Thai Artists | Therdkiat Wangwatcharakul
Therdkiat Wangwatcharakul was born in 1971 and graduated with a Master in Painting from Silapakorn University in 2003. He often paints with oil on aluminium sheets and
also with oil on canvas. The use of aluminium makes his play with light and shadow unique.
Typical to Therdkiat’s
spatially sensitive compositions are his minimal urban-scapes.
Focusing on mundane architectural
detailing, weathered cracked concrete walls are penetrated
by a partial window frame. Elevating the vernacular to
sublimity, the artist draws attention to the subtle
interplay of light and shadow, manmade and nature, by which
he instils a mood of contemplation and meditation. He also
harnesses staining techniques that imbue his canvases with
the same metallic veneer of his mainstay aluminium surfaces,
Therdkiat is a master at evoking the loneliness of the big
city. Despite the over-crowded milieu of the Asian sprawl,
often individual citizens’ find themselves isolated and
distant from loved ones. In Bangkok Station,
Therdkiat refrains from earlier architecturally aligned
works to spotlight the daily rituals of the capital’s
inhabitants. Through greater suggestion towards a narrative,
in the latest works soi dogs and
pigeons vie for scraps and contribute to a street-side
bestial community. These creatures assume their own
personalities as they scavenge or seek respite from the
scorching heat. Therdkiat has participated in several exhibitions in Thailand, as well as in Singapore (2001), Japan (2003), the Netherlands (2002), Korea (2003), and Spain (2005),
and USA (2006). He was awarded the Jurors' Choice Prize in the ASEAN Art Awards in 2000.
