CHAROON BOONSUAN’S EVER-BLOOMING GARDEN UNFOLDS IN HIS NEW EXHIBITION, THE JOURNEY OF COLORS
TEXT & PHOTO: SARUNKORN ARTHAN EXCEPT AS NOTED
(For Thai, press here)
No matter their type, color, or form, whether tightly budded, softly unfurling, or in full bloom, flowers never fail to delight the eye of those who behold them. Scattered across gardens, cultivation fields, vases, or even along roadsides and forest edges, each flower grows, opens its petals, propagates near and far, and eventually withers, completing its turn in the great cycle of life.
Yet flowers that grow ‘on a canvas’ follow a slower rhythm. Their cycle lingers within the frame, for they are not born from the hands of farmers with the gentlest touch, but from ordinary people who find happiness in painting them. These flowers are sown through brushstrokes, tilled with layers of color, and nourished with varnish. Their pots are set within galleries, where they are watered not by rain but by the attentive gaze of viewers, who, in looking, become part of their quiet growth and enduring presence.
Le Matin clair aux saules (1914-1926), Claude Monet | Photo courtesy of RMN-Grand Palais (Musée de l’Orangerie) / Hervé Lewandowski
There are many such ‘happy people’ throughout the history of art. Claude Monet, the father of Impressionism, for instance, planted water lilies across the pond of his canvas in Le Matin clair aux saules (1914–1926). In Thailand, one finds Charoon Boonsuan, a student of Silpa Bhirasri, who has been cultivating flowers on canvas for more than half a century. His lifelong practice, expressed through lines of color and brushstrokes that have never ceased, unfolds in The Journey of Colors at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), Bangkok.
Born amid the fertile paddies, canals, and wetlands of Singburi province, Charoon grew up surrounded by nature, where trees and flowers as well as all manner of living creatures instilled in him a deep affection for the natural world. That affection became both an ‘inner source’ of inspiration and a lasting influence, guiding his creation of art drawn from the natural world he so deeply loves. In The Journey of Colors, Charoon gathers decades of inspiration, knowledge, love, joy, perseverance, and artistic labor into his radiant garden of color. In this imagined field of blossoms, viewers are invited to wander, to breathe in the faint scent of pollen suspended in the air of imagination, and to let their spirits drift into a tranquil reverie of delight.
Similarly, Bougainvilleas of Many Colors emerged from what Charoon calls an ‘unintended intention.’ The work was inspired decades ago by his visit to Monet’s water lily pond at the Musée de l’Orangerie. Years later, he conceived the idea of painting bougainvilleas, rather than water lilies, on a canvas as long as ten meters, echoing Monet’s panoramic scale. Due to spatial and logistical constraints, however, the final piece spans 8.5 meters. Yet its beauty is in no way diminished. At the far end of the exhibition hall, the bougainvilleas burst into vivid bloom, their bright clusters swaying as if to greet each visitor who steps into their presence.
Beyond these radiant bougainvilleas, the exhibition also showcases an array of flowering species, such as heavenly lotuses and orchids, each flourishing in full color and beckoning viewers to admire their splendor. There are also abstract works, somber yet fluid, rendered in postcard-sized compositions that Charoon created between 1964 and 1982. These early pieces trace his artistic development from the very beginning of his career, revealing that before he began ‘planting trees,’ he had already explored various artistic paths with both curiosity and mastery.
And this, in its entirety, is Charoon Boonsuan’s garden—a garden not cultivated with soil and water, but with color, memory, and a gentle gaze. The Journey of Colors is thus more than a painting exhibition; it is a space where the artist and viewers meet amid an ever-blooming field of hues. Whether one passes by a vivid bougainvillea, a pot of radiant blossoms, or pauses before a postcard-sized piece from his early years, each painting tells the story of an artist who chooses to ‘grow flowers’ with his brush, allowing them to bloom and bring joy endlessly within the imagination of every viewer.
The Journey of Colors is on view from August 9 to September 21, 2025, at Exhibition Rooms 1 and 2 of the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), Bangkok.