Whispering Horizons at Tang Contemporary

An exploration of boundaries in the paintings of Rizal Hasan and Wannita Tankeng at Tang Contemporary gallery in Bangkok.

Rizal Hasan and Wannita Tankeng, Whispering Horizons. Credits: Tang Contemporary

The concept of the horizon is often expressed in spatial and geographical terms: the apparent line where the sky meets the earth. However, this definition overlooks the Berkeleyan premise that to be is to be perceived, which applies particularly well to the horizon, as it is created by the very gaze of the viewer observing it. The horizon, in concrete terms, does not exist; it is not something tangible—it is the formalization of an individual perceptual state. If you will, it is the very boundary of our perception.

This is the subtle trait d’union between the works of Rizal Hasan and Wannita Tankeng, the two artists featured in the exhibition Whispering Horizons at Tang Contemporary’s Bangkok space. At first glance, they might seem to share only their chosen medium—painting—but their work reflects the deeply intimate nature of the horizon concept. Or, as Sherry Wang, the exhibition’s curator, aptly puts it, the horizon as boundaries—whether emotional or perceptual.

Rizal Hasan and Wannita Tankeng, Whispering Horizons. Credits: Tang Contemporary

Rizal Hasan’s work traces his horizon within an inner, introspective sphere. The boundary he investigates is the one between an individual’s inner peace and the outside world, which threatens it with an excess of anxieties and information. This dichotomy is evident on his canvases, where pop culture references merge with elements of Indonesian mythology. What could be considered the artist’s avatar—or that of the viewer—somewhere between a KAWS character and a Murakami Flower NFT, is surrounded by koi fish and lotus flowers, but also by a swarm of geometric figures reminiscent of the marks populating Keith Haring’s paintings. However, in this case, they stand in contrast to the character’s state of serene meditation.

Rizal Hasan, Be Grateful and Just Relax. Credits: Tang Contemporary

Wannita Tankeng’s works, on the other hand, push their exploration into a less allegorical and more sensorial realm, where the horizon lies between light, the objects it interacts with, and our perception of them. Here, boundaries are explored in a more fluid form, where light—an essential element in the visual creation of a horizon—transforms everyday objects, urging us to reimagine our relationship with the surrounding world. But light’s role extends beyond the optical sphere; it also carries an emotional dimension, adding a poetic quality to the representation. In doing so, it plays with the relationship between our visual and emotional perception of reality.

Wannita Tankeng, Eclipsed Rose. Credits: Tang Contemporary

The juxtaposition of the two artists’ works at Tang Contemporary, to quote the curator once again, creates “an aesthetic space centered on the concept of boundaries.” And just as the horizon is the imaginary line between two different spaces, so too do the works of these artists—formally distinct yet conceptually aligned—create a horizon between two different approaches to painting and allow the viewer to navigate along that invisible yet present line.

Whispering Horizons is on view at Tang Contemporary in Bangkok until March 9.

For more info about Tang Contemporary and other Bangkok galleries and art institutions, check our Exhibitions section.