Bangkok’s New Contemporary Art Museum Is an Oasis for Connoisseurs and the Simply Curious

Come Dec. 21, Bangkok’s art scene will have a new crown jewel with the opening of Dib Bangkok, a new cultural hub billed as the Thai capital’s first major international contemporary art museum.

Housed in a former 1980s warehouse with a distinctive sawtooth silhouette, the institution is intended as “a bridge between Thailand, Southeast Asia and the global art scene” and an oasis where “deep art circles and the simply curious” can find equal enjoyment, for Purat “Chang” Osathanugrah, founder and chairman of the institution.

“At Dib Bangkok, we view art like the ocean. Those who are experienced dive deep but it can be quite a scary experience for others,” he continued. “What we want to do is waters where everyone can swim, enjoy, find something new, rediscover — and create new swimmers.”

Los Angeles-based Thai architect Kulapat Yantrasast and his WHY Architecture practice oversaw the expansive industrial estate turned into 11 gallery spaces totaling a sprawling 75,000 square feet. One standout among them is the cone-shaped “Chapel,” which sits on the edge of the museum’s water feature and boasts a vertiginous ceiling height finished with a skylight.

Meant as a place for reflection and refreshment in the often-sweltering Thai capital, the museum also offers a 15,000-square-foot central courtyard and a sculpture garden. There will also be a restaurant open beyond the museum’s opening hours.

For Dib Bangkok’s inaugural exhibition, director Miwako Tezuka and curator Ariana Chaivaranon have curated “(In)visible Presence,” an exploration of visibility, memory and the unseen drawn from the museum’s sprawling collection of over 1,000 works collected by Osathanugrah’s late father, businessman — and singer-songwriter — Petch Osathanugrah.

Expect over 80 works from drawn from 40 international artists including Anselm Kiefer, Rebecca Horn, Thai sculptor Montien Booman, South Korean multidisciplinary artist Lee Bul and Polish visual artist Alicja Kwade.