This blog has taken shape almost on its own, because we plan practically nothing, and topics are born the way so many desires are born. So today I want to talk about art.

We have always loved art, and being around artists is deeply enriching, as a general rule. For that very reason, Bangkok gave us some wonderful experiences, since we got to know several interesting artists there, a few of them quite important.

One of those artists is Nitti Wattuya. We had the pleasure of building a real friendship with him and with his wife (also an artist), Buppha Konglua.

Nitti and Buppha (Oh, to her friends) live in Ayutthaya, and it was with her that I once went to spend time with elephants, when she invited me along. An incredible experience I will never forget.

http://oneartworld.com/artists/N/Niti+Wattuya.html

Nitti's work is remarkably varied and rich, because at his age he has made the kinds of shifts that belong only to the truly gifted, the ones who stand apart from artists who are still young and not yet fully formed.

Like so many Thai artists, part of his work invites us to look closely at the Thai landscape, and in doing so, prompts us to reflect on the broader Asian influences at play.

He is entirely self-taught, which never stops surprising us when we see the technique that seems to come from somewhere innate in him.

The part of his work I love most is the period when he painted elephants, Buddhas, and wats (Thai temples) in abundance.

He uses light and color in a way that is entirely his own, unmistakably so.

Buppha is also an artist, but she has such modesty and such deep admiration for her husband (something not unlike the dynamic between Frida and Diego) that she prefers to remain in the background. Still, being considerably younger than Nitti, life will surely give her the chance to show the art that is also hers.

Tawan Wattuya, a young man and Nitti's nephew, is now drawing the attention of many knowing eyes in the art world to his extraordinary work.

It is powerful work, loaded with sexual and political content. You only have to look at a few pieces to feel completely pulled in. I think he has tremendous potential to make his mark internationally.

http://www.soiwat.org/Tawan-Wattuya_a124.html

Other visual artists I genuinely liked, in many cases for their personalities as much as their work, were:

Tanupon En-On, who reminded me a great deal of Toledo, because he, too, draws heavily on animal themes with a distinctly sexual charge, much like maestro Toledo himself.

Of course, the notable difference is that both artists are deeply representative of their own cultures, and those cultures are worlds apart.

I also very much enjoyed the work of Chainapa Lepajarn, sculptor and professor in the Fine Arts department at Bunditpatanasilpa, and in the Fine Arts department affiliated with the Ministry of Culture.

http://www.rama9art.org/artisan/2007/december/esan/index.html

Another artist we spent time with, and it was a genuine pleasure, was the sculptor Haritorn Akarapat, a fascinating man carrying a grief that will never leave him and that marks both him and his work.

With him I had the pleasure of talking at length about the reasoning behind some of these sculptures, so sui generis and so controversial, and in many cases simply inexplicable to anyone who doesn't know him with some depth.

His sculptures are, in many cases, immense, and to my eye they are heavy with pain, sadness, longing, and irony.

Another artist I got to know only a little personally, but whose work is deeply interesting, is Navin Rawanchaikul. I encountered his work in several spaces, among them the Jim Thompson House and the TANG gallery, which is run by photography curator Josef Ng, with whom we became friends.

Through him I came to understand avant-garde photography much better, and many of his exhibitions were genuine discoveries for me.

He is an extremely professional person, and going to an opening at that gallery is nearly a hundred-percent guarantee that what you'll encounter is work of the highest quality and thoroughly ahead of its time.

Josef also runs a gallery in China, and that is where he lives now.

http://www.rama9art.org/gallery/tang/index.html

A few more Thai artists: Chainapa Lepajarn http://www.rama9art.org/exhibition/retrospective/sun.html

A highly regarded photographer, and also a friend:

http://www.iniva.org/dare/themes/space/manit.html

Navin Rawanchaikul http://www.publicartfund.org/pafweb/projects/01/target/target_rawanchaikul_01.html

Sanuk (the Thai art of finding joy in everything)