"Introducing UTTAPORN NIMMALAIKAEW", Thailand's two-time National Art Prize winner

On February 10, 2007, Craig Scott Gallery, in partnership with the Tall Poppies Group, presented an exhibition by one of Thailand’s most exciting young emerging artists. “Introducing Uttaporn Nimmalaikaew” presented 10 works in the unique style of Nimmalaikaew’s winning entry in the Sovereign Asia Art Prize competition of 2006. Nimmalaikaew has developed a mixing of media that produces magical results. The image to the left, entitled “Image of Body (Mom) No 8,” was the Sovereign Art Prize winning piece. The Sovereign is widely regarded as having become one of the, if not the, leading Asia-wide painting prize. Prior to the Sovereign, Nimmalaikaew had already won several national prizes in Thailand. Once before and, so far, once after “Introducing Uttaporn Nimmalaikaew”, Nimmalaikaew won Thailand’s National Art Prize for Painting twice by age 27.

Nimmalaikaew’s works start from a canvas backdrop that is set inside a deep casement, and that is then lightly veiled by multiple layers of thread and netting. The artist paints not only on the canvas but also on the thread and netting in order to create shimmering portraits and figurative scenes. He creates a depth of field that goes beyond three-dimensional space; rather, his work captures a time-space dimension in a way that has few parallels in the history of art. Yet, to put it that way is still an understatement, for Nimmalaikaew’s genius lies in the way he imagines, and is able to execute with astonishing virtuosity, what might be called a ‘meta-dimension’ that fuses time, space and spirit.