Influential voices from across the art world
The Art Talks programme at artmonte-carlo 2025 continued its tradition of bringing together influential voices from across the international art world. This year’s edition offered a focused and high-calibre selection of lectures and conversations, including two standout presentations held in English that highlighted pressing global themes in contemporary art.
On Wednesday, July 9, talks explored bold visions of contemporary institutional practice. The panel “Khao Yai Art Forest and Bangkok Kunsthalle, a New Art Paradigm from Southeast Asia” brought together Amal Khalaf (co-curator of the Sharjah Biennial 16 and Ghost festival), Stefano Rabolli Pansera (architect, curator and director of Khao Yai Art Forest and Bangkok Kunsthalle), and Marisa Chearavanont (philanthropist, collector and founder of Khao Yai Art Co. Ltd).
The conversation focused on how two newly founded Thai institutions are rethinking the role of the art center through concepts of healing, nature, and urban connectivity. It examined how curating can act as a form of architectural intervention, responding to place, community, and spiritual ecology.
The Khao Yai Art Forest, set in a natural landscape near Khao Yai National Park, integrates contemporary art with ecology and spiritual reflection, offering site-specific experiences rooted in nature. The Bangkok Kunsthalle, modelled on the European non-collecting institution, aims to establish Bangkok as a regional cultural hub through exhibitions, education, and international dialogue. Together, these projects represent a shift toward decentralised, community-driven, and environmentally engaged art practices in Southeast Asia.
With collector Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, and Charlotte Diwan, Director of Art Genève and artmonte-carlo
Later that afternoon, a major session titled “30 Years of Foundation and the Future of Contemporary Art” featured a conversation between renowned Italian collector and patron Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo and Thierry Consigny, Cultural and Artistic Advisor of Monte-Carlo Société des Bains de Mer.
Reflecting on three decades of visionary activity through the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, the discussion highlighted her influential role in shaping contemporary art discourse and supporting emerging artists. Re Rebaudengo offered insights into the future of cultural institutions, the responsibilities of collectors, and the evolving landscape of philanthropic engagement in the arts.
Since the early 1990s, Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo has built a collection of over 1,500 contemporary artworks and 3,000 historical photographs, featuring artists such as Gabriel Orozco, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, Tony Cragg, and Sarah Lucas. In 1995, she founded the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo in Guarene d’Alba to publicly exhibit her collection, later expanding to Turin (2002), Madrid (2017), and the Venetian island of San Giacomo in Paludo (2018). Her work centres on supporting emerging artists, engaging communities, and making contemporary art accessible to the public.