Daughter of the Sun and Her Multicoloured World
Exhibition Review
The works of La Inthonkaew, presented at the Art Brut Gallery between July and August, and drawn from the collections of the Gallery of Non-Professional Art at the Silesian Museum in Katowice, offered an opportunity to view contemporary art in new hues—both literally and figuratively.
La, born in a small village in central Thailand and now living and creating in Prague, produces works that at first glance are difficult to classify. On the gallery walls, we could see the artist's autobiographical ‘memoirs’, in which she skilfully wove in themes of Thai rituals, present, for example, in the style of painted animals and their symbolism. Next to them were echoes of the recent lockdown and fanciful representations of the sinister coronavirus (in one of the works – definitely the most distinctive and artistically refined – depicted as a ritual tribal mask).
Frequently, these two threads intertwined, as in the depiction of a peacock combating viruses, its claws tightly gripping around them—a rather literal illustration of the merging of personal memory and contemporary reality.
The fantastical portrayals of animals and human figures emphasize the metaphysical character of La’s drawings, for whom the symbolic layer appears far more important than figurative representation. Into this fabric, the artist weaves many autobiographical elements, including self-portraits and depictions of people and places close to her. She does not shy away from literal portrayals of human physiognomy, highlighting the physical dimension of the figures she paints.
Her technique and style also defy straightforward classification. Alongside simple, childlike shapes, La presents almost abstract planes of interlacing lines and colors. Despite the seemingly unrestricted palette, the colors never overwhelm the viewer with random patchiness, maintaining a pastel-like harmony.
La Inthonkaew
La, Daughter of the Sun
On view 11 July – 30 August 2023
Exhibition Opening: 11 July 2023, 5:00 p.m.
From the collections of the Silesian Museum in Katowice.
Własność Fundacji Teatroterapia Lubelska. Wszystkie prawa zastrzeżone.
Zrealizowano przy pomocy finansowej Miasta Lublin