BANGKOK ART BIENNALE 2026ANNOUNCES SECOND WAVE OF PARTICIPATING ARTISTS:27 Additional Artists and Collectives Join BAB 2026 I Angels & Mara
Bangkok, 26 June 202
Bangkok Art Biennale 2026 is pleased to announce the second group of participating artists for its fifth edition, taking place from 29 October 2026 to 28 February 2027 under the theme ANGELS & MARA.
Expanding upon the first announcement, this new group brings together artists from Japan, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Myanmar, South Korea, Germany, France, Italy, Iran, Canada, Thailand and beyond. Their works explore the tensions between hope and despair, memory and forgetting, spirituality and materialism, individuality and collective experience, themes that resonate deeply with the dualities embodied by Angels & Mara.
Among the highlights is celebrated Japanese photographer Nobuyoshi Araki, whose provocative and deeply personal images have shaped contemporary photography for more than five decades. Araki’s work explores the fragile boundaries between desire, morality, intimacy, and loss, revealing the complex emotional terrain of human existence. Thai artist Tawan Wattuya presents expressive paintings that merge political commentary, social critique, and popular culture, reflecting on the complexities of contemporary society. Japanese-Swiss artist Leiko Ikemura, one of the most influential artists working between Asia and Europe today, brings her distinctive visual language of hybrid beings, landscapes, and dreamlike figures. French artist duo Pierre & Gilles continue their exploration of mythology, pop-culture, religion, and fantasy through their iconic hand-painted photographic tableaux. Thai artist Udom Taephanich presents a multidisciplinary practice spanning visual art, performance, and social engagement, encouraging audiences to reconsider everyday life through imagination, humour, and creativity. Indonesian artist Arahmaiani, a pioneering voice in Southeast Asian contemporary art, continues her longstanding engagement with social justice, spirituality, environmental concerns, and intercultural dialogue.
Chinese artist Liu Jianhua contributes works that transform everyday materials into explorations of fragility, absence, and perception. American artist Max Hooper Schneider presents speculative ecosystems that blur the boundaries between nature, technology, and civilization. Japanese-Korean artist Sumi Kanazawa creates large-scale installations from layered newspaper drawings that dissolve linear notions of time and reveal histories that continue to shape the present. Thai artist Channatip Chanvipava approaches painting as a process of self-discovery, using memory as both subject and method. Working intuitively without preparatory sketches, he transforms fragments of personal recollection into richly textured compositions and immersive painting installations. Chinese artist Yanran Chen constructs a distinctive visual language through a recurring “girl” figure that weaves together mechanical, organic, and cybernetic elements, exploring the tensions between alienation and resilience in the digital age while inviting direct dialogue with the viewer. Canadian-UK artist Sin Wai Kin creates alternate worlds that reflect on language, reality, time, identity, and duality. Through moving image, installation, performance, writing, and print, Sin employs speculative fiction to challenge accepted narratives, question idealised images, and reconsider the collective gaze.
The exhibition also brings together a diverse international group of established and emerging artists whose practices span painting, sculpture, photography, installation, performance, and multimedia. Participating artists also include Cedric Arnold, Beyond Pressure, Un Cheng, Yeoh Choo Kuan, Renato Leotta, Breda Lynch, Ong Kian Peng, Chetsada Phuwiang, Nazanin Pouyandeh, Naraphat Sakarthornsap, Sylvie Selig, Mika Tamori, Sudaporn Teja, Ralf Tooten, and Woo Hannah. Together, the participating artists offer a broad range of perspectives that reflect the Bangkok Art Biennale’s commitment to fostering dialogue across cultures, generations, and artistic practices.
