The Art Centre, Silpakorn University in collaboration with Richard Koh Fine Art cordially invite you to the opening exhibition of “Déjà vu: When the Sun Rises in the West” by Natee Utarit
The opening is on Friday 4 March 2022 at 6.30 pm at the Main Hall of the Art Centre, Silpakorn University (Wangthapra)
*Due to the covid-19 situation, the number of visitors is limited for the opening day. Please confirm your participation or kindly make an appointment via su.artcentre@gmail.com
Exhibition will be on view from 4 March to 7 May 2022
Monday – Saturday 9 am to 6 pm (closed on Sundays and public holidays)
Organized by the Art Centre, Silpakorn University in collaboration with Richard Koh Fine Art
Guest Curator: Loredana Pazzini-Paracciani
Déjà vu, referring to the phenomenon of ‘recalling scenes and events as if they have happened before’ explains how the artist’s mind operates by interweaving re-envisionings of the past and present. The Déjà vu series, initially conceived in 2019, starts with Buddha’s hypothetical journey to the West to meet Greco-Roman culture and other eastern and western symbols in the exhibition.
Due to searching for identity while locating his own colonial conditioning, still present in Thailand, Natee moves towards a reflective analysis of his own culture that enables him to enter the colonial discourse through Buddhism: Asia’s spiritual and cultural node. In this process of self-identification, the mediums and compositions of his work play a crucial role. Varying from painting and sculpture to embroidery, stained glass and woodcut, each medium corresponds to historical moments that have contributed to defining the Western canons.
The featured works overturn what is historically and culturally improbable, thus sowing the seeds of possibility: What if the sun rises in the west? What if the East, manifested as the figure of the Buddha, met the West? Consequently, the common aspects of different cultures prominently become the threads to weave a new Western / Eastern narrative by artist’s hand.
Natee Utarit (b.1970, Bangkok, Thailand) studied at the College of Fine Art in 1987 and graduated in Graphic Arts at the Painting and Sculpture Faculty at Silpakorn University, both in Bangkok, Thailand in 1991. Solo exhibitions include Optimism is Ridiculous: the Altarpieces, The Private Museum, Singapore (2018), Optimism is Ridiculous: the Altarpieces, National Gallery of Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia (2017), Optimism is Ridiculous: the Altarpieces, Ayala Museum, Manila, the Philippines (2017), Illustration of the Crisis, Bangkok University Gallery, Bangkok, Thailand (2013), After Painting, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore (2010) and The Amusement of Dreams, Hope and Perfection, Art Center of Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand (2007). Recent group exhibitions include Beyond Bliss, Bangkok Art Biennale 2018, Bangkok, Thailand (2018), Contemporary Chaos, Vestfossen Kunstlaboratorium, Norway (2018), Thai Eye, BACC, Bangkok, Thailand and Saatchi Gallery, London, UK (2016/2015), Art of ASEAN, Bank Negara Museum and Gallery, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (2015), Time of Others, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan (2015) and Asian Art Biennale 2013: Everyday Life, National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Taipei, Taiwan (2013).
His work is part of many renowned collections, such the Bangkok University, Bangkok, Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore, as well as private collections in Europe and Asia.
Utarit’s multifaceted practice focuses on the exploration of the medium of painting connecting it with photography and classical Western art. Light and perspective are some of the elements the artist chose to work with, focusing on painting as a means to explore image making. His complex pictures, juggle wide-ranging metaphors usually in the format of the traditional still life, allude to Thailand’s current social and political landscapes.
Natee Utarit – Déjà vu: When the Sun Rises in the West
4 March - 7 May 2022 (Extended till 21 May 2022)
Art Centre, Silpakorn University,
31 Na Phra Lan Road, Phra Borrommaharatchawang,
Phra Nakorn, Bangkok 10200, Thailand
Monday - Saturday, 9am - 6pm
Closed on Sundays and Public Holidays