Art Galleries in the Silom Area – August 29, 2010

One of the things I’ve missed about not being on the Cape this summer is not getting to go to any of the art gallery shows in Provincetown. It’s a big part of what makes Provincetown Provincetown – especially in July and August. So, I downloaded a copy of BAM! – the monthly Bangkok Art Map – and decided to check out some of the local art galleries. A number of galleries were in the Silom area, and since I’ve never been to that part of town, that’s where I went.

In all honesty, the art was a bit of a letdown. For starters, not all of the galleries were open – a number of them were closed because they were exhibiting at an art exhibit in Taipei. (The BAM! neglected to mention that.) And those that were open were exhibiting some rather tormented art. So, I didn’t linger and decided to head down Silom Road to the nearby Skytrain stop.

Walking down Silom Road was interesting. It’s in the old part of town and there were a few buildings left over from the late 1800s with some interesting details.

Further down Silom Road was the Kathmandu Gallery, which had an exhibit of photographs of small shops in Bangkok – where the business and the living quarters were blended together. The photographs were interesting, but the Kathmandu Gallery itself was even more interesting because it was an example of that type of combined space too. The first floor had lots of photographs and books for sale. Then, you walked through the kitchen at the back of the shop and upstairs to the gallery.

From the gallery, another staircase led up to what I assumed were the owner’s living quarters. (It was roped off, so I couldn’t go up and take a look.)

And, out of dumb luck, the Sri Mariamman temple was right across the street. I had seen a picture of it when I was at the Bangkokian Museum a few weeks ago and had planned to make a visit at some point. It is a Hindu temple built in the 1860s by Tamil immigrants and is covered in wildly colored statues of deities and animals.

You aren’t allowed to take photographs inside the temple grounds so I snapped a few from the 7-11 on the corner. (That’s one thing about Bangkok – there is ALWAYS a 7-11 on the corner.) And outside the 7-11, vendors were selling garlands for worshippers to leave on the altars of the temple. Lots of color everywhere!

And here is one of my favorite pictures from this part of town ---

This is one of the few remaining canals in Bangkok, but above it is the Skytrain and behind that are some of the modern high-rises from present-day Bangkok.