New Dam Helps Farmers Shake Off Poverty

East meets west through Apichai Piromrak's works of contemporary Thai art. Touched by religion, philosophy, exotic inspiration, and modern style, Apichai conveys his moving perceptions of Thai culture and Buddhism through his paintings, mixed media, and prints.

Apichai was born on October 24, 1964. He showed his natural artistic talents at an early age. At the age of five he mixed pastels with glue and landed himself a prize in the kindergarten painting competition. He later moved on to fruit and soap carving, and used mixed color techniques in landscape and temple paintings. Apichai learned of his love for art at a very early age.

In the ninth grade he started painting portraits of the Thai Royal Family. By the 10th grade he had befriended a movie billboard painter by offering to help clean his brushes. He learned this technique step by step. By the next year he painted the movie billboard for Serpico, starring Al Pacino.

In 1981 he moved to Bangkok and decided to enroll at The College of Fine Arts. This disappointed his father who had planned to send him to Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy.

1981: Attends The College of Fine Arts. Apichai learns the art of making traditional Thai gold inlay painting called Lai Rod Nam. Restores the Marble Temple (Wat Benjama Borphit) and the gold inlay doors of the Naval Dockyard Department.

1983: The College of Fine Arts, B.A., Bangkok, Thailand

1987: Led by renown painters such as Chalermchai Kositpipat and Panya Vijintanasarn, he works in London with 20 Thai volunteer artists creating mural painting on the story of Lord Buddha in the Ubosot of Buddha Padipa temple in honor of His Majesty the King Bhumibol for his 60th birthday. Inspired by European artists and environment, he returns home determined to create a contemporary Thai style accessible and readily understood by the West.

1988: Apichai creates the first contemporary Thai style piece entitled Talung (The Shadow Play) inspired by his southern hometown culture in Nakhon Sri Thammarat. He becomes deeply moved by Buddhist philosophy concerning the uncertainty of life, the wheel of life, aging, death, and the story of Lord Buddha. These themes become major undercurrents in his works. Meditation (1988) depicts a Lord Buddha image in Ayutthaya style with cracks on his face. This image represents the Lord Buddha before he obtained enlightenment.

1989: Silpakorn University, M.F.A., Thai Arts and Graphic Arts, Bangkok, Thailand

1990: Present 90 (1990), acrylic on canvas, portrays struggling city life, traffic jams, and pollution combining with the devils and earth Goddess.

1991: Develops his technique into embossed printing with Sa paper and soil pigment featuring Buddhist symbols in Sema (1991)

1991-1993: Teacher at Chulalongkorn University, Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts, Bangkok, Thailand

1992-1995: Creates The Way of the World; a pyramid shaped showing the ambitious steps to wealth, greed, and power at the top in addition and contrast to The Way of Dhamma featuring those who refrain from materialism and temptation to gain virtue and peacefulness. Also creates The New Image of the Wheel of Life. Inspired by Lord Buddha's footprint, Apichai depicts the happiness and sadness of people and successfully combine elements of east and West in a pioneering and striking way in this image.

1993-95: Scholarship to Hochschule fur Bildene Kunste (University of Fine Arts), Braunschweig, Germany to study lithography. His works become more abstract: i.e. Spiritual Mind 5, 6 (1995) and Enlightening Among Lifecircle (1994)

1997-present: Art Instructor, Silpakorn University, Thai Art Department, Bangkok, Thailand

1999: Apichai shows the passage of time and change by embossing Sa paper on a ruined wall to record the erosion and form in Image of Time (1999)

MAJOR EXHIBITIONS:

1986: The 5th Seoul International Print Biennial, Seoul Gallery, Korea

1987: The Thai Arts Exhibition by Volunteer Artists, Buddha Padipa Temple, London and Exhibition of Thai Arts by Young Thai Artists, London

1988: The Thai Pavillion Expo, Brisbane, Australia

1998-1990: Toshiba "Bring Good Things to Life" Exhibition, Bangkok, Thailand

1990: Contemporary Art "Asia Complex" (Think Future, Act Now), Japan The 2nd Annual Asia Painting, Photography, and Children's Art Exhibition, Brunei

1993: The 3rd Contemporary Art Triennial, Brisbane, Australia