Solo Art Exhibition “A Tale of Two Shores” in LA, USA

“A Tale of Two Shores”

Sudrak Khongpuang : Artist Recidency

At South Bay Contemporary, SoLA Gallery, CA, USA

3718 West Slauson Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90043

Date January 12 – February 24, 2018

Organized by South Bay Contemporary presents and Zask gallery

Director by Peggy Sivert Zask

February 24, 4-7pm: Exhibition and Reception

January 12 – 27: Visit Artist residency at Zask Studio, Portuguese Bend, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA. Guests welcome by appointment. (call 310 429 0973)

February 8 – 24: Visit Artist residency in SoLA Gallery, South Los Angeles

Guests welcome Thursday, Friday, Saturday, 11 am – 4 pm

Thai artist, Sudrak Khongpuang is visiting Los Angeles from her home in Thailand seeking creative ideas, concepts and media to add to her art practice. She will be working in Zask Studios in Rancho Palos Verdes for the month of January and will complete her residency and art exhibition in February at SoLA Gallery. Visitors will be welcome to visit the artist at Zask Studios in January and at SoLA Gallery in February as part of SBC SoLA residency program.

Sudrak Khongpuang had an exhibition with South Bay Contemporary at the LOFT in San Pedro in Jan 2015. This is the second residency and exhibition with SBC for Sudrak Khongpuang.

Artist Residency Proposal:

A Tale of Two Shores

Background

The first time I went to the United States, my accommodation was on a hill. Whenever I had free time, I would walk up the hill to find a good spot to paint the landscape. One day …. taking my eyes off the artwork I was working on, I looked out and saw the vast ocean, the Pacific, and the boundless sky. For a moment I sat silent. Everything looked so still, and timeless. Nothing seemed to matter anymore except for the natural beauty which my eyes saw. The ocean waves whispering, the winds softly whistling, and the cool ocean breezes touching my face…

I let my imagination float just like the winds, thinking that on the opposite shore of the ocean was my homeland. Even though it was far away and separated by vast water, every time I looked at the horizon I knew I was looking to the land of my beloved homeland. The very thought warmed my heart. The two places, the one I was at the time and the one where I had been earlier were connected by the same things, namely, the sky, the Pacific Ocean, and myself.

So for this present journey, I would like to tell a story of the splendor of the two seashores I live in through art. My new body of work will consist of 2 groups:

In the first group are the works that I create in Thailand, which I bring along when traveling to California, USA, where I create the works in the second group, using materials which I find during my stay, in order to record through art my personal memory and impression of the place.

The artworks from both groups will be exhibited together at the South Bay Contemporary SOLA Gallery, CA, USA in February 2018.

Inspiration & Concepts

To me, artists are storytellers. They tell stories of their own experiences, both good and not so good, which affect their feelings and thoughts so much that they feel the need to tell others. Artists tell their stories in an aesthetic and creative way of their own, such as

…. writers use literary words,

…. musicians use musical notes and melodies, while

…. visual artists use visual elements (shapes, forms, colors, artistic elements,etc.).

One shore is that of the homeland. A familiar land in which I grew up, with beautiful nature and background of agricultural society, which is Thailand.

The other shore is that of a new land, the land of freedom. It is a land of opportunity and an offering of new experiences, which is the USA. Both lands are separated, yet connected by one ocean, the Pacific. This is a tale of the splendor and beauty of the two shores …. seen through the eyes of one artist and told through the means of visual arts.

“I wish to express love which springs from the impression of the two places I live in and to tell a story of my own experiences through art, in the forms of painting and mixed media. The skills, brush strokes, colours and materials are used as a tool to create a tale of beauty in the form of art which is personal and unique, with inspirations taken from the experiences and impressions of the two lands – Thailand and the United States.”

– Sudrak Khongpuang –

RECEPTION DAY: February 24, 2018