Self-Taught Artist Who Won The “Most Prestigious Portrait Competition In The World” To Launch First Solo Museum Exhibit At The Contemporary Austin

The Details:

What: A Public Opening Reception for the launch of The Contemporary Austin’s Spring Exhibitions. The vibe: “Mingle with friends and artists on the rooftop for live music, enjoy complimentary cocktails, [and be] among the first to see The Contemporary Austin's spring 2025 exhibitions.”

When: Friday, January 31st, 8pm-930pm (Tickets).

Where: The Contemporary Austin’s Jones Center.

Or, Live It Up A Little—The Member Reception. Arrive early—6:30 pm to 8pm—to get started on the complimentary cocktails, connect with the museum’s fellow patrons, and hear a live performance from Terra Cognita, Austin’s own “Dark Electronic Indie Dream-Pop” band. Get on the guest list by paying $50 for an annual membership.

Meet Jiab Prachakul.

• Winner of the “most prestigious portrait competition in the world,” the National Portrait Gallery in London’s Herbert Smith Freehills Portrait Award, Jiab is a self-taught painter whose work has been on display at the internationally renowned Timothy Taylor gallery in New York City and San Francisco’s Four One Nine. But, when Sweet Solitude launches at the Contemporary Austin, it will mark her “first solo museum exhibition.”
• Sweet Solitude, in Jiab’s words, “embodies a selection of paintings from the past five years, as well as six new paintings which I've prepared for this exhibition.” These paintings cohere with her broad theme of Jian’s work, which “focuses on representations of the Asian diaspora, filling in an absence in the Western canon of visual depictions of Asian peoples.”
• Finding Inspiration from Austin’s landscape. The Sweet Solitude exhibition will feature “a new painting that finds inspiration in the waterways in Austin as they resonate with her home in Vannes, France and connect to the memories of her childhood growing up along the Mekong River in Thailand.”

Watch The Movie: In conjunction with the Sweet Solitude exhibition, the Contemporary Austin will partner with Austin Film Society to screen Floating Weeds, “a film series  programmed by Jiab Prachakul,” at the cinema on Sunday, February 2nd at 4pm (Tickets) and Wednesday, February 5th at 6pm (Tickets). Here’s the trailer.

Don’t Skip The Popcorn: This is a PSA—Austin Film Society Cinema serves “heirloom popcorn with clarified butter,” and it is delicious!

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