“What lies within us” A solo exhibition of HARITORN AKARAPAT 29 Sept - 8 Nov 2010

“What lies within us”

A solo exhibition of
HARITORN AKARAPAT

29 Sept - 8 Nov 2010

Opening reception 29 Sept 2010 6pm onwards

Exotissimo in partnership with the Toot Yung Gallery are pleased to present What lies within us, a solo exhibition by the renowned Thai artist Haritorn Akarapat. With this new exhibition, Haritorn Akarapat proposes again a surprising “come back” to the Bangkok art scene; returning with a new strength, a new medium: Painting!

Haritorn Akarapat is an established sculptor in Thailand. His work is easily recognizable as he developed a strong identity during his over 20 years career, exploring new ways to approach the bronze and patina techniques. This sudden change of medium has been in the artist’s mind for several years. He was just waiting for it to be ripe as he says with a wide smile.
Akarapat’s long and challenging career is marked by intense periods of activity, usually culminating in a heroic masterpiece or group of master works, followed by startling renewal and rethinking of his subject.

This exhibition proposes to make a parallele between his previous sculpture works and his new paintings. It is a transit showcase of his work in progress. “What lies within us” is an occasion to see how the artist nourishes himself from his previous works to finally come to explore an unknown matter.
His paintings are a passionate explosion. Full of humour, freedom and odd colours...they are refreshing and ironic.The artist focuses on the power and simplicity of subject and the vibrancy of the colors . It is a subtil mirror like response to his latest solo show at Tang Contemporary Art Lapse of Memory. Again exploring the resonances between the pieces of a very numerous serie. As to grab the diversity of life and beings, Akarapat accumulates these distorted faces, skulls and animals with a furious appetite. They are painted intuitively, with quick and spontaneous flashes of bright, transparent colour. He treats the paintings as virtual figurations of theological speculation and vehicles for spiritual meditation. The figurative elements act as a mirror for the observer, the non-figurative elements invite contemplation.

References to buddhist theories, which in the earlier works had been more ambiguous, are more directly emphasised. These works have allowed Akarapat to revisit and excavate the past, pushing his own painterly vocabulary to create works that are fresh and liberated.