In the last post I mentioned how we started our collection by contacting artists directly to commission items that would fill the blank white walls in our house. We also enjoyed exploring the newly opened galleries in the newly developed suburban areas. One favourite place was CVN Gallery at Seacon Square which opened after Srinakarin Road was built. This gallery has long since closed but we bought many collectibles there, in addition to several paintings by an artist whose name we cannot decipher! We had seen his/her sample work on display there and commissioned three classical style paintings and a beautiful mirror frame from the dealer there. We met the dealer, not the artist, but we have enjoyed his/her work ever since! Fortunately, Kinnaree is the only one needing repair.
Birds of Illusion by Somkiet Panasirisil was purchased by my husband at Sombat Gallery downtown, near the office. In those days, you could find a branch of Sombat Gallery in each of the few international hotels (Dusit Thani, Erawan, Sheraton,Siam Intercontinental, etc.) but now they are consolidated in a grand gallery on Sukhumvit Road. I find this work rather creepy myself. It is a bit surreal with a hidden face popping out unexpectedly, but the birds are supposed to be auspicious! In any case, it now it needs repair work too!
Fashion Island in suburban Minburi also housed an artist’s colony. Somkual Thonglor’s large gallery displayed his own works as well as those of other contemporary artists. My husband is a big fan of his work so we have many pieces by him but The Leaving Sun is my personal favorite. It won an award in 1997 at an art exhibition “The Connexion of the Forest’s Heart and the Sea of Beauty” at World Trade Center Bangkok April 24-May 4, 1997. The artist wouldn’t agree to sell it until 2012. It is stunning but needs restoration now too!
The last painting being restored is from much later, after we had discovered the “northern impressionists” at Nine Arts Gallery in Chiangrai. This painting is more recent and should not be in need of repair but it was the casualty of a collapsed ceiling panel that knocked it off the wall! The title in Thai refers to a peacock’s tail at the beginning of its mating dance but in English the artist named it Flamboyant Dancing. His textured technique uses very thick paint and the impact of the fall caused bits of paint to pop off the canvass, leaving “bald” spots.
Now all these paintings are in the capable hands of Aj. Kwanjit Lertsiri and her team of Conservators! Keeping our fingers crossed for good results!
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