DIB BANGKOK CELEBRATES THE CENTENARY OF ALEXANDER CALDER’S CIRCUS WITH GIVING LIFE EXHIBITION
ON VIEW FROM SEPTEMBER 26, 2026
Following the museum’s December 2025 debut, Giving Life extends the inaugural energy through a transgenerational group exhibition, placing Alexander Calder in dialogue with Izumi Kato, Caitlin Keogh, Sutee Kunavichayanont, Surasi Kusolwong, Tuan Andrew Nguyen, Tobias Rehberger, Vasan Sitthiket, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Yukinori Yanagi, and Rachel Youn, among others.
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 | Alexander Calder, Untitled, 1963. One of two works on view at Dib Bangkok. © 2026 Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York |
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(August 19, 2026, Bangkok, Thailand) | Dib Bangkok announces Giving Life ชีวิต ชีวา(pronounced chiwit chiwa), a transgenerational group exhibition of 160 works by 33 international and Thai artists curated by Ariana Chaivaranon. On view from September 26, 2026 to May 3, 2027, this exhibition explores how art is animated across time, bringing together artists who imbue inanimate materials with life and create works that move, respond, and transform in relation to our physical environments and historical contexts. Anchored by Alexander Calder’s landmark works, Giving Life brings Calder’s pioneering explorations of movement and transformation into dialogue with international contemporary artists including Izumi Kato, Caitlin Keogh, Tuan Andrew Nguyen, Tobias Rehberger, Yukinori Yanagi, and Rachel Youn, alongside Thai artists Sutee Kunavichayanont, Surasi Kusolwong, Vasan Sitthiket, and Rirkrit Tiravanija, among others.
Suggesting movement and new beginnings, the title reflects Dib Bangkok’s vision of the museum as a living organism, shaped through collective care as it grows. Giving Life ชีวิต ชีวา also marks fifty years since the passing of Alexander Calder and channels the joy, hope, and dynamic life force that his pioneering experiments brought to the forefront of modern art. Positioning this highly influential artist as an anchoring point, the exhibition’s curatorial narrative invites audiences to encounter uniquely animated works that appear to breathe, move, react, and transform, unpacking new ways of seeing the world.
Giving Life also highlights a pivotal moment in Thailand’s contemporary art history during the final months of the Vietnam War, when Alexander Calder’s 1975 exhibition Calder’s Circus at the Bhirasri Institute of Modern Art marked the first presentation of his work in Thailand. This moment coincided with the return of a generation of Thai artists from abroad, who introduced new approaches to abstraction, installation, and performance, reshaping the country’s artistic landscape. An archive of more than 60 historical materials traces these artistic exchanges and Calder’s influence on the development of experimental practices in Thailand. Featuring artists including Vasan Sitthiket, Surasi Kusolwong, Sutee Kunavichayanont, Somboon Hormtientong, and others, this section reflects on how Thai artists expanded the possibilities of sculpture, installation, performance, and socially engaged practice. Emerging amid broader social and political change, these practices advanced a vision of “art for life,” expanding the role of art beyond traditional forms and into wider society. |
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 | (Left) Rirkrit Tiravanija, untitled 2007 (mussels corner 1), 2007. Photo credit: Sebastiano Pellion.
(Right) Yukinori Yanagi, Cubism and Abstract Art, 2012. Courtesy of Dib Bangkok.
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Across the exhibition, international and Thai artistic practices enter into dialogue through shared explorations of movement, animation, and transformation. The galleries bring together works by artists who activate materials in unexpected ways, from Paul Chan’s inflatable and animated Breather series and Izumi Kato’s freestanding paintings, to Rachel Youn’s sculptures constructed from recycled machines and Caitlin Keogh’s monumental Procession series. Tuan Andrew Nguyen’s works made from unexploded ordnance explore histories of conflict and regeneration, while works by Rirkrit Tiravanija, Ryan Gander, Cecilia Vicuña, and Kei Imazu further expand ideas of interaction, participation, and material life. Additional highlights include interactive elements throughout the exhibition, including a breathing white elephant sculpture based on Sutee Kunavichayanont’s Elephant (Breath Donation) (1998–2001), inviting audiences to actively participate in the process of giving life to artworks. A dedicated screening room and the archival presentation further extend the exhibition’s exploration of moving image, historical documents, and primary sources.
The exhibition’s public programs will extend these ideas into live encounters, including recurring movement performances engaging with works by Paul Chan, Cecilia Vicuña, and Rachel Youn. Through sculpture, installation, performance, moving image, and archival material, Giving Life explores how artists continue to animate matter, engage audiences, and reveal the unseen forces connecting objects, bodies, and histories across time.
Ariana Chaivaranon, Curator, states: “Artists are people who bring matter to life. They take the stuff of the world and infuse it with ideas that can live beyond us, impacting people across time and space. Today, we are having urgent conversations about creativity, consciousness, and agency. The artworks in this exhibition take on lives of their own—they move, react, and transform in relation to our physical and historical contexts. They mirror the textured and variegated experiences of our own lives—how we perform, labor, play, and express ourselves. Refusing to stay still, they remind us of the most constant state of life: change.” |
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 | Tuan Andrew Nguyen, Tremor, 2025. Courtesy the artist, James Cohan, New York. Photo by Dan Bradica.
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 | (Left) Caitlin Keogh, Procession, 2024. (Right) Izumi Kato, Untitled, 2018. Photo by Yusuke Sato [Text Wrapping Break]©2018 Izumi Kato, courtesy of the artist and Perrotin |
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 | Vasan Sitthiket, Inferno (นิรยกถา (บาปตัดไม้ทำลายป่า)), 1991. Courtesy by Dib Bangkok. |
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The inaugural exhibition (In)visible Presence, on view from December 2025 to August 2026, reflected Dib Bangkok’s roots, honoring the long-held vision of its founding collector and the earlier artistic communities who contributed to establishing the museum. Giving Life embodies the vitality of the present moment, resonating with Bangkok’s rapidly expanding cultural landscape. It continues Dib Bangkok’s exploration of the intersection between local histories and global perspectives.
Dr. Miwako Tezuka, Director, describes her artistic direction behind Giving Life: “At Dib Bangkok, each exhibition is conceived as part of an unfolding narrative, where one chapter leads to the next. Giving Life continues this trajectory by exploring movement, transformation, and the conditions that animate art in the present. Within the context of the development of Thai contemporary art, it also reflects on a pivotal historical shift in the 1970s that coincided with the introduction of works by Alexander Calder and expanded the possibilities of art towards performance, installation, and interaction. Rather than presenting a fixed interpretation, we approach each exhibition as a proposition—one thread within a larger, continuous narrative. From a Thai perspective, this allows us to situate local histories within broader global conversations, contributing to a more layered and diverse understanding of contemporary art.”
Purat “Chang” Osathanugrah, Founding Chairman, concludes: “Dib is a living institution—evolving with its collection, its audiences, and the cultural moment it inhabits. With Giving Life, we bring that evolution into focus, reflecting the museum’s growing depth and direction. We continue this mission by building Dib as a platform to cultivate patrons, empower creatives, and strengthen the artistic ecosystem—part of a broader responsibility to serve as a civic institution for Bangkok while connecting local perspectives to a global dialogue. This next chapter brings even more vibrancy into Dib—inviting curiosity, creativity, and a sense of unexpected joy.”
Giving Life will be on view at Dib Bangkok from September 26, 2026 to May 3, 2027. |
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 | Dib Bangkok. Photo by Tanatip Chawang #didbangkokexhibition#fineartmagazineblog.blogspot.com #sunstormfineartmagazine.com#artfunbangkok#artfuncalder#artfunnow#artfunnew |
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