In painting by Navin Rawanchaikul

I and the exhibition panel of Very Thai at Zen Ratchaprasong were painted by Navin Rawanchaikul into the third giant panel of his vast triptych of Thai art figures, ‘Super(M)art Bangkok Survivor.’

The painting is the third part of a triptych, Super (M)art Bangkok Survivor (2004-2015), painted by one of the leading Thai artists’ Navin Rawanchaikul, using his trademark mural style. The triptych is in the permanent collection of MAIIAM Contemporary Art Museum in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The paintings (each 260 x 380cm) depict figures in the art scenes at three periods.

The first painting shows the leading pioneers of modern art from the early 20th century until the boom period of the 1980s. The second painting shows the art scene during the experimental phase after the 1997 economic crash, when a new movement of artists arose. That and the first painting were shown in the About Studio About Cafe gallery.

A portrait of me is in the middle of the third painting, Salong with the outdoor art exhibiting of Very Thai at Ratchaprasong in the top left corner. hows the much expanded art scene of Bangkok in the mid 2010s, with may more artists, curators, critics, gallerists and associated people. The painting was premiered at Jim Thompson Art Center and then joined the collection of Eric Bunnag Booth and Jean-Michel Bourdelay, and exhibited at their MAIIAM museum.

Looking at myself in the painting by Navin Rawanchaikul, Super (M)art Bangkok Survivor (2015)

In the public art section of Super (M)art Bangkok Survivor (2015) is the sign for the Very Thai photography exhibition at Ratchaprasong.

All three paintings in the triptych, displayed with a life-size sculpture of Navin Rawanchaikul as if an elderly man (left).