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 Thailand, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Myanmar, South Korea, Germany, France, Italy, Iran, Canada, 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.
Arahmaiani (Indonesia), Nobuyoshi Araki (Japan), Cedric Arnold (France/Thailand), Beyond Pressure (Myanmar), Channatip Chanvipava (Thailand/UK), Yanran Chen (China), Un Cheng (Hong Kong), Max Hooper Schneider (United States), Leiko Ikemura (Japan/Germany), Sumi Kanazawa (Japan), Renato Leotta (Italy), Liu Jianhua (China), Breda Lynch (Ireland), Ong Kian Peng (Singapore), Chetsada Phuwiang (Thailand), Pierre et Gilles (France), Nazanin Pouyandeh (Iran/France), Naraphat Sakarthornsap (Thailand), Sylvie Selig (France), Sin Wai Kin (Canada/United Kingdom), Udom Taephanich (Thailand), Mika Tamori (Japan), Sudaporn Teja (Thailand), Ralf Tooten (Germany), Tawan Wattuya (Thailand), Woo Hannah (South Korea), and Yeoh Choo Kuan (Malaysia). *Please see Appendix A for artist list
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, renowned for his expressive paintings that merge political commentary, social critique, and popular culture, presents works that reflect on the complexities and contradictions of contemporary society. Through his distinctive visual language, Tawan explores themes of power, conflict, memory, and collective experience, offering incisive observations on both local and global realities. 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. Her sculptures inhabit a poetic realm between human and non-human worlds, reflecting on vulnerability, transformation, and coexistence. French artist duo Pierre et Gilles continue their exploration of mythology, pop-culture, religion, and fantasy through their iconic hand-painted photographic tableaux. Their theatrical portraits challenge conventional notions of identity while celebrating diversity, beauty, and self-invention. Thai artist Udom Taephanich, one of Thailand’s most influential cultural figures, brings a multidisciplinary practice that spans visual art, performance, and social engagement. Known for his imaginative and often humorous approach, Udom’s works encourage audiences to reconsider everyday experiences while reflecting on broader questions of community, creativity, and human connection.
Chinese artist Liu Jianhua, widely regarded as one of the leading figures in contemporary Chinese art, contributes works that transform everyday materials into explorations of fragility, absence, and perception. His experimental practice questions the relationship between object, meaning, and reality. American artist Max Hooper Schneider presents speculative ecosystems that blur the boundaries between nature, technology, and civilization. Through immersive installations, Schneider imagines post-human environments shaped by ecological transformation and environmental uncertainty. Indonesian artist Arahmaiani, a pioneering voice in Southeast Asian contemporary art, known for her longstanding engagement with social justice, spirituality, environmental concerns, and intercultural dialogue. Her work challenges political and religious norms while advocating for compassion, coexistence, and collective responsibility. 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. Hong Kong artist Un Cheng transforms everyday encounters into intimate psychological landscapes that examine isolation and connection within contemporary urban life.
