THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

Of Western symbols and Thai icons

Of Western symbols and Thai icons

In the fourth edition of its rotating art showcase, boutique hotel 137 Pillars Suites & Residences Bangkok brings multi-award-winning artist Jirapat Tatsanasomboon to the Baan Borneo Club and Louie’s Tiffin Grill on level 26.

Celebrated for his colourful pop-art juxtaposition of iconography from traditional Thai narratives and Western symbolism, Jirapat continues to explore the cultural interactions between East and West, and Modern and Traditional in a new set of artworks. 
Born in 1971 in the Samut Prakran province, Jirapat uses the humour of pop art to examine the positive and negative sides of cultural exchange, confrontation, and interaction. These inter-cultural experiments have resulted in an extraordinary mix of characters and situations that evoke much dialogue in his audiences. Mythical figures from the Kingdom’s epic Ramakien feature alongside Western cultural icons such as John Wayne, Barak Obama and Marilyn Monroe to explore the issues of class and abuse of power. In other works, he has re-interpreted familiar paintings by celebrated masters Andy Warhol, Van Gogh and others as a commentary on Thai society.
Jirapat completed his bachelor’s degree at Chiang Mai University with a thesis painting titled “Foreign Intervention”, which was also awarded the Grand Prize for Contemporary Art in the 3rd Panasonic Contemporary Painting Exhibition in 1997. In 1999, he acquired a master’s degree at Silapakorn University with a thesis painting titled “Green Goblin vs Maiyarap", which was also awarded the Grand Prize in the 4th Panasonic Contemporary Painting Exhibition in 2002. Other accolades followed including awards at the Toshiba Thailand’s Contemporary Art Competitions, and 2010 Sovereign Asian Art Prize.
He has also participated in numerous prestigious art shows in Thailand and internationally, including Asia Art Now at the Korean Cultural & Arts Foundation (2003), Tradition & Modernity in Southeast Asian Art, New York (2006), Visions of East Asia 2008 for the Olympic Games in China (2008), The Indian Art Summit (2009), Art Monaco (2010), and Arteclasica 10, Argentina (2010). In addition, his paintings were on display in ArtScience Museum in Singapore as a part of the “Andy Warhol: 15 Minutes Eternal” exhibition. He was the only Thai artist featured in a recent book published by Thames & Hudson titled “100 Painters of Tomorrow”. 
Find out more at (02) 079 7000.
 

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