Aye Ko’s Talking Hands in Bangkok: why a hand can mean more than one thing across 13 new paintings
Through December 27 at Supples Gallery, acrylic-on-canvas works layer gestures, figures and colour. Compare dark and pale compositions, a bird-like head and 13 works across three levels to move between recognition and uncertainty.
Does an open hand always communicate the same thing? Myanmar artist Aye Ko’s solo exhibition Talking Hands runs October 10–December 27, 2026, at Supples Gallery in Bangkok, bringing together 13 paintings made for this presentation. Born in 1963, the artist layers figures, gestures and fragmented colour shapes on canvas. Rather than labeling each movement, begin with what surrounds it in the painting and where it leads the eye.
Find a hand, then look at the lines around it
One officially published work interweaves orange-red, black, blue-green and pale purple. A form resembling a profile appears at the upper left, while a black hand shape reaches horizontally into the composition. Thick black contours divide colour areas, and white curves cross their boundaries. The eye briefly recognizes a face before stripes, circles or another body fragment draw it away. Rather than reading an action from left to right, viewing moves repeatedly between recognition and another look.
Another, brighter work places an open white palm among pale and green areas, with jagged shapes above and heads and body fragments dispersed across the image. Compare the two to see how a similar hand shape changes its visual weight against a dark or light background. Colour is more than decoration added to a gesture: it can interrupt a continuous line, obscure part of a form or pull attention away from the hand.
In a paler composition, an open white palm and scattered figure fragments create a different viewing rhythm.
The hand is not always central; the surface also speaks
Another official selection shows a bird-like head in red, black-and-white and purple-blue, its round eye and long beak dominating the upper area. A further painting places a black hand shape, a frontal face and a profile in the same fractured space. These differences make the exhibition title a starting point rather than a rule requiring the same symbol in every painting. Curatorial-text author Mike Thukha Kyaw addresses uncertainty in communication: an apparently recognizable gesture changes meaning when other elements intervene, and hands are not always the centre of the image.
A bird-like head, round eye and long beak shift this work’s focus beyond a single hand gesture.A black hand shape, frontal face and profile draw the eye between intersecting lines and colour fields.
The catalogue identifies the medium as acrylic on canvas and dates all works to 2026. The photographs reveal layered brushwork, raised surfaces and fine lines crossing colour areas. Beside a black contour, a dense colour field may meet thinner rubbed marks. Step back to find the overall structure, then move closer to examine how edges meet. The whole composition and the surface details offer two reading distances to move between.
Thirteen works across three levels: use the catalogue as a guide
The official catalogue’s floor plan places six works on the 1st Floor, one on the Mezzanine and six on the 2nd Floor, totalling 13. Reception, wall text and the artist statement are also marked. Dimensions include 37 × 61cm, 61 × 91cm and 91 × 122cm. Smaller and larger paintings encourage details to be recognized from different distances. Pick a hand shape or eye and compare how its relationship to surrounding colour changes with scale.
The gallery is at 361 Charoenkrung 43, Si Phraya, Bang Rak. Organizer-provided opening hours are Thursday–Sunday, 1–6pm. BTS Saphan Taksin and MRT Hua Lamphong are options before planning the onward route. The official Supples exhibition page provides works and a downloadable catalogue; contact contact@supples.co to confirm daily arrangements. The 13 paintings do not need to become a single shared slogan. Let an expression linger, then ask why you recognized it that way: a conversation has already begun.
