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Pratchaya Phinthong

Biography

Presentation

Pratchaya Phinthong Born in 1974 Lives an works in Bangkok, Thaïlande.

P r a t c h aya Phinthong creates situations as an invitation made to the visitor to share an experience with him. His projects (without any specific or pred-defined forms) suggest a crack in which the spectators are invited to fill the gaps. He builds a set, a fiction, or a process where he can test our perceptions. He proposes to his audience a story with multiple paths.A trip down memory lane combined with subjective perceptions. His projects are often constructed in a dialogue between the artist and the others, making the artist’s movement glide towards the social field. Beyond any artistical or formal experience, the artist is looking to find his place and his identity playing on the economic

re p resentations and cultural existences.The ‘ g a l l e ry’ space becomes a free area . T h e re fo re, P r a t c h aya Phinthong works in a dynamic area in between diffe rent re a l i t i e sunderlining the space and distance that separates them: t wo geographical points, t wo societies, two economic systems.

Traveling is also a key element of his work.The experience of displacement was the focal point of the exhibition “if I dig a ve ry deep hole” that took place in gb agency in 2007. A mental and physical displacement all at once. Sort of a self-portrait of the artist in Paris, “if I dig a ve ry big hole…” port r ayed two moons on a negative.The artist found where

the extreme geographically opposite place would be to Paris if we could draw a straight line through the globe. He then went to photograph the full moon on the Chatham islands (New Zealand) befo re coming to Paris to photograph the same full moon.T h e same motive, the same thing, t wo places diametrically opposite from one another, t wo individual experiences, two different moments are reunited in this work.The clear resolution of this long trip appeared hollow, as a kind of negative or print, almost unperceivable.

Biography

Pratchaya Phinthong Born in 1974 Lives and works in Bangkok, Thailand.

Education

1997

College of Fine Art, Bangkok, Thailand.

2000

BFA, Silpakorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.

2004

Meisterschule at Staedelschule Frankfurt am Main (Prof. Tobias Rehberger).

Awards

2004

Kunstaspekte Kunstpreis.

Residences

2008

JENESYS Programme for emerging artists, Tokyo.

IASPIS, Stockholm.

Solo exhibitions

2010

Centre d’Art Contemporain, Brétigny

2009

What I learned, I no longer know; the little I still know, I guessed, gb agency, Paris.

2007

if i dig a very deep hole, gb agency, Paris.

2005

Missing Objects, Chula Art Museum, Bangkok.

Group exhibitions (selection)

2010

La Panique du noyau, ESAB, Brest, France, cur. Elodie Royer & Yoann Gourmel

Fair Use: Information Piracy and Creative Commons in Contemporary Art and Design, Columbia College Glass Curtain Gallery, Chicago, Etats-Unis

2009

Nord, Nord-Ouest, gb agency, Paris.

Paper Works, NICC, Antwerpen.

Paper Exhibition, Artists Space, New York.

Rooms, Osage Gallery, Hong Kong.

2008

As Yet Unnamed, About Café, Bangkok

Reversibility, The Fair Gallery, Frieze Art Fair, London, cur. Pierre Bal-Blanc.

6th Busan Biennale, Busan, Korea.

Art Aids, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok.

2007

The more things change..., The 5th Bangkok Experimental Film Festival (BEFF 5), Bangkok.

Eternal Frame, Imagining a future at the end of the world, RedCat gallery, Los Angeles.

2006

Melting place, Bangkok University Gallery, Bangkok, Thailand.

Belief, Singapore Biennale.

Platform, Queen's gallery, Bangkok.

2005

Petites Compositions entre amis, Séquence 3, gb agency, Paris.

Just do it, Lentos Museum, Austria.

2004

Here and Now, Foundation AARA, About Café, Bangkok.

Rendez-vous 2004, Musée d'Art Contemporain, Lyon.

Do you Believe in Reality, Taipei Biennial, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taiwan.

We love Amerika, Galerie Jan Winkelmann, Berlin.

2003

On the Island..., The long night of the Museums, Muenster.

2002

Aus, Exhibition at Frankfurt am Main.

2001

Alien Generation 2, Khonkaen University, Khonkaen, Thailand.

Alien Generation, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok.

2000

Social Grace, Bangkok University, Bangkok.

1999

Grounding, Photographs by Young Emerging Artist, About Café, Bangkok.

Cities On the Move, Film City project, curator Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster.

1998

Clean up Project, with Surasi Kusolwong in Book project, Kurusapa Building, Bangkok.

1997

18 Crowns, Hamrock Café, Bangkok.

Bibliography

Bibliography

Please click on the underlined titles to read the texts

2010

Permanent Mimesis, an exhibition about Simulation and Realism’, GAM, Torino,

exhibition catalogue, Electa

Frieze Magazine, # 128, by Alessandro Rabottini, January - February

2009

Art in America, “Pratchaya Phinthong, gb agency, Paris”, by Vivian Rehberg, November

Flash Art International, # 268, “Pratchaya Phinthong, gb agency, Paris”, par Pierre Bal-Blanc, October

Journal des Arts, #309, “Les paranoïas de Pratchaya Phinthong”, September - October

2008

Frieze Magazine, #116, “Travels with an Artist”, by Dominic Eichler, June - August

Modern Painters, “Pratchaya Phinthong + Danh Vo”, by Sofia Hernandez Chong Cuy, December - January 2009

2007

Fah Thai Magazine, “Mixing things”, by Stirling Silliphant, May

2004

Artforum, “Sampling the Globe”, by Daniel Birnbaum, October

Works

What I learned, I no longer know; the little I still know, I guessed

A sculpture made of Zimbabwean Dollars (ZWD) banknotes, currently the world’s lowest currency, with banknotes ranging from 10 ZWD to 50 trillions ZWD. To realize this piece, the artist has exchanged 5 000 euros he earnt from recent years to ZWD, setting up a system of recollection and exchange with people in Zimbabwe. Banknotes are sent in Paris little by little and displayed as a growing stack of paper on the floor, materializing the process of completion of the work: the form/appearance of this sculpture evolving during the time of the show.

2017

2017 is a large-scale wall painting made using a disappearing ink and reproducing a text found on the Internet, in which a scientific experiment (related to the massive CERN’s particles collider) draws to paranoid rumors and religious eschatological fears.

Untitled

Four color photographs of meteorites sliced and polished as mirros, reflecting the sky where they just come from.

my brain or my stomach

The first book is destroyed by termites, the second is a replica of the first one.

The first book is destroyed by termites, the second is a replica of the first one.

The first book is destroyed by termites, the second is a replica of the first one.

No Patents on Ideas

"No Patents on Ideas" refers to a letter from Thomas Jefferson in the XVIII century on the question of the intellectual property and the marketing of ideas. The blue print process makes the colors on the poster vanishing when exposed to the daylight.

Mono no aware

During his residency at the Japanese Foundation, Pratchaya Phinthong found out about a village which has created in the 70’s a self-sufficient economical system. Since then, their farming economy has been reproduced elsewhere (in Thailand for example) but with a populist willing. At the end of his stay in the village, the community offered the artist a cherry tree. The final installation is a blue print poster representing the tree and all the receipts of his trip to go in the village.

Ephemeral Cinema

Ephemeral Cinema is an electric car conceived in 2004 for the exhibition 'Here & Now' in Bangkok. It asks the function of the art world against the real world. The sculpture remains inside the museum during the day (where the batteries recharge) transforms itself into a moving cinema at night in the streets of Bangkok. At the same time, leaving from two different points (the space preserved by the museum and this urban and openness of Bangkok), the artist gives the choice to link the two realities presented all the while underlining the space that separates them.

if I dig a very deep hole...

f I dig a very big hole… portrays two moons on a negative. The artist found where the extreme geographically opposite place would be to Paris if we could draw a straight line through the middle of the world. He left to photograph the full moon on the Chatham islands (New Zealand) before coming to paris to photograph the same full moon. The same motive, the same thing, two places diametrically opposite from one another, two individual experiences, two different moments reunited in this work. The clear resolution of this long trip appeared hollow, as a kind of negative or print, almost unperceivable.

Self-portrait

Untitled (Screening, Canal of the Musée du Louvre, Paris, Tuesday, October 16 2007, 8pm)

Untitled (Screening, Canal of the Musée du Louvre, Paris, Tuesday, October 17 2007, 8pm)

Untitled (Screening, Canal of the Musée du Louvre, Paris, Tuesday, October 18 2007, 8pm)

Untitled

Not a Drop, but the Fall (B-mu Museum)

Dong-na

Dong-na is an isolated village in the south east of Thailand. To the question : “what can we bring to the community?”, the people in the community asked them to build a road. Pratchaya Phinthong proposed to build a library instead, which in another way would connect them to the rest of the world. In order to finance the project, the library's model and paintings that metaphorically represent its architecture are created.

Pratchaya Phinthong thus allows the possibility of a dialogue with the reality outside the world of art and the working of a collector in the evolution of his enterprise.

Dong-na is an isolated village in the south east of Thailand. To the question : “what can we bring to the community?”, the people in the community asked them to build a road. Pratchaya Phinthong proposed to build a library instead, which in another way would connect them to the rest of the world. In order to finance the project, the library's model and paintings that metaphorically represent its architecture are created.

Pratchaya Phinthong thus allows the possibility of a dialogue with the reality outside the world of art and the working of a collector in the evolution of his enterprise.

Dong-na is an isolated village in the south east of Thailand. To the question : “what can we bring to the community?”, the people in the community asked them to build a road. Pratchaya Phinthong proposed to build a library instead, which in another way would connect them to the rest of the world. In order to finance the project, the library's model and paintings that metaphorically represent its architecture are created.

Pratchaya Phinthong thus allows the possibility of a dialogue with the reality outside the world of art and the working of a collector in the evolution of his enterprise.

Dong-na is an isolated village in the south east of Thailand. To the question : “what can we bring to the community?”, the people in the community asked them to build a road. Pratchaya Phinthong proposed to build a library instead, which in another way would connect them to the rest of the world. In order to finance the project, the library's model and paintings that metaphorically represent its architecture are created.

Pratchaya Phinthong thus allows the possibility of a dialogue with the reality outside the world of art and the working of a collector in the evolution of his enterprise.

Dong-na is an isolated village in the south east of Thailand. To the question : “what can we bring to the community?”, the people in the community asked them to build a road. Pratchaya Phinthong proposed to build a library instead, which in another way would connect them to the rest of the world. In order to finance the project, the library's model and paintings that metaphorically represent its architecture are created.

Pratchaya Phinthong thus allows the possibility of a dialogue with the reality outside the world of art and the working of a collector in the evolution of his enterprise.

Dong-na is an isolated village in the south east of Thailand. To the question : “what can we bring to the community?”, the people in the community asked them to build a road. Pratchaya Phinthong proposed to build a library instead, which in another way would connect them to the rest of the world. In order to finance the project, the library's model and paintings that metaphorically represent its architecture are created.

Pratchaya Phinthong thus allows the possibility of a dialogue with the reality outside the world of art and the working of a collector in the evolution of his enterprise.

Missing Objects

In 2004, Pratchaya Phinthong traveled for several months, from Frankfort (where he studied) to Bangkok (his native city). On foot or by train, this trip was made through accidents and the various constraints of the journey, creating its own rhythm. The found or specifically created objects are personal memories: testimonies of the reality of this journey, allowing us to piece together its different stages and to fill in the gaps that are missing. This project was shown in 2005 at gb agency during the exhibition 'Petites compositions entre amis'.

In 2004, Pratchaya Phinthong traveled for several months, from Frankfort (where he studied) to Bangkok (his native city). On foot or by train, this trip was made through accidents and the various constraints of the journey, creating its own rhythm. The found or specifically created objects are personal memories: testimonies of the reality of this journey, allowing us to piece together its different stages and to fill in the gaps that are missing. This project was shown in 2005 at gb agency during the exhibition 'Petites compositions entre amis'.

In 2004, Pratchaya Phinthong traveled for several months, from Frankfort (where he studied) to Bangkok (his native city). On foot or by train, this trip was made through accidents and the various constraints of the journey, creating its own rhythm. The found or specifically created objects are personal memories: testimonies of the reality of this journey, allowing us to piece together its different stages and to fill in the gaps that are missing. This project was shown in 2005 at gb agency during the exhibition 'Petites compositions entre amis'.

In 2004, Pratchaya Phinthong traveled for several months, from Frankfort (where he studied) to Bangkok (his native city). On foot or by train, this trip was made through accidents and the various constraints of the journey, creating its own rhythm. The found or specifically created objects are personal memories: testimonies of the reality of this journey, allowing us to piece together its different stages and to fill in the gaps that are missing. This project was shown in 2005 at gb agency during the exhibition 'Petites compositions entre amis'.

In 2004, Pratchaya Phinthong traveled for several months, from Frankfort (where he studied) to Bangkok (his native city). On foot or by train, this trip was made through accidents and the various constraints of the journey, creating its own rhythm. The found or specifically created objects are personal memories: testimonies of the reality of this journey, allowing us to piece together its different stages and to fill in the gaps that are missing. This project was shown in 2005 at gb agency during the exhibition 'Petites compositions entre amis'.

In 2004, Pratchaya Phinthong traveled for several months, from Frankfort (where he studied) to Bangkok (his native city). On foot or by train, this trip was made through accidents and the various constraints of the journey, creating its own rhythm. The found or specifically created objects are personal memories: testimonies of the reality of this journey, allowing us to piece together its different stages and to fill in the gaps that are missing. This project was shown in 2005 at gb agency during the exhibition 'Petites compositions entre amis'.

In 2004, Pratchaya Phinthong traveled for several months, from Frankfort (where he studied) to Bangkok (his native city). On foot or by train, this trip was made through accidents and the various constraints of the journey, creating its own rhythm. The found or specifically created objects are personal memories: testimonies of the reality of this journey, allowing us to piece together its different stages and to fill in the gaps that are missing. This project was shown in 2005 at gb agency during the exhibition 'Petites compositions entre amis'.

In 2004, Pratchaya Phinthong traveled for several months, from Frankfort (where he studied) to Bangkok (his native city). On foot or by train, this trip was made through accidents and the various constraints of the journey, creating its own rhythm. The found or specifically created objects are personal memories: testimonies of the reality of this journey, allowing us to piece together its different stages and to fill in the gaps that are missing. This project was shown in 2005 at gb agency during the exhibition 'Petites compositions entre amis'.

In 2004, Pratchaya Phinthong traveled for several months, from Frankfort (where he studied) to Bangkok (his native city). On foot or by train, this trip was made through accidents and the various constraints of the journey, creating its own rhythm. The found or specifically created objects are personal memories: testimonies of the reality of this journey, allowing us to piece together its different stages and to fill in the gaps that are missing. This project was shown in 2005 at gb agency during the exhibition 'Petites compositions entre amis'.

In 2004, Pratchaya Phinthong traveled for several months, from Frankfort (where he studied) to Bangkok (his native city). On foot or by train, this trip was made through accidents and the various constraints of the journey, creating its own rhythm. The found or specifically created objects are personal memories: testimonies of reality of this journey, allowing us to piece together its different stages and to fill in the gaps that are missing. This project was shown in 2005 at gb agency during the exhibition 'Petites compositions entre amis'.

In 2004, Pratchaya Phinthong traveled for several months, from Frankfort (where he studied) to Bangkok (his native city). On foot or by train, this trip was made through accidents and the various constraints of the journey, creating its own rhythm. The found or specifically created objects are personal memories: testimonies of the reality of this journey, allowing us to piece together its different stages and to fill in the gaps that are missing. This project was shown in 2005 at gb agency during the exhibition 'Petites compositions entre amis'.

In 2004, Pratchaya Phinthong traveled for several months, from Frankfort (where he studied) to Bangkok (his native city). On foot or by train, this trip was made through accidents and the various constraints of the journey, creating its own rhythm. The found or specifically created objects are personal memories: testimonies of the reality of this journey, allowing us to piece together its different stages and to fill in the gaps that are missing. This project was shown in 2005 at gb agency during the exhibition 'Petites compositions entre amis'.

In 2004, Pratchaya Phinthong traveled for several months, from Frankfort (where he studied) to Bangkok (his native city). On foot or by train, this trip was made through accidents and the various constraints of the journey, creating its own rhythm. The found or specifically created objects are personal memories: testimonies of the reality of this journey, allowing us to piece together its different stages and to fill in the gaps that are missing. This project was shown in 2005 at gb agency during the exhibition 'Petites compositions entre amis'.

In 2004, Pratchaya Phinthong traveled for several months, from Frankfort (where he studied) to Bangkok (his native city). On foot or by train, this trip was made through accidents and the various constraints of the journey, creating its own rhythm. The found or specifically created objects are personal memories: testimonies of the reality of this journey, allowing us to piece together its different stages and to fill in the gaps that are missing. This project was shown in 2005 at gb agency during the exhibition 'Petites compositions entre amis'.

In 2004, Pratchaya Phinthong traveled for several months, from Frankfort (where he studied) to Bangkok (his native city). On foot or by train, this trip was made through accidents and the various constraints of the journey, creating its own rhythm. The found or specifically created objects are personal memories: testimonies of the reality of this journey, allowing us to piece together its different stages and to fill in the gaps that are missing. This project was shown in 2005 at gb agency during the exhibition 'Petites compositions entre amis'.

In 2004, Pratchaya Phinthong traveled for several months, from Frankfort (where he studied) to Bangkok (his native city). On foot or by train, this trip was made through accidents and the various constraints of the journey, creating its own rhythm. The found or specifically created objects are personal memories: testimonies of the reality of this journey, allowing us to piece together its different stages and to fill in the gaps that are missing. This project was shown in 2005 at gb agency during the exhibition 'Petites compositions entre amis'.

In 2004, Pratchaya Phinthong traveled for several months, from Frankfort (where he studied) to Bangkok (his native city). On foot or by train, this trip was made through accidents and the various constraints of the journey, creating its own rhythm. The found or specifically created objects are personal memories: testimonies of the reality of this journey, allowing us to piece together its different stages and to fill in the gaps that are missing. This project was shown in 2005 at gb agency during the exhibition 'Petites compositions entre amis'.

In 2004, Pratchaya Phinthong traveled for several months, from Frankfort (where he studied) to Bangkok (his native city). On foot or by train, this trip was made through accidents and the various constraints of the journey, creating its own rhythm. The found or specifically created objects are personal memories: testimonies of the reality of this journey, allowing us to piece together its different stages and to fill in the gaps that are missing. This project was shown in 2005 at gb agency during the exhibition 'Petites compositions entre amis'.

In 2004, Pratchaya Phinthong traveled for several months, from Frankfort (where he studied) to Bangkok (his native city). On foot or by train, this trip was made through accidents and the various constraints of the journey, creating its own rhythm. The found or specifically created objects are personal memories: testimonies of the reality of this journey, allowing us to piece together its different stages and to fill in the gaps that are missing. This project was shown in 2005 at gb agency during the exhibition 'Petites compositions entre amis'.

In 2004, Pratchaya Phinthong traveled for several months, from Frankfort (where he studied) to Bangkok (his native city). On foot or by train, this trip was made through accidents and the various constraints of the journey, creating its own rhythm. The found or specifically created objects are personal memories: testimonies of the reality of this journey, allowing us to piece together its different stages and to fill in the gaps that are missing. This project was shown in 2005 at gb agency during the exhibition 'Petites compositions entre amis'.

In 2004, Pratchaya Phinthong traveled for several months, from Frankfort (where he studied) to Bangkok (his native city). On foot or by train, this trip was made through accidents and the various constraints of the journey, creating its own rhythm. The found or specifically created objects are personal memories: testimonies of the reality of this journey, allowing us to piece together its different stages and to fill in the gaps that are missing. This project was shown in 2005 at gb agency during the exhibition 'Petites compositions entre amis'.

In 2004, Pratchaya Phinthong traveled for several months, from Frankfort (where he studied) to Bangkok (his native city). On foot or by train, this trip was made through accidents and the various constraints of the journey, creating its own rhythm. The found or specifically created objects are personal memories: testimonies of the reality of this journey, allowing us to piece together its different stages and to fill in the gaps that are missing. This project was shown in 2005 at gb agency during the exhibition 'Petites compositions entre amis'.

In 2004, Pratchaya Phinthong traveled for several months, from Frankfort (where he studied) to Bangkok (his native city). On foot or by train, this trip was made through accidents and the various constraints of the journey, creating its own rhythm. The found or specifically created objects are personal memories: testimonies of the reality of this journey, allowing us to piece together its different stages and to fill in the gaps that are missing. This project was shown in 2005 at gb agency during the exhibition 'Petites compositions entre amis'.

In 2004, Pratchaya Phinthong traveled for several months, from Frankfort (where he studied) to Bangkok (his native city). On foot or by train, this trip was made through accidents and the various constraints of the journey, creating its own rhythm. The found or specifically created objects are personal memories: testimonies of the reality of this journey, allowing us to piece together its different stages and to fill in the gaps that are missing. This project was shown in 2005 at gb agency during the exhibition 'Petites compositions entre amis'.

farawaysoclose

The piece farawaysoclose, conceived in 2001 during his residence in Frankfort, consisted of replacing a two euros coin by a ten baths Thai coin in order to buy a Coke cans from his school's vending machines. At the time where the Deutsche Mark was replaced by the euro, the artist was looking for his place and his identity while exchanging the two currencies. He played on the economic representations and cultural exchanges, from a minority status to a position of equality.