THE PHILADELPHIA JUNTO.: The Buddha Image in Art

Friday 9 September 2016

The Buddha Image in Art

GRACEFUL AND SERENE

By Janine Yasovant

[WC News Service]

Yothin Narasak

The Buddha image is a symbol of gracefulness that many art collectors seek. It is said by many that Chiang Mai is the city of culture and religion. In the city center, outside the city wall, temples can be seen in every two kilometers. Each temple has paintings and sculptures that are the symbol of the Buddha. Many Thai northern artists are working as teachers and art lecturers. Apart from teaching or making their own art, they occasionally paint murals in temples or sculpt Buddha images for temples. This involves a mixture of faith and the development of an artistic knowledge they already have.

Yothin Narasak is a northern artist from Chiang Mai who has had a number of interesting commissioned works to draw the head of Buddha on teakwood. His works have unique beauty; many have mentioned his works as “naïve art.'

Narasak studied art at Rajamangala University of Technology in Lanna in Chiang Mai Province. He portrays the beauty of his art with the background of belief and faith. Yothin has collaborative exhibitions with many well-known artists in the north of Thailand frequently.

Most of his works adhere to specific themes, such as portraits of the Buddha image and flowers, which emphasize the differences among the many kinds of orchids in the north of Thailand.

His latest solo show will be held this September at the art bridge “Kua Silpa” gallery in Chiang Rai Province. This exhibition will be about the story of fish that is related to Thai literature.

Narasak says he is surprised that many people who love and buy “Head of the Buddha' images collections are from the West and Middle East. Some are Catholic, Christian, and Muslim. The good and beauty of his art works inspire him to identify himself with a “naïve art” that everyone in the world can appreciate. This is a good model of an artist who can express universal beauty.

His paintings, sized 60 by 80 cm, cost around 30,000 Baht or about $866.

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Celebrating ....

Friday 9 September 2016

The Buddha Image in Art