A visitor views exhibits on display at “The Art of Time” at Gaysorn yesterday.

Works by Picasso, Renoir and other renowned artists are now on display

Ambassadors, art connoisseurs, watch aficionados and other members of Bangkok's elite showed up at Gaysorn shopping complex last night for the opening of a new art exhibition entitled "Gaysorn: The Art of Time".

The show puts paintings, lithographs and prints by such renowned artists as Picasso, Dali, Renoir, Matisse and Miro side by side with more than 100 collectable and rare timepieces borrowed from museums and private collections.

The exhibition, which will open to the public today, has its fair share of masterpieces, and the experience of appreciating a Picasso lithograph or a Dali sculpture alongside fine wristwatches is certainly unique.

Timothy Yarger

The 30 artworks being presented were provided to Gaysorn by Timothy Yarger Fine Art, and Timothy Yarger, who attended the opening, expressed delight at seeing exceptional art alongside intricate timepieces.

"A lot of people understand watches and the collectibility of watches," he said. "This exhibition allows people to see the value and collectibility of paintings."

For Yarger, the real star of the show was the concept itself. "The concept is to show, in one setting, 100 years of painting and how it has transcended in that arc of time," he said. "Painting, style, and subject have changed a lot in the 100 years that this show represents, and I'm interested in seeing that array of style and technique."

Together, the artworks are worth about US$5 million (Bt167 million), says Yarger.

"A Summer Visit", a painting by the American impressionist Philip L Hale, is the most expensive piece - "I like to use the term 'what is currently the most valuable'," corrected Yarger - and it is being offered for $900,000.

"The Art of Time" will run on the ground floor at Gaysorn until July 20.