis Tamasauskas, and Tracy Templeton.

The exhibition opens on October 19 and runs through November 26. The gallery on Boromrachachonnanee Road and is open Tuesday to Saturday, 10.30am to 7pm, and Sunday until 5.30pm. For details, call (02) 422 2092 or visit “Ardel Gallery of Modern Art” page on Facebook.

MUSICAL FANS rejoice! There’s a new hit in town, and it’s not called “Si Phaendin”. In a country where people love to watch –or at least producers assume they do –stage adaptations of known stories and tales, it’s all too rare to see a poster screaming “a brand-new musical”. But that’s exactly what “21 3/4”, now on at Thong Lor Art Space (TLAS), is.

In the form of a song cycle, “21 3/4” portrays, through newly composed and written pop songs, various characters who are on the verge of university graduation and professional life and facing such problems as frustration over career choices to young romance and unwanted pregnancy.

“21 3/4: A Brandnew Musical” exudes fresh energy and talent. /Photo: Fascinating Four

These touching and realistic stories made me think back to when I was handing in my last paper after my final semester, and had not yet found a job, or had time to look for one. I also thought of an incident a few months later when I was doing so many different jobs in the evenings and on weekends, despite already having a full-time job, that I almost had a car accident driving home.

“Slow down, my dear: you can always borrow my money,” said my mother.

And even though this sub-genre doesn’t require a script with clear storylines, a stronger dramaturgy would shift the order of some songs, cut down the number of characters, limit the risk of this becoming a concert and at the end deliver stronger messages.

Comprising four classmates who have recently graduated from the musical theatre programme of Mahidol University’s College of Music, this unique a cappella quartet is named the Fascinating Four. They not only performed in this musical but also wrote the lyrics that fit the music by Yossral Songkiatkul. Veteran director, and their professor, Napisi Reyes made sure that one musical number flowed smoothly into the next, notwithstanding the demands of character and costume changes. The set design by TLAS artistic director Wasurachata Unaprom made smart use of the venue’s main performance space. And while at the preview earlier this month, the acoustics weren’t quite right at the start, the problems were quickly and professionally solved.

Having performed together for a long time on both local and international stages, the four performers are true friends and a strong ensemble. Having to change their costumes and shift from one character to another, though, was a task too demanding for them and it wasn’t clear in some scenes whether we were watching the characters we’d seen earlier.

Rapturous applause at the curtain call was followed by an encore when the quartet and many members of the audience sang one of the most memorable songs from a contemporary Broadway musical – “Seasons of Love” from “Rent” – which itself is an adaptation of “La Boheme”. This work is not there yet, of course, but such a refreshing evening where passion is shared with the audience is a real pleasure.

Like the story itself, “21 3/4” is also a bridge linking academia and conservatory to the real professional world – and other institutions need to consider as well to make sure that what the young minds are studying is always connected to what professional artists are practising.

STILL SINGING

Fascinating Four’s “21 3/4” continues tonight, and Thursday to Monday at Thong Lor Art Space, a three-minute walk from BTS Thong Lor station.

It’s in Thai with no translation. Show time Monday to Saturday is 7.30pm with a 2.30pm matinee on Saturday and Sunday.

Tickets are Bt650 (Bt500 for students), at (083) 371 6836.

Find out more at Facebook.com/FascinatingFour.