31 Artists and Designers Featured in NYC Thai Arts Showcase
Thai Artists Alliance
The Invisible Dog Arts Center
Location: Brooklyn, NY USA
28 July – 31 July 2011

Siamese Connection 2011

9 September 2010 – 9 January 2011 at the Honolulu Academy of Arts

For its major fall exhibition, the Academy highlights its important but little seen collection of Southeast Asian Art. On view will be approximately 150 works of art from Thailand and Cambodia, many of which have never been displayed at the museum.

Visitors will travel through time and regions via three sections: The Neolithic and Bronze ages in Thailand and Cambodia; the Khmer kingdom, which dominated the central Southeast Asian peninsula from the 9th through the 15th centuries; and the Sukhothai kingdom, generally considered the first major Thai kingdom and the progenitor of the modern Thai state, which flourished from the 13th through the 15th centuries. The exhibition will cover the artistic and cultural developments of three important Southeast Asian cultures (Ban Chiang, Khmer, and Sukhothai) over more than 4,000 years, going from vibrantly decorated Neolithic earthenware ceramics to a dazzling gold Buddhist sculpture.

This exhibition is a chance for the public to discover a major resource in Hawaii for the study of Southeast Asia, and it promotes a greater awareness and appreciation of Southeast Asian cultural and artistic traditions in the Hawaii community.

The exhibition and its educational programs are supported in part by a grant from the Hawaii Council for the Humanities.

Lecture series:
Public lectures by University of Hawaii professors Miriam Stark and Paul Lavy will greatly illuminate the works on view in the exhbition. Lectures will be held on Thursdays throughout October at 4 p.m. in the Doris Duke Theatre. Admission is free.

Oct. 7:From Stone to Bronze and Village to City: Southeast Asia’s Buried Past
Presented by Miriam T Stark, PhD; Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai’i at Manoa
Southeast Asia’s earliest archaeological remains date back more than 1.8 million years. Through the millennia, Southeast Asians crafted their lives and shaped their landscapes in ways that ultimately produced kingdoms and empires. This lecture surveys Southeast Asia’s history from an archaeological point of view, and highlights key developments from the Neolithic through the Classical period.

Oct. 14:Vishnu’s Heavenly Realm: Angkor Wat and Ancient Khmer Architecture
Presented by Paul Lavy, PhD; Assistant Professor of South and Southeast Asian Art History, Department of Art and Art History, University of Hawai’i at Manoa
Angkor Wat (12th century), one of the worlds largest and most complex religious monuments, was built as a temple dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu and later transformed into a Buddhist sanctuary. This lecture will examine Angkor Wat’s history, architecture, and symbolism and explore its central role in Khmer (Cambodian) culture.

Oct. 21:Cultivating the Image of Compassion: Power, Propaganda, and the Statuary of Ancient Angkor
Presented by Paul Lavy, PhD; Assistant Professor of South and Southeast Asian Art History, Department of Art and Art History, University of Hawai’i at Manoa
Hindu and Buddhist sculpture was central to both religion and politics in ancient Angkor. This lecture will investigate the intersection of politics, religion, and art at the peak of Angkors power during the reign of its most colorful king, Jayavarman VII, a ruler who cleverly utilized unusual Buddhist art to express both his personal piety and political ambitions.

Oct. 28:Walking with the Buddha: The Art of Sukhothai
The kingdom of Sukhothai (13th-15th centuries) was the first major Thai kingdom and it is often regarded as the Golden Age of Thai civilization. This lecture will provide an introduction to the art of Sukhothai and explore the symbolism and style of Sukhothai Buddha images, renowned worldwide for their elegance and distinctive stylistic qualities.

Teacher Workshop
All teachers are invited to attend a teacher workshop on September 25, 2010 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM in the Museum Lecture Hall. For reservations, please call Betsy Robb 532-3666. This teacher workshop is fully sponsored by the Hawaii Council for the Humanities.

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July 8-October 10, 2010 at the John Dominis and Patches Damon Holt Gallery
Catharine E.B. Cox Award Exhibition

Sanit Khewhok is the 11th recipient of the prestigious Catharine E. B. Cox Award for Excellence in the Visual Arts. Born in Trang, Thailand, Khewhok received his undergraduate degree in Fine Arts: Painting, Sculpture, and Printmaking from Silpakorn University in Bangkok. He was then awarded a Masters in Fine Arts from the Academy of Fine Arts of Rome with a specialization in painting and restoration techniques. For 30 years, he has worked as a curator, collections manager, and a conservator at museums in Thailand and Honolulu.

A practicing artist for more than 34 years, Khewhok is known for his small-scale works that invite us to engage with them on a personal level.

“I have felt comfortable with smaller sizes because when you look at the small-scale works there is an intimacy—the work is more personal,” says Khewhok. “A large-scale work for me seems heroic and monumental. I am not interested in that.” His statement speaks to the humble, soft-spoken Khewhok as a person and an artist.

Academically trained, Khewhok references art-historical traditions—especially from the Italian Renaissance—in his subject matter, style and handling of media. Artists such as Hieronymus Bosch (1450-1516), Francisco Goya (1746-1828), and Edvard Munch (1863-1944) are major influences, and some of his pieces directly reference well-known masterworks. For example, two paintings in his Envelopes series borrow from Man Ray’s Le Violon d’Ingres (1924) and Edouard Manet’s Olympia (1863), juxtaposing a Marilyn Monroe postage stamp with Manet’s Olympia to draw a visual analogy between the two iconic women. He also draws upon contemporary history and prominent cultural figures, such as the the Vietnam War or President George W. Bush.

Khewhok’s personal experiences and inner circle also inform his art. For example, Untitled 2-4 are composed of fish bones collected on a walk along the beach, and Untitled 1 incorporates two fish that he ate for dinner one evening. Humor and personal stories underlie Khewhok’s art, whether as inside jokes or something more overt. Sharp-witted and always playful, his works will catch you off guard, mysteriously drawing you in.

A turning point in Khewhok’s artistic career came when he was ordained as a monk in 1985 and spent 100 days at a Thai monastery. As a traditional rite of passage into adulthood, all Thai men were expected to become ordained at the age of 21; however, Khewhok was a little older when he entered the monastery. There, he learned and practiced meditation. One afternoon, while walking in the woods to clear his mind, he absentmindedly picked up a stick and created a sculpture. Prior to this moment, Khewhok had felt confined and restricted by the academic training he had received in Thailand and Italy. Through the simple act of creating a sculpture out of a stick, he realized he had taken his next step as an artist.

As It Happened embodies Khewhok’s past and present and invites viewers to witness his evolution as an artist. His work eloquently synthesizes the various cultures and traditions he has straddled so far in life.—Rui Sasaki, Assistant Curator Special Projects, Department of European and American Art

more info | read the Honolulu Advertiser interview with Sanit Khewhok

27 June – 3 October 2010 at the East-West Center Gallery, Honolulu, HI

In honor of the East-West Center’s 50th anniversary, the Gallery will feature a selection of some 35 works rarely seen by the general public, including sculpture, prints, paintings, ceramics, metalwork, textiles, wood carvings, and photographs.

Since its founding in 1960, the East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawai’i, has been the recipient of hundreds of gifts of art, architecture, and artifacts reflecting the richness and diversity of the Asia Pacific region, including the United States. In keeping with the Center’s mandate to promote better relations and understanding among the people and nations of the region, the objects in the Permanent Collection serve as educational tools—as well as inspirational works of great beauty.

Included in this special exhibition are works by David Becker, Dalounny Carroll, Paul Chesley, Alonzo Davis, Rupert Garcia, Aisha Ghasnavi, Milton Glaser, R. C. Gorman, I Nyoman Gunarsa, Hokusai, Jose Joya, Erica Karawina, Da Tan Ke, I Nyoman Lesug, Meleanna Meyer, Mayumi Oda, Mary Pritchard, Sano Tankyu, Pak No Soo, Michael Tom, Hatano Tae, Mohammad Yasin, Noguchi Yukoku, and Cong Zhiyuan. Also included is a video projection art work, by Ben Wood and Michael Schuster, based on the flagship Charlot and Affandi murals in Imin Center-Jefferson Hall.

All in the EWC Gallery, admission free, except as noted.

Sunday, June 27, 2:00-3:30 p.m.
Opening festivities including reception and presentation of 8-minute video art piece, Wisdoms of the East and West, accompanied by live music by Made Widana and Anna Reynolds at 2:00 and at 3:00 p.m.

Sunday, July 11, 2:00-3:00 p.m.
Illustrated talk by Jeannette ‘Benji’ Bennington on the development of the EWC’s Permanent Collection of art works.

Sunday, August 29, 2:00-3:00 p.m.
“Influences from Hawai‘i,” illustrated talk by Mayumi Oda, former EWC Artist-in-Residence, and Hawai‘i Island resident.

Sunday, September 12, 2:00-3:00 p.m.
Illustrated talk by Meleanna Aluli Meyer, former EWC Arts Program Intern. Meyer, a well known Hawaiian artist, curator, and arts educator speaks about past and current work.

Curated by Michael Schuster, Ph.D., assisted by Anna Reynolds
Installation design by Lynne Najita
East-West Center Gallery, Burns Hall, 1601 East-West Rd., Honolulu, HI, USA

11 April 2010 – 13 June 2010

Weddings are the pinnacle of celebration, festivity, and happiness throughout Asia. People place a huge emphasis on the rituals, processions, feasts, and gatherings associated with these felicitous events in the human life cycle. More than an event uniting two individuals, weddings are a social enactment reinforcing community, family, and continuity. Imbued with both spiritual and practical implications, the wedding events are central to the social fabric and are intended to encourage the couple’s fertility.

This EWC exhibition focuses on garments/costumes, ritual objects, theatrical and artistics representations of wedding events, and dowry items including textiles and jewelry. Due to the enormity of the region with its wide diversity of ethnicities, religions, and sub-cultures, a few representative cultures have been selected to represent East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Central Asia. In all regions, people devote extraordinary resources, energy, and time to creating memorable wedding celebrations.

This exhibition was created in honor of the East-West Center’s golden 50th anniversary celebration. Likewise, many of the weddings found in Asia are festooned with golden textiles, jewelery, and accoutrements.

The exhibited artifacts and photographs depict wedding traditions from China, Japan, Korea, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Laos, Viet Nam, Burma/Myanmar, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Afghanistan.

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Asia Society Museum, New York, NY
2 February – 2 May 2010

As long as two thousand years ago, a maritime trade route extended from southern China to Roman-controlled ports in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea, via ports in what is now northern Vietnam, Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan and Iran. As a result of this exchange, Vietnam developed unique art objects with connections to China, India, and other cultures of Southeast Asia. The exhibition includes approximately 115 spectacular examples selected from Vietnamese museums conveying the country’s impressive artistic developments and attesting to its importance in the cultural development of Southeast Asia. Objects range from early burial goods and large bronze ritual drums to gold jewelry with precious stones, Hindu and Buddhist stone sculptures, and beautifully decorated ceramics. Watch part of Curator Nancy Tingley’s exhibition introduction here:

Arts of Ancient Viet Nam is co-organized with Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

more info | purchase Exhibition Catalogue | watch complete lecture

Curated by Theresa Papanikolas, Curator of European and American Art
28 January – 6 June 2010, John Dominis and Patches Damon Holt Gallery, Honolulu Academy of Art, Honolulu, HI

Concluding the Academy’s year-long celebration of the life and work of Charles Bartlett, this special installation focuses on the artist’s travels in Java and Ceylon. Bartlett toured Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in 1913 as part of his first sea voyage to Asia; his last trip abroad, in 1921, included a stop in Java. In both regions, Bartlett filled sketchbooks and conceptualized paintings, drawings, and etchings of daily life: the people, their colorful dress and rituals, their commerce and catamarans, and the landscape and ancient monuments that surrounded them. Indeed, always a spectator and rarely a participant, Bartlett maximized his expertise as a colorist and draftsman to record with great sympathy his observations and perceptions, and to capture the essence of the exotic locales he visited. (Source: Honolulu Academy of Art)

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Presented by the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, UHM and the East-West Center (EWC) Arts Program
Curated by Mohamed Effendy bin Abdul Hamid, Emiko Stock, and Michael Schuster
20 January – 28 March 2010, East-West Center Gallery, Honolulu, HI

This exhibition illustrates visual aspects of Cham culture and how the Cham have preserved their identity through ritual and religious practices, art and architecture, writing and language, and everyday life experiences. Join us this week for the following free events at the EWC Gallery:

1:00-4:30 p.m., Friday, 22 January 2010
Cham Symposium: Cham culture and history will be discussed by six Southeast Asian scholars from Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore, and Hawai’i

2:00-3:30 p.m., Sunday, 24 January 2010
Opening Festivities including reception and walk-throughs by the curators

12:00-1:00 p.m., Monday, 25 January 2010
Visual presentation by visiting curator Emiko Stock, Cambodia, ”Visualizing Cham Diversity in Cambodia”

2:00-3:00 p.m. Sunday, 7 February 2010
Visual presentation by UHM Assistant Professor of Art Dr. Paul Lavy, “An Introduction to Ancient Cham Sculpture and Architecture”

more info | calendar of events | view photos from event – NEW