I visited the MOCA Museum of Contemporary Art in Bangkok in 2016, and I was truly impressed by the level of some of the artwork. The images were really world class, inventive, expressive, and skillful. Here are some snapshots I was able to take to share:
The above work is of a Buddha in the middle. He's sitting on coils from "Nagas" or serpents, who also surround his halo and protect him. The figures on the left and right are in vehicles symbolic of a consciousness moving toward enlightenment. The figure at the very bottom is a creature eating the moon. I really enjoyed this work in all of its delicacy, composition, and gorgeous high chromatic color.
This next image(above) was from a gigantic, wall sized painting, depicting a small community of house boats. This really brought to bare a sense of cultural identity stemming from a tradition aging now more and more into the past.
This next work was one of the best impressionistic interpretations of Bangkok I could imagine. The sense of color, activity, and rush of tuk tuk traffic, all a blur relating in subtle undertones ultimately to the Buddhist roots of the country, as represented by the "Wat" (temple) spire in the distance.
Next is a select image from one of the most intense surrealists I've ever seen. This is just one of various gigantic paintings by the famouse Prateep Kochabua, from Silpakorn University in Bangkok.
Last I want to share an image that I thought was quite unique, depicting a tumultuous scene of water, paper paraffin boats, and a human like impression beneath the water. I really enjoyed the sense of mystery, power, and activity of this work, not to mention its skill in rendering.
If you're an artist like myself or an appreciator of imagery, and ever get the chance to be in Bangkok, I heavily recommend a visit to the MOCA. Shared in this post is the barest and most modest impression of what's in store. I'm certain you would agree; one visit is not nearly enough. The profound narratives of modernity and tradition, representationalism and psychological abstraction, offer a multi-course of food for thought and inspiration.