Bangkok--24 Nov--Modern Gallery
VICISSITUDES / ผันแปรตามกาล
DAENG BUASAN / แดง บัวแสน
At Modern Gallery, O.P. Garden
31 October – 31 December 2014
Daeng Buasan is that suburban kid who has been busy putting a whole load of Buddhist Philosophy into his new art exhibition, Vicissitudes. Formerly, a mixed media artist, Buasan’s new exhibition showcases his shift in focus and attention from sculpture based work to oil and acrylic painting. And really, Buasan’s own change in artistic process sets the tone for an exhibition which is all about that specific dynamic within Thai Culture and Society.
Time, you see, is a funny old trickster. Buddhism says that nothing is ever permanent. That we are forever stuck in a flux of change. And decay. And we can feel this, because yesterday may only ever feel like yesterday, but yesterday was actually twenty, thirty years ago. And as the clocks turn, so do our cultures, societies, and our perceptions of them. And here, in Vicissitudes, Deang Buasan beguiles us with wonderful grace and poise, as he illustrates those changes in Thai Culture and Society.
Vicissitudes rides a wide and colourful wave which is sprinkled with subtle gestures and tokens of the past and present. From ‘The Girl from Phrae’ to ‘Mrs.Sida’ we see young women dressed to the ways of the past, but also locked into the present. With their modern day hair styles, dyes and Hello Kitty paraphernalia, they communicate this strange yet humorous synergy of the old and the new; yesterday and today.
However, by juxtaposing the past with the present, Daeng Buasan says he neither intends to criticize, nor praise. Nor does he wish to point us towards any kind of conclusion either. Rather, he prefers to keep things open. He wants to invite us in and ask us what we see with our own heart. And, perhaps, to the cynic looking at She Falls down in front of the Emerald Buddha Temple, one may wonder if they feel that Thai Culture and Society has been run over and left for dead on the road. Or, if, in Umbrella, the Thai smile is still the same Thai smile of old, or is it just same same but different?
Buasan’s portraits persist in stirring our curiosity. Their soft touches and elegant strokes echo the typical, soft colours and swirls of traditional Thai Buddhist art. And it is this foundation in Buddhist Art, which Deang Buasan cites as the basis for all he knows and loves about art. Therefore, inevitably, there is a spirituality which flows through his work. And even though that spirituality may cry decay and solitude, in ‘Absorb the Moonlight’, it also sings joy and wonder, too, in Love Whisper.
Vicissitudes is an exhibition where you have to have faith and let your heart lead you. And then once you decide for yourself what it’s going to be, you can tell Daeng Buasan, personally. Time is a funny old trickster, and Daeng Buasan is an artist who has played some interesting and some dark, yet light hearted tricks to encourage us to take a look back as we look forwards.
Opening Exhibition for ‘VICISSITUDES’
Tuesday 25th November 2014 from 6 pm
Venue : Modern Gallery
4, 6 O.P. Garden, Unit #1A-1103
Charoenkrung 36, Bangrak, Bangkok
Mon – Sat 11 am – 7pm
Contact : 02 238 6449
moderngallery24@gmail.com
For more information or high res images, please contact:
Nawintanan Jitdejawat (Pimmy)
International Communication Manager, Modern Gallery
Mobile 086 999 6591
nawintanan@gmail.com