About 3 — The Mistake Room

Korkrit Arunanondchai feat. boychild: Letters to Chantri #1—The lady at the door/The gift that keeps on giving

Solo Exhibition | July. 18 - Sept. 3, 2014

This is a past exhibition.

For his first major institutional commission, artist Korakrit Arunanondchai creates an immersive experiential installation that invites visitors to join a sect of contemporary spiritual consumerism.

About the Exhibition.

Letters to Chantri #1—The lady at the door/The gift that keeps on giving marks Thailand-born, New York-based artist Korakrit Arunanondchai’s first solo show in Los Angeles. This ambitious, newly-commissioned, large-scale work featuring performance artist boychild is the first part of a new long-term project by the artist envisioned as an ongoing series of shows—each conceived as a biographical vignette of a character that will form part of a broader cinematic narrative and ensemble in the artist’s future feature film. The exhibition at TMR, which merges the artist’s performance practice with his studio investigations, is structured as a performative experience guided by two alternating actresses that the artist has collaborated with specifically for this presentation. Consolidating new paintings, sculptures, and videos into an immersive experiential installation, Arunanondchai blurs the boundary between ritual and guided exhibition tour—marking a drastic new approach to the presentation of his work. In this first vignette, Arunanondchai introduces the archetype of the young artist through the strategies mobilized in recent years by Eastern religions in their effort to deepen their relationship with a growing demographic of Thai youth. Heritage and tradition collapse into a world of anxiety, immediacy, deregulation, and detachment—a world where myths of innovation and notions of “the new” have become ideals of progress, and history often functions as a side note. A video that mimics a late-night personal endorsement ad for an undefined product introduces the experience that is then followed by a timed group visit to an adjacent large-scale gathering site reminiscent of both a Buddhist temple and a futuristic luxury retail store where belonging is priced via a line of body cleansing products. As religion and consumption intertwine, historical processes are unpacked and exposed—rendering visible the transformation of spiritual faith into lifestyle brand that is occurring today in Thailand and beyond.

About the Artist.

Korakrit Arunanondchai (b. 1986, Thailand) earned his BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2009 and his MFA from Columbia University in 2012. Recent solo exhibitions and projects include Korakrit Arunanondchai, MoMA PS1, Long Island City, NY (2014); Painting with history in a room filled with men with funny names 2 (Phase I) (with Korapat Arunanondchai), Bill Brady KC Gallery, Kansas City (2013); Muen Kuey (It’s always the same), C L E A R I N G, Brussels (2013); and Painting with history in a room filled with men with funny names, C L E A R I N G, New York, NY (2013) amongst others. Arunanondchai has participated in major group exhibitions at the Sculpture Center and the Fisher Landau Center amongst others. He lives and works in New York, NY and Bangkok, Thailand.

Press

July 10, 2014 | Direct Your Attention to a Wonderfully Loopy Exhibition Trailer From Korakrit Arunanondchai | Observer

July 16, 2014 | Korakrit Arunanondchai’s Body Work | Interview Magazine

July 18, 2014 | Krit, boychild and The Mistak Room | Milk

July 30, 2014 | Korakrit Arunanondchai | LA Weekly

Aug. 12, 2014 | Taking a Trip Into Korakrit Arunanondchai’s World | Huffington Post

Aug. 16, 2014 | Driving the Los Angeles Gallery Scene | Artnet

Aug. 21, 2014 | Korakrit Arunanondchai and the Cult of Bar Soap at The Mistake Room | Glasstire

Sept. 2014 | Forms of Exchange (Korakrit Arunanondchai Review) | Spike Magazine

Sept. 13, 2014 | Event: Korakrit Arunanondchai | LA Weekly

Sept. 19, 2014 | Korakrit Arunanondchai with Courney Malick | SFAQ

Oct. 2014 | Review: Korakrit Arunanondchai | Frieze

Nov. 2014 | Review: Korakrit Arunanondchai | Art in America

Dec. 17, 2014 | 10 Best L.A. Art Experiences of 2014 | LA Weekly

Credits

Korakrit Arunanondchai (feat. boychild): Letters to Chantri #1—The lady at the door/The gift that keeps on giving is organized by TMR and curated by Cesar Garcia, TMR Director and Chief Curator.

This is another collaboration between Korakrit Arunanondchai and performance artist boychild; his brother Korapat Arunanondchai; producer Rory Mulhere; director of photography AJGvojic; composer Harry Bornstein; and Zanzie.

Crew & Post Production Team: Christian Amada, Taran Allen, Jared Conde, and Jeff Tomcho.

Cast: boychild, Cherisse Gray, Grecia Santiesteban, Jamie Y. Shi, Liz Medina, Alexander Addington-White, Daniela Anastassiou, Meredith Argenzio, Korapat Arunanondchai, Genevieve Belleveau, David Bluer, Wilson Chang, Yue Du, Dana Eitches, Lauren Elder, Kelly Gazlay, Tara Grayson, Jesse Hoffman, Brian Khek, Katrina Lencek-Inagaki, Rachel Lord, Justin McCoy, Alli Miller, Alexandra Nazari, Diana Nguyen, Khoi Nguyen, Quam Odunsi, Natasha Roozrokh, Mark Ruksook, Michelle Schultz, Eden Solas, Aurora Tang, Sarah Velasco, Elaine Wang, Jee-Shaun Wang, Mansa S. Williamson, Ching Wong, Vanessa Zendejas, and Jessica Ziskind.

TMR's program is made possible with the support of its Board of Directors and Big Mistake Patron Group.

Support for this exhibition is provided by T38 Studio, New York/Tijuana; C L E A R I N G, New York/Brussels; and Carlos/Ishikawa, London.

Additional support is provided by Jennifer Gross and David Koenig, Glenn Kaino, Jeff Ellermeyer, Mas Malo Restaurant, Andrew Zittel and High Desert Test Sites (HDTS), Mieke Marple, and Davida Nemeroff.

In-kind support is provided by Capture This NYC, Milk Studios, Jose Cuervo, and Tecate.