Natee Utarit – Every day, Every day I have the Blues

Richard Koh Fine Art (RKFA) & Richard Koh Projects (RKP) are pleased to announce Natee Utarit’s (b.1970) upcoming pop-up exhibition across its spaces in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Bangkok. Titled Every day, Every Day I have the Blues, this tri-venue exhibition will run simultaneously for a week; from 4 – 12 June 2021, contingent on the evolving COVID-19 situation. Alternatively, the exhibition’s contingency will manifest as an online presence.

It has been approximately 6 years since Utarit embarked on this 5-part series, paying homage to the 5 different genres of Western painting. This exhibition marks the 4th of the series. It began with Samlee & Co. The Absolutely Fabulous Show in 2016 (the genre of Portraiture), followed by It Would Be Silly to Be Jealous of a Flower in 2017 (Still-Life), View from the Tower in 2018 (Landscape), and the upcoming Every day, Every Day I have the Blues (Everyday Life).

In this series, Utarit tackles the genre of everyday life, but as we are acutely aware, the everyday has drastically changed, perhaps, forever. In this body of works, viewers are presented with scenes of the artist’s studio environment during the movement controls and also depictions of people who have crossed paths with him just before the pandemic started.

There is a strong sense of longing in the manner in which Utarit presents his composition and narrative. Mundane as it seems, this body of works fundamentally represents a commemoration of normality and provides a reminder of what we have lost and taken for granted before the pandemic. It is only when something is lost, do we realize its true value. As Utarit explains, “The paintings in this 4th part series are to me, my views as it is aided plainly by my human and inner eye. They come alive via the simple visual process. As normality becomes invaluable, the simplicity in the painting becomes tandemly meaningful. It is a simplicity that reflects serenity and peace in the hopes of regaining a sense of normality.”

Natee Utarit (b. 1970, Bangkok) 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 as 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.