Trailblazing gallery Tang Contemporary Art ushers the most dynamic exhibitions to the Creative District in Bangkok.
Read moreA graduate of Poh Chang Academy of Arts at the Rajamangala University of Technology, Kitti currently lives and works in Pathum Thani.
Like many Southeast Asian artists, Kitti’s work permeates with the essence of the vibrant natural world and tropical elements. He simplifies the background into completely flat blocks of pure color, laying the emotional foundation for the entire painting. By using pure colors and the flat paint application – the most frank and direct methods for depicting the forms and colors of the subjects – the artist places people, plants, animals, and everyday objects into an image one-by-one. Through the colorfully painted dense emerald leaves, crimson chairs, and brightly-colored clothing, we can see the artist’s love from Matisse and South American art. In his composition and use of shapes, Kitti searches for harmony among simple forms. All of these elements together meld to create light, joyful scenes.
As a member of the LGBTQ community, Kitti also reveals this part of his identity in the content of his works. He and his partner, Gwyn Faemol, have been together for fifteen years, and Gwyn often appears in Kitti’s work. They have several cats, they drink coffee, jump rope, and spend their daily lives with one another. Equality is a recurring theme that Kitti explores in his work. The LGBTQ community is a minority, but not a disadvantaged group; they seek equal rights, rather than special treatment or privileges. Relatively speaking, Thailand seems more open to these communities, but in other parts of the world, there are still many people who have intense prejudice toward them. Kitti’s works project his ideal vision of society – creating a Utopia in which “everyone has equal opportunities.” His paintings are a “joy land,” and he reminds us that we can do better and create a better society together.
Space, in both the physical and mental sense, is another important concept illustrated in the artist’s works, especially in this set of exhibited works, created during the pandemic of 2020. In “Men Who Dance” and “Diver,” the elongated limbs of the figures extend freely, and the individuals overlap and intertwine to form a united group. These depictions are presented in a light and joyful way rather than giving the feeling of crowdedness or suffocation. The composition of their slim bodies creates a harmonious balance of music and rhythm. While there are complexities in the space represented, there is also lightness and airiness. Kitti created “Bare” during the peak of the pandemic in Thailand. All of the vulnerable individuals hunch over their shoulders, embracing themselves. In the face of a crisis like COVID-19, social distancing becomes necessary and self-protective, and relationships and interactions between people have inevitably changed. “This situation has destroyed existing systems or concepts—how we communicate, where we can go, and how public spaces are used.”
Kitti excels at treating the questions he is considering in an understated, lighthearted way, presenting them in a familiar and relatable manner in his works. He invites us to empathize with him and explore the Self and the world together as he builds his own “joy land.”
