Burmese Inspirations
Aung Kyaw Htet
14 June - 6 July 2008

Thavibu Gallery is pleased to present the art exhibition Burmese Inspirations with oil paintings and drawings by the Burmese artist Aung Kyaw Htet on 14 June - 6 July, 2008. 
 
Aung Kyaw Htet is a devout Buddhist and grew up in a small village -- two factors which have an important influence on his art.  His paintings of religious life in Burma show monks and nuns in a realistic manner, though non-essential objects are omitted from the paintings in order to focus on the religious aspects.  Aung Kyaw Htet paints the faces of monks and nuns in great detail to show their humanity.  His use of bright colours is attractive and draws the viewer's attention to the serenity in the paintings. 

Aung Kyaw Htet is 43 years old and one of Burma_s leading artists.  He studied at the State School of Fine Arts in Rangoon and has participated in several exhibitions in Burma, Thailand (2002, 2004, 2005, 2007), Singapore (2003), Hong Kong (2003, 2004), and Taiwan (2006).  His paintings are in the museum collections of the National Museum of Burma and the National Art Gallery of Malaysia.   

Altered Faces
Le Quang Ha
26 April - 18 May 2008

Le Quang Ha was born in Hanoi in 1963 and graduated from the Hanoi Industrial College of Fine Arts in 1992. Le Quang Ha avoids traditional, academic subjects in his art, and instead chooses to address issues that many artists prefer to overlook or even ignore in their work. There is much vitality, meaning, and social critique in the brutal honesty of his art.

With its ironic comments, his art addresses subjects, which the young generations of Vietnam are confronted with. The works present a sophisticated discourse on the clashes between tradition and the modern values of contemporary Vietnam. In Vietnam, his art is still regarded as an outburst within the official and social framework. Nevertheless, it is the very controversy that he arouses which has become the leading indicator of the importance of his art.

Le Quang Ha has participated in several exhibitions in Vietnam. He has also taken part in shows in Germany (1992, 1996, 1997), China (1993), Switzerland (1996, 2001, 2004), Hong Kong (1997), Japan (1998), USA (1998, 1999, 2006), Korea (1999), Indonesia (2001), and Great Britain (2005).. His paintings are in the permanent collections of the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, Japan and the Singapore Art Museum.

SPIRITUAL SPACES
10th Anniversary
16 February - 16 March 2008

Thavibu Gallery is pleased to present its 10th Anniversary Art Exhibition Spiritual Spaces on 16 February - 16 March, 2008 with participating artists from Thailand, Vietnam and Burma. The exhibition is specially curated by Shireen Naziree.

It has been ten years since Thavibu Gallery was established in Bangkok. Over the past ten years, the gallery has grown along with the ever-developing art scene of the region. Today Thavibu Gallery represents important as well as upcoming artists from Thailand, Vietnam and Burma whose art expresses and communicates the imaginative aspects of their cultures and reflects concerns that encompass the spiritual, the social and the political. The people of these nations share common spiritual values that have grown out of their common past histories. Spirituality has been inspirational to many artists and thus the exhibition Spiritual Spaces was conceived with this inspiration in mind.

The artists participating are: Kritsana Chaikitwattana, Jirapat Tatsanasomboon, Therdkiat Wangwatcharakul, and Santi Thongsuk (Thai); Dinh Quan, Trinh Tuan, Nguyen Trung, and Hong Viet Dung (Vietnamese); and Aung Kyaw Htet, Nyein Chan Su, Myoe Win Aung, and U Lun Gywe (Burmese). The opening ceremony will feature a special, live performance by Nyein Chan Su.