Vasan Sitthiket born on October 7, 1957 in Nakhon Sawan Province

Nakhon Sawan Province

Nakhon Sawan is one of the provinces of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are Kamphaeng Phet, Phichit, Phetchabun, Lop Buri, Sing Buri, Chai Nat, Uthai Thani and Tak.- Etymology :...

, Thailand

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

 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...

 contemporary

Contemporary art

Contemporary art can be defined variously as art produced at this present point in time or art produced since World War II. The definition of the word contemporary would support the first view, but museums of contemporary art commonly define their collections as consisting of art produced...

 visual artist

Visual arts

The visual arts are art forms that create works which are primarily visual in nature, such as ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, design, crafts, and often modern visual arts and architecture...

. A graduate of the College of Fine Art in Bangkok, he has works in many fields, including painting

Painting

Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...

 and poetry

Poetry

Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...

. He has staged three plays, written more than 10 books of poetry, children’s books and political writings.

Works

Active since the 1970s, Vasan's works are often provocative and political in nature. One of his works was a performance art

Performance art

In art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...

 piece, involving fake rubber breast

Breast

The breast is the upper ventral region of the torso of a primate, in left and right sides, which in a female contains the mammary gland that secretes milk used to feed infants.Both men and women develop breasts from the same embryological tissues...

s and buttocks and a simulated rape

Rape

Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...

 of the entire nation of Thailand.

In 2000, an exhibition of a new collection that included 50 paintings featuring Thai politicians and military officers in sexually compromising poses was cancelled by Chulalongkorn University

Chulalongkorn University

Chulalongkorn University is the oldest university in Thailand and is the country's highest ranked university. It now has nineteen faculties and institutes. Regarded as the best and most selective university in Thailand, it consistently attracts top students from around the country...

, five days before it was to open.

In 2005, he set up the Artist Party, a political art project that mocked the then-ruling Thai Rak Thai

Thai Rak Thai

The Thai Rak Thai Party was a Thai political party that was officially banned on May 30, 2007, by the Constitutional Court of Thailand due to violations of electoral laws during the 2006 legislative elections. From 2001 to 2006, it was the ruling party under Prime Minister and its founder Thaksin...

 party and prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra

Thaksin Shinawatra

Thaksin Shinawatra is a Thai businessman and politician, who was Prime Minister of Thailand from 2001 to 2006, when he was overthrown in a military coup....

.

At the 50th Venice Biennale

Venice Biennale

The Venice Biennale is a major contemporary art exhibition that takes place once every two years in Venice, Italy. The Venice Film Festival is part of it. So too is the Venice Biennale of Architecture, which is held in even years...

 in 2003, he displayed some large-scale portraits of George W. Bush

George W. Bush

George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

 and other world leaders, created on canvas by using custom-made rubber stamps.

Vasan's media has also included drawings, woodcut prints, ceramic sculpture, installations and performances.

Vasan exhibited at Thavibu Gallery

Thavibu Gallery

Since its establishment in 1998, Thavibu Gallery in Bangkok, Thailand has been keeping abreast with the growth of contemporary art practices of Thailand, Vietnam and Burma and has since been showcasing the art that best reflects the cultural identity of these countries...

 in 2009 - Capitalism is Dying!

External links

• Vasan Sitthiket gallery at aRTgazinE
• Vasan Sitthiket gallery at Ethan Cohen Fine Arts
• Vasan Sitthiket at Queensland Art Gallery
  Queensland Art Gallery
  The Queensland Art Gallery is part of the Queensland Cultural Centre, and is located nearest to Brisbane River at South Bank...
  
  
• Performance Site: Myanmar 2005