Presented during Songkran, the Thai New Year, the exhibition reflects on the idea of renewal as a subtle shift in awareness. Through painting and contemporary visual practices, the artists explore memory, perception, and the quiet transformations that emerge in everyday life.

Widely recognized  as a festive celebration, Songkran also marks a symbolic beginning of a new cycle through the element of water, offering a moment for pause and reflection before moving forward. Taking this seasonal transition as its starting point, New Beginning explores how a sense of beginning may arise not from dramatic change, but through subtle shifts in awareness shaped by lived experience in the post-pandemic era.

At the center of the exhibition is Yuta Okuda’s With Gratitude series, created during the COVID-19 pandemic. As everyday assumptions and relationships were disrupted, Okuda turned inward, discovering that consciously directing gratitude toward what already exists could gently alter one’s inner posture.

Resonating with this perspective, the exhibition also includes works by three additional artists. Maho Takahashi explores childhood memory and the formation of identity through the character-like figure ANOKO, visualizing fragile inner states prior to transformation. Jidapa Chansirisarthaporn draws from personal memory, bodily sensation, and lived experience to trace emotional contours and evoke introspection. Ratchawoot Kuruwongwattana focuses on everyday perception and the flow of time, capturing subtle atmospheres that precede change.

Rather than urging transformation directly, New Beginning offers a quiet space for reflection—,inviting viewers to encounter the present with renewed awareness at the threshold of a new cycle.

The central iconostasis wall embodies this philosophy. Visitors will pass through this monumental gateway to encounter the exhibition beyond, a journey that mirrors the artist’s own path from imitation to innovation. The 56 student works displayed above symbolize both aspiration and continuity: young talents following in the footsteps of sacred tradition. 

The Artists
International Masters:
• Mu Pan (USA/China)
• Alessandro Sicioldr (Italy)
• Stéphane Blanquet (France)
• Guy Slabbinck (Belgium)
Thai Masters:
• Kittisak Thapkoa 
• Phadungsak Kheawpong 
• Arnont Lertpullpol 
• Suwat Boontam 
Plus 56 emerging artists selected through national competition. 

Exhibition Details
Title: ICONOSTASIS: No Masters, No Icons

Venue: Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA BANGKOK)

Address: 499 Kamphaeng Phet 6, Ladyao, Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900
Exhibition Period: 8 March – 26 April 2026
Opening Reception: 7 March 2026 at 02:30 pm
Public Hours: 10.00 am – 06.00 pm
(Closed on Mondays)
Admission: Free