'Affection", a new art exhibition at Bangkok's Centara Grande, combines the talents of three Thai painters who make use of contrasting media and methods to describe elements of nature, animals or the human condition.
By Udom Innupat.
Sompong Panawannakul specialises in oils on mulberry paper, Udom Innupat in drawings with coloured chalk and gold foil, and Sanit Suvanavat in finely detailed oil paints. The diversity of media and artistic approach allows for an interesting showcase for comparing and contrasting the directions of modern Thai painting, and the burgeoning artistic talent pool now available.
By Sompong Panawannakul.
Sanit's oils have much detail, precision and colour _ the frangipani flowers with meticulous attention to detail of texture and light, as if seen through a soft-focus lens, edges melting away into the light, lower flowers cast in shadow. A series on carp shows the fish likewise in a colourful and three-dimensional form, with emphasis on their oddly random colour combinations and movements through the water. It's an acute and detailed focus on the intricacies of nature, through an almost reverential perspective from the Trang-born Chiang Mai resident.
Udom's depictions of mothers with babies, using foil and a more sombre colour palette, are intentionally more two-dimensional, with rounder and more stylised lines, emphasising emotive human bonds over natural detail. Udom learned his trade at Pohchang Academy of Arts (now Rajamangala University of Technology Rattanakosin). In his works cheeks and eyes meet, while the foil provides a background golden sheen and the viewer is likewise caught in a mother and child's embrace.
Sompong's works have the texture of mulberry paper behind them. The Nakhon Si Thammarat-born artist also studied at the Pohchang Academy of Arts, and his brushstrokes emphasise the texture of the elephants' skin, the detail creating subtle movement. The rough, roving backgrounds point to tumultuousness among the animals, as they canter across the grass, copulate or jockey for power in the herd. Then in another image the grazing pachyderms are seen from behind, cast in brilliant red and golden shades as if set against the sunset.
More Bangkok hotels are providing platforms for contemporary artists to show their works, benefiting artists and guests by providing a taste of Thai art, in turn boosting the artists' profile and that of Thai art internationally. "Affection" shows a fondness for elements of nature, while providing an impressive juxtaposition of emerging Thai artistic talent.
'Affection' is in the 23rd floor lobby of the Centara Grande, from 10am to 8pm until May 31. Admission is free. For more information call 02-100-1234, ext 6753_6.
By Sanit Suvanavat.
