In February of 2007, Angels Gate Visual Arts Director Marshall Astor traveled to Thailand, to meet with Jessada Kongsommart, one of Thailand’s top young painters.  Over a ten day period, he visited the studios, galleries and art schools of Thailand, meeting with dozens of young artists, getting a feel for the flavor of the local art scene and its role in the culture and history of Thailand.  It was immediately apparent that these artists were doing tremendous work and that there was a unique opportunity to bring some of that work to the United States for the first time.

The exhibition, Five Feelings, Angels Gate International Exhibiton 2007: Thailand, consists of five artists, Jieng Sae Jern, Narupon Chutiwansopon, Jessada Kongsommart, Pongsak Pechmang, and Narakorn Sittties.  Artists Jessada Kongsommart and Pongsak Pechmang will be traveling from Thailand to visit the United States for the first time, and to attend the opening, which will be held in the style of a Thai art opening.

About the Artists

Jiang Sae Jern’s mixed-media works, Overseas Panda, touch on his experience as a Chinese expatriate working in a new land.  His self-portraits, wearing an oversize paper-mache, panda head speak to the constant presence of his Chinese identity, by appropriating one of China’s most well known symbols.

Narupon Chutiwansopon’s series of drawings on paper, Rhythm of Tide, are a beautiful reference to the importance of tides, seasons and weather to everyday Thai life.

 Jessada Kongsommart lives a double life, with one foot in his home in a rural village in Kalasin, and another in Bangkok, Thailand’s bustling modern metropolis.  His acrylic and oil paintings reference the waters, silk and farm life of Kalasin, and are rendered in a contemporary style that makes bold reference to conceptual art and abstraction.

Pongsak Pechmang is a photographer, by day managing a busy wedding photography studio in Sri Racha, Thailand, where young couples take their final portraits before they begin their new lives and families together.  As a fine art photographer, he captures images of the clouds and weather that define the rhythms of Thai life, from the impending monsoon, to the calm sky at sunset.

Narakorn Sitties mixed media paintings of figures, surrounded by deep red backgrounds, their faces hidden, either by cloth or by shadow, address ideas of identity and place.  These faceless portraits push the viewers to see themselves in his paintings.

Accompanying the exhibition is a small catalog, featuring two works by each of the five participants in the exhibition.

International Programming at Angels Gate

Over the past three years, Angels Gate Cultural Center’s international program has hosted major poets, playwrights, journalists and visual artists from the Czech Republic, Indonesia, Macedonia, and Pakistan.