Dib Bangkok Brings Art to Life With Alexander Calder and 32 Other Artists

Manta

Sep 24

3 min read

“Giving Life” brings together more than 160 works at Dib Bangkok, tracing movement, transformation and a little-known connection between Alexander Calder and Thai art history

Abstract hanging mobile with red, yellow, blue, and black shapes in a white atrium; a woman peeks from a balcony. — *Alexander Calder, Les Trois Barres, 1970, at Dib Bangkok.* *© 2026 Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York*

What makes an artwork feel alive? At Dib Bangkok, the contemporary art museum’s second major exhibition approaches that question quite literally.

Opening on Saturday 26 September 2026, Giving Life ชีวิต ชีวา brings together more than 160 works by 33 Thai and international artists. Sculpture, painting, installation, performance, moving image and interactive media explore how artists give materials, ideas and histories a sense of movement, agency and life. The exhibition runs through Monday 3 May 2027.

Curated by Dib Bangkok Curator Ariana Chaivaranon, the exhibition is anchored by Alexander Calder, whose kinetic experiments provide a starting point for conversations between generations of artists including Paul Chan, Izumi Kato, Caitlin Keogh, Tuan Andrew Nguyen, Tobias Rehberger, Yukinori Yanagi, Rachel Youn, Rirkrit Tiravanija, Sutee Kunavichayanont, Surasi Kusolwong and Vasan Sitthiket.

Alexander Calder’s Little-Known Connection to Thailand

At the historical center of Giving Life is a chapter of Thai art history that may be unfamiliar even to regular museumgoers.

In 1975, during the final months of the Vietnam War, Calder’s Circus was presented at Bangkok’s Bhirasri Institute of Modern Art, marking the first presentation of his work in Thailand.

The timing was significant. Thai art was undergoing considerable change as artists returning from overseas began expanding into abstraction, installation, performance and socially engaged practices. Giving Life revisits that period through more than 60 archival materials, using Calder’s presence in Thailand as a point of departure for examining the development of experimental art across generations.

The exhibition also opens in the year marking the 50th anniversary of Calder’s death, placing his influence alongside Thai art history rather than treating the American artist as a standalone international headline.

Abstract wire figures on a pink floor face a sushi piece on a white plate with green garnish in a minimalist gallery-like scene — *Kei Imazu, Satene's Gate, 2023. Courtesy of Dib Bangkok. Photo: Auntika Ounjittichai.*

Art That Moves, Breathes and Responds

Giving Life is designed to be experienced as much as observed.

Paul Chan’s animated “Breather” works appear to take on lives of their own, while Rachel Youn creates sculptures using repurposed machines. Izumi Kato’s hanging painting takes on a bodily presence, and Caitlin Keogh explores repetition and movement through the monumental multi-panel Procession.

Tuan Andrew Nguyen’s Tremor transforms materials associated with unexploded ordnance into a kinetic sculpture addressing conflict, memory and regeneration. Works by Rirkrit Tiravanija, Ryan Gander, Cecilia Vicuña and Kei Imazu further explore participation, interaction and the changing life of materials.

Modern art gallery with a white animal sculpture on a black oval platform, red cables, and colorful abstract paintings on the walls — *Sutee Kunavichayanont, Elephant (Breath Donation), 1998-2001. Courtesy of Dib Bangkok. Photo: Auntika Ounjittichai.*

Visitors themselves become part of some works. Sutee Kunavichayanont’s Elephant (Breath Donation) (1998–2001), a breathing white elephant sculpture, requires audiences to use their own breath to give the work life.

“Artists are people who bring matter to life,” Chaivaranon says. “The works in Giving Life move, react and transform in relation to our physical and historical contexts.”

Gaming Meets Thai Folklore

Giving Life also launches the inaugural CHANEL Gateway Commission at Dib Bangkok, supported by the CHANEL Culture Fund. The annual commission will invite Thai artists to develop ambitious new works at scale.

Bangkok artist Nawin Nuthong inaugurates the program with Project 147 (๑๔๗), an expansive multimedia installation that combines sculpture, screen-based imagery and an interactive video game environment across six player consoles.

Taking its title from the Thai folk story Khun Chang Khun Phaen, the work explores mythology, cosmology and systems of knowledge that have shaped historical consciousness across the region.

Abstract sculptures and wire installations in a spacious modern gallery with polished concrete floors and industrial ceiling beams. — *Tawatchai Puntusawasdi, Dim Painful, 650th Hour รู้อีกทีก็เลือนลาง, 2022. Courtesy of Dib Bangkok. Photo: Auntika Ounjittichai.*

Dib Bangkok’s Next Chapter

Giving Life follows Dib Bangkok’s inaugural exhibition, (In)visible Presence, and continues the museum’s focus on connecting Thai perspectives with international contemporary art.

Opened in December 2025, Dib grew from a private collection assembled over many years by the late Petch Osathanugrah. Founded by his son, Purat “Chang” Osathanugrah, the museum now holds more than 1,000 works by over 200 Thai and international artists. Under director Dr. Miwako Tezuka, Dib is developing its role as a public-facing contemporary art institution centered on exhibitions, research, learning and engagement.

With Giving Life, that mission takes a particularly physical form. Art does not simply hang on a wall. It moves, inflates, reacts, invites participation and, in some cases, needs the visitor to bring it to life.