Threading: Contemporary Art of Thailand

Curatorial Statement:

Central to the mission of the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts at Appalachian State University is a long-standing commitment to showcasing international artists. Past transnational exhibitions in our galleries have included artwork from Australia and New Zealand (2018), Brazil (2016), South Africa (2014), Poland (2012), Mexico (2010), and China (2008). The international exhibition program was suspended during the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The Turchin Center is pleased to reinstate this important installation with the seventh international series: Threading: Contemporary Art from Thailand, showcasing the artwork of 21 dynamic contemporary artists. 

It is a formidable undertaking to chart the immense variety of the artists working in a single country while doing justice to our goal of reflecting their unique cultural experiences through the visual arts. In every country the artists living and working there may not have been born there, and yet they call their adopted cities and countries home. The artists represented in Threading: Contemporary Art from Thailand, are primarily based in Bangkok and Saen Suk, Chon Buri, Thailand.  

In international exhibitions such as this one, the art gallery becomes the conduit for global learning and awareness, as well as the setting for the genesis of conversation between cultures as ideas are exchanged in an ever-changing and shrinking global economy. What unites all peoples is the fundamental instinct to tell stories. It can be argued that storytelling is what makes us uniquely human (in addition to our opposable thumbs). The arts create narrative in many ways and from many perspectives, providing individual aesthetic expression that begins with each artist in what we hope will be an on-going conversation about ideas, aesthetics, materials, and the power of creative expression.

Exhibiting Artists

Additional Resources