Tang Contemporary Art Bangkok is proud to announce the opening of a Thai local Artist Yuree Kensaku on her solo exhibition named “The Lady On a White Horse”
There is a well-known prophecy in Thailand known as The Lady on a White Horse. While some people claim a famous Thai monk devised the tale, the prophecy tells of the day Thailand will be saved by a woman on a white horse. Taking the lead from the pervasive folklore and mythology of supernatural beings of Southeast Asia, the exhibition The Lady on a White Horse, A Solo Show by Yuree Kensaku engages with the notion of heroes and superheroes kindled by religion and social culture as a way to escape the worldly realm. That is, in the midst of war, violence and political instability, we rely on ghostly beings, fictional characters, as well as real-life heroes that emerge from daily struggles to help us translate our fears into triumphant stories of good over evil.
Celebrated for her candy-colored, manga-style canvases that disguise disconcerting social events and personal stories of suffering and loss, Yuree’s new series The Lady on a White Horse reflects on how folklore and mythology affect our daily life and social culture to the point of leading us towards a distorted and, at times, delusive reality. To do so Yuree’s works embrace the iconic pop-culture visual narrative to question, ever so subtly, the validity of representation in art as in life, ultimately reflecting on what we see and believe is in fact an illusion that merely conceals a different truth in the face of human frailty and social resistance to change.
The show presents visually engaging and energetic works. Yet underneath her attractive tableaux vivants that meet the audience at first glance is Yuree’s unique ability to contextualize her artistic vision within the current cultural and political uncertainties that are taking hold of society in Thailand and beyond.
Yuree Kensaku
b. 1979 Bangkok, Thailand
Yuree Kensaku is a multidisciplinary artist whose works are known for their electrifying colours, rich sense of humour, and candy coated cartoon characters with a dark twist. Wildly entertaining at first glance, Yuree’s works persistently present bold, critical commentary on society, as well as intimate introspection on her personal life as a female artist.
Yuree’s works has featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions both regionally and internationally including The Adventure of Momotaro Girl, Artist in Yokohama Museum of Art (2007); Kuandu Biennale “Memories and Beyond”, Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts, Taipei, Taiwan (2010); The 4th Moscow International Biennale for Young Art “A Time for Dreams”, Museum of Moscow, Russia (2014); When the Elephants Fight, the Grass Gets Trampled, Art Basel Hong Kong (2015); Imaginarium: Over the Ocean, Under the Sea, 8Q, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore (2016); and Thailand Biennale “Edge of the Wonderland”, Krabi (2018).
Her works are included in permanent collections of Mori Art Museum, Singapore Art Museum,Yokohama Museum of Art, and MAIIAM Contemporary Art Museum, as well as many high profile private collections.
She lives and works in Bangkok.
Curator: Loredana Pazzini - Paracciani
Loredana Pazzini-Paracciani is an independent curator, writer and lecturer of Southeast Asian contemporary art. Complemented by continuous dialogue with artists and art professionals, her research and curatorial practice revolve around critical sociopolitical issues in Southeast Asia, advocating a counter-hegemonic and non-Western-centric discourse.
Her recent curatorial projects are Pure Land: A Solo Show by Dinh Q Le (2019) with Tang Contemporary Art Bangkok, and Diaspora: Exit, Exile, Exodus of Southeast Asia (2018-19) with MAIIAM Contemporary Art Museum, for which she edited the accompanying publication, a collection of essays that examine art and society at the periphery. Past exhibitions include Heads or Tails? Uncertainties and Tensions in Contemporary Thailand (2017) with Sundaram Tagore Gallery; The Game/Viet Nam by LE Brothers (2016) with Jim Thompson Art Center; and Architectural Landscapes: SEA in the Forefront (2015) with Queens Museum. Loredana’s writings have appeared in numerous academic journals such as has Asia Research Institute (ARI), National University of Singapore; Frames Cinema Journal (University of St Andrews, UK) and New Asian Imaginations (NAFA University, Singapore). She has also contributed to the art discourse in various exhibitions catalogs and art journals such as COBO Social, Art Republik, Art and Market amongst others.
She lives in London, UK, and Bangkok, Thailand.
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