Artist Rirkrit Tiravanija (1961) was born to Thai diplomat parents in the city of Buenos Aires. Having grown up around the world in his youth, he leads a nomadic existence, commuting between New York, Bangkok and Berlin. Tiravanija is considered one of the most influential multimedia artists of his generation. His dynamic installations are impossible to pin down, combining elements of traditional (object) art, culinary traditions, sport, public as well as private performances, audience participation, education and other forms of public service and social interaction. Movement is a central feature in his art, designed to foster new communities, social networks and enduring friendships. His art is essentially social in character. Tiravanija studied at the Ontario College of Art, the Banff Center School of Fine Arts, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Whitney Independent Study Program. Solo exhibitions of his work have been mounted by the Museum of Modern Art (New York, 1997), the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (1999), the Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art (Oslo, 2002), the Chiang Mai University Art Museum (2004), the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen (2004), the Museé de la Ville de Paris (2005) and the Kunsthalle Bielefield (2010). His work has received several awards, including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum's Hugo Boss Prize and the 2010 Absolut Art Award. Tiravanija teaches at Colombia University's School of Visual Art. He is one of the founders of the Utopia Station art collective.