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Lot Essay
'I believe in the faith I have toward the ancient Western arts as much as in the suspicion I have toward the source of oneself.' (Natee Utarit, Recent Paintings, Clung Wicha Press, Bangkok, Thailand, 2003, p. 2.) Utarit is as grateful to western classical painting as he is uncertain about it. He questions what he has understood to be the way of painting. 'Prior to this, questions about the nature of painting itself were largely overshadowed by considerations of subject matter, and perspective within the painting determined its essential reality. But as life changed and art became more intellectualized, received truths such as these came under closer scrutiny. Virtually every phenomenon in the material world was subjected to renewed examination and questioning. Painting, as a physical phenomenon, was no exception.' (Natee Utarit, Reason and Monsters Project, Clung Wicha Press, Bangkok, Thailand, 2002, p. 5.)This internal inquisition, openness and ambiguity in thought have transpired in the work Venus with tulip, 2003.
In this present work, Utarit employs traditional classical western painting subjects such as Venus and still life. He, however, renews the look of these subjects, granting a contemporary definition to it. In it, the bust of Venus is not readily recognizable. In fact, he shrouds the bust of Venus under a dark layer of oil, wood stain and enamel, where Venus makes a hinting appearance with the outline of her form, adding to the mystery of the work amid the rich feel of it. This mystery may well be the elusive answer to his uncertainty. He paints in accompaniment, the still life of the tulip, challenging the set notion of how still life should be in composition. The enlargement of the solitary flower revealing the inner sections of the flower seeks to clarify conventions placed. This clarity of view is further explained with the clean white background and use of solid colours as seen in the striking red and cool green. The juxtaposition of the sombre Venus and vivid tulip is a sign of the artist's sense of disconnection with the trusted ideals and the use of singular subjects in each canvas may well suggest the extremes the artist feels.
In this present work, Utarit employs traditional classical western painting subjects such as Venus and still life. He, however, renews the look of these subjects, granting a contemporary definition to it. In it, the bust of Venus is not readily recognizable. In fact, he shrouds the bust of Venus under a dark layer of oil, wood stain and enamel, where Venus makes a hinting appearance with the outline of her form, adding to the mystery of the work amid the rich feel of it. This mystery may well be the elusive answer to his uncertainty. He paints in accompaniment, the still life of the tulip, challenging the set notion of how still life should be in composition. The enlargement of the solitary flower revealing the inner sections of the flower seeks to clarify conventions placed. This clarity of view is further explained with the clean white background and use of solid colours as seen in the striking red and cool green. The juxtaposition of the sombre Venus and vivid tulip is a sign of the artist's sense of disconnection with the trusted ideals and the use of singular subjects in each canvas may well suggest the extremes the artist feels.