Navin Rawanchaikul is a Thai

Thai people

The Thai people, or Siamese, are the main ethnic group of Thailand and are part of the larger Tai ethnolinguistic peoples found in Thailand and adjacent countries in Southeast Asia as well as southern China. Their language is the Thai language, which is classified as part of the Kradai family of...

 artist with Japanese permanent resident status whose ancestral roots are in Hindu

Hindu

Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

-Punjabi

Punjabi people

The Punjabi people , ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ), also Panjabi people, are an Indo-Aryan group from South Asia. They are the second largest of the many ethnic groups in South Asia. They originate in the Punjab region, which has been been the location of some of the oldest civilizations in the world including, the...

 communities of what is now Pakistan. He has developed a unique and vast body of works that rely heavily on team spirit and collaboration, and are most often produced under the auspices of Navin Production Co., Ltd. His artistic development began with works rooted in his local community of Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai

Chiang Mai sometimes written as "Chiengmai" or "Chiangmai", is the largest and most culturally significant city in northern Thailand. It is the capital of Chiang Mai Province , a former capital of the Kingdom of Lanna and was the tributary Kingdom of Chiang Mai from 1774 until 1939. It is...

. As he embarked on more and more international presentations of his work he started to engage in a process of exploring the negotiation between local circumstances and trends of globalisation.

Following this path Navin has become internationally renowned for a dynamic oeuvre of participatory, site-specific projects that include direct community interventions, social commentary

Social commentary

Social commentary is the act of rebelling against an individual, or a group of people by rhetorical means, or commentary on social issues or society...

 and an innovative style of integrating community or individual experiences into eccentric fictional tales. His works include is an array of installations, films, performances, comic books, games, cocktails, mobile galleries and painted cars. Navin has participated in numerous biennales and triennales and held solo exhibitions at prestigious institutions including Palais de Tokyo in Paris, and PS1 Contemporary Art Center in New York City.

Projects

Having begun his career in 1992 Rawanchaikul and his company Navin Production Co., Ltd. have produced a number of ambitious projects both independently and in collaboration with others. Some of the better known projects include:

Navin Gallery Bangkok

Open from 1995 to 1998, Navin Gallery Bangkok was a project whereby collaborating with a local taxi driver the artist converted a taxi into an art gallery and invited artists from Thailand and around the world to exhibit. Participating artists included: Masato Nakamura (the artist not the bassist), Rirkrit Tiravanija, Kosit Juntaratip & Lilly Ovary, Khrua In Khong in collaboration with Suttisak Phutararak and Yutaka Sone.

Taximan

A series of taxi projects featuring a one meter tall superhero from Taxi planet who came to the earth in 1999 and finds himself in a transnational quest to save the world from the absurd villain: Millennium Man. In the summer of 2001, on the invitation of the Public Art Fund and the PS1 Contemporary Art Center Taximan came to New York City with the project I Love Taxi. Taxi Cafes were set up in Madison Square Park and PS1 and rather than saving the world from impending doom, this time Taximan came New York on a soul searching trip where he learns about life and himself in his happenstance encounters with New York taxi drivers.

Recent Exhibitions

Solo Exhibitions

• 2007
• Navins of Bollywood, Tang Contemporary Art, Bangkok, Thailand
• 2006
• Lost in the City - Jim Thompson Art Center, Bangkok
• 2002
• Description and image Navin Rawanchaikul, "SUPER(M)ART" - Palais de Tokyo, Paris
• 2001
• Description Navin Rawanchaikul. I Love Taxi Cafe - P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, Long Island
• 1997
• Navin and His Gang - CAG - Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver, BC

Group Exhibitions

• 2009
• Altermodern at Tate Britain (Tate Triennial), London
• 2008
• Font lines-Visions from Southeast Asia - ZONE: Contemporary Art, New York City, NY
• Description and image Prospect.1 New Orleans - Prospect New Orleans, New Orleans, LA
• Die Tropen. Ansichten von der Mitte der Weltkugel - Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin
• This is not a fairytail - Soka Art Center (Seoul), Seoul, Korea
• Mondo e Terra, La collezione del FRAC Corsica - MAN - Museo d`Arte di Nuoro, Nuoro
• 2007
• Tomorrow, Kumho Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea
• Charm and Chasm, Tang Contemporary Art, Beijing, China
• 2006
• Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial
  Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial
  The Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial is an international modern art festival held once every three years in the Niigata prefecture, Japan. It was first held in 2000 for a "grand" two-month exhibition in "communities, rice fields, vacant houses, and closed schools across a 760 square kilometer region."...
  
  
• Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial, Niigata-ken
• 2005
• Yokohama 2005 - International Triennale of Contemporary Art - Yokohama 2005, Yokohama,Japan
• 2004
• Description and image 26° Bienal de São Paulo - Bienal de São Paulo, São Paulo
• Liverpool Biennial 2004 - Liverpool Biennial of Contemporary Art, Liverpool (England)
• Out Of Place - Galerie Nordenhake - Berlin, Germany
• 2003
• Change of Values. Works from the ARCO Foundation Collection - EACC - Espai d´Art Contemporani de Castelló, Castellon de la Plana
• THE GIFT: Generous Offerings, Threatening Hospitality - Art Gallery of Hamilton, Hamilton, ON
• The Gift - Generous Offerings, Threatening Hospitality - Mary & Leigh Block Museum of Art, Evanston, IL Gallery Opening Show - Shugoarts, Tokyo, Japan
• 2002
• THE GIFT - Generous Offerings, Threatening Hospitality - Bronx Museum of the Arts (BxMA), New York City, NY, USA
• Busan Biennale 2002 - The Busan Biennale, Busan
• THE GIFT: Generous Offerings, Threatening Hospitality - Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art - SMoCA, Scottsdale, AZ
• 2001
• printemps de septembre - Printemps de Septembre, Toulouse
• Yokohama 2001 - International Triennale of Contemporary Art - Yokohama Triennale, Tokyo, Japan
• il Dono - SMS Contemporanea, ex Palazzo Delle Papesse, Siena
• Description 2. Berlin Biennale für Zeitgenössische Kunst - berlin biennale für zeitgenössische kunst e. v., Berlin, Germany
• 2000
• Taipei Biennial 2000 - The sky is the limit - Taipei Biennial, Taipei, Taiwan
• Description as it is - Ikon Gallery, Birmingham (England)
• I Love Dijon - Le Consortium, Dijon
• Fuori uso 2000 The Bridges - Fuori uso, Pescara
• 5e Biennale de Lyon - Partage d'exotismes - La biennale d'art contemporain de Lyon, Lyon
• Description and image Continental Shift - Ludwig Forum für Internationale Kunst, Aachen,Germany
• Description and image Over The Edges - SMAK Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst, Gent,Germany
• =10 ANS DE FRI-ART - Etat des lieux # 1 - Fri-Art - Centre d'Art Contemporain, Fribourg,Switzerland
• 1999
• Game Over - Watari-Um - Watari Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo,Japan
• Description and image Guarene Arte 99 - Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin
• Passage - I Love Art 5 - Watari-Um - Watari Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan
• 1998
• Biennale of Sydney 1998 - Biennale of Sydney, Sydney, NSW
• 1997
• Cities on the move - Wiener Secession, Vienna
• Out of India - Queens Museum of Art, New York City, NY
• 2nd Gwangju Biennale - Unmapping The Earth - Gwangju Biennale, Gwangju
• 1996
• Contemporary Art in Asia: Traditions/Tensions - Queens Museum of Art, New York City, NY

External links

• Navin Production