Jiab Prachakul
Self-taught Thai artist Jiab Prachakul reflects on her life, friendships, and more in a series of large, colorful figure paintings. The exhibition, Sweet Solitude, now on view at The Contemporary Austin through Aug. 3, is enchanting with its multitude of works, an homage to sadness, joy, reflection, and everything in between. The artist, who now resides in Vannes, France, “conceives her paintings as layers of time that enfold memories, dreams, photographs, and references to cinema,” says Alex Klein, head curator and director of curatorial affairs. “She is recognized for her lushly detailed landscapes and sensitive portraits…which offer an intimate window into the artist’s inner circle and psyche,” Klein adds.
Jiab Prachakul, “Night Talk”
Her paintings capture seemingly unguarded moments, but are, in fact, meticulously staged and deliberate in their lighting, composition, and color, offering a meditative moment for both viewer and subject. Over the last twenty years, she has honed her craft, first studying film in Bangkok before living in London and Berlin, where she began learning how to paint the human form.
Jiab Prachakul, “Girlfriends”
Jiab Prachakul, “Jeonga (In Nia’s Eyes)”
Certain figures appear in multiple paintings, including her closest friends from Berlin, Jeonga, and Makoto. In Night Talk, a painting about identity and friendship, she captures a candid moment of conversation, which has been forever preserved on canvas. “Observing the identities of my friends…has offered me a ground on which I can stand and embrace my own identity as an Asian artist who lives and works abroad,” she says. Another piece, Girlfriends, depicts a moment the trio spent together in Sauzon, Belle-Île-en-Mer, in 2021. Jeonga (In Nia’s Eyes) speaks to motherhood — the most challenging yet rewarding role Prachakul has observed. The painting, based on a photograph taken by Jeonga’s daughter, Nia, is a modern reimagination of Whistler’s Mother by James Abbott McNeill Whistler, resonating with this sense of perfectionism Prachakul sees in her friend and reverence she feels toward her.
Jiab Prachakul, “Berliners”
Other works, such as Berliners, highlight connections formed during her years in Berlin. The painting features twin sisters she met while they were waitressing at a ramen restaurant. “When I moved, I found it quite difficult to make deep connections,” she says. “In your thirties, you become more selective, and it takes time to build relationships,” says the artist. She was struck by their confidence, fluency in German, and embodiment of a modern, multicultural Berliner.
Jiab Prachakul, “Love From Three Continents (NKP)”
One of the artist’s most personal works, Love From Three Continents (NKP), is based on a childhood photograph of her parents taken in the early 1980s when Prachakul was six years old. The painting holds particular emotional weight as her mother passed away a few years after this image was taken. However, the artist associates only good memories with this painting. “My years from one to six were a carefree joy,” she recalls. “The parents I had in this picture are no longer there for me to return to, but this is how I’d like to remember them and how they’ll always be.”
Jiab Prachakul, “Instilled”
Another deeply personal work, Instilled, is a diptych contrasting two views from her past homes — one in Lyon and one in Brittany. “At first glance, it looks like the same place, but it’s actually not,” she explains. “When you live in different places, you accumulate memories, but those places don’t necessarily belong to you.” This theme of displacement and adaptation resonates throughout her work as she explores how environments shape identity. The painting also brings her back to the view of the blue sky in her childhood bedroom in Thailand.
Jiab Prachakul, “Music of Silence (Diptych)”
Prachakul’s paintings also serve as reflections on solitude and the meaning of home. Music of Silence (Diptych) and Barton Creek, a piece commissioned by The Contemporary, demonstrate her evolving relationship with landscape. Since moving to Brittany in 2021, she has become immersed in the distinct waterways of the region, which remind her of growing up along the Mekong River. “There is a link between Austin and Brittany through the water surrounding these places,” she says. “The waterways are part of the story and flow of my practice.”
Her connection to The Contemporary Austin came after her first solo show at Timothy Taylor Gallery in New York. Klein, who had followed Prachakul’s career since reading about her in The New York Times, saw this exhibition as an opportunity to introduce her work to a broader audience. “One of the things that I love about The Contemporary Austin is that we also have an art school at Laguna Gloria,” Klein says. “I hope this exhibition invites viewers to spend time with the many layers in Jiab’s work and to find their own creative pathways to self-expression.”
Jiab Prachakul: Sweet Solitude will be on view at the Contemporary Austin through August 3.
