Bangkok--8 Dec--SOFITEL BANGKOK SUKHUMVIT
S Gallery, Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit, will launch its new Thai art exhibition of Rush Pleansuk's 'Genii Loci' on Thursday 17th December, 2015 from 5:30 p.m. – 10 p.m.
The solo exhibition presents the art of the talented Thai artist, Rush Pleansuk, who came to prominence as an artist when his artworks were selected for La Fête's "Designer's Week". With a love of art and science, Rush studied architecture
at Kasetsart University, graduating in 2001. His approach to art reflects his cultural roots and spirit.
His latest art collection titled "Genii Loci" is the result of his journey in search of raw materials mined from his family memories. It is the nostalgic memories of his childhood that have endowed his art with its spirit. Through his design techniques, Rush tells the story of
spiritual growth from personal belongings that have been passed down through the generations and now turned into a variety of elegant tangible forms. Each has its own character depending on the raw materials used. Rush's art celebrates not only the beauty of form
and function, but it goes a step further by exhibiting a cultural dimension as evidenced by the embedding of his childhood memories in his masterpieces.
The opening night of the exhibition on Thursday 17th December will begin with a welcome cocktail and light canapes in the lobby while a live DJ performs. Art lovers and VIPs will then be invited to view the exhibition in S Gallery.
Mr.William Haandrikman, General Manager of Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit, said recently, "Our new exhibition space SGallery is inspired by French art and design as part of the Sofitel's three pillars philosophy and acts as a showcase foremerging and
established Thai and French artists. This is welcome opportunity to experience the work of one of Thailand's most talented artists and we are delighted to be hosting Rush Pleansuk's thought-provoking and exciting exhibition, 'Genii Loci'. I encourage
all art lovers to come and be inspired by his art".
Rush Pleansuk's imaginative work will be on show until 1st February, 2016.
Genii Loci
The past of the future
"I tend to live in the past because my life is there".
Despite their bodies practically non-existent, artist Rush Pleansuk can't help thinking that his deceased relatives might still be around given that their personal effects are still left lying around as traces of their unfolding journeys.
From the simple joys in childhood to his personal displacement to the concrete jungle, Rush has certainly come a long way. Currently caught up in the rat race in the big city, Rush is longing for a return to nature that he once left behind.
The artist sees himself living in a time that's a fusion of the past (background), present (reality) and future (dream). This world view forms the basis of his life and art that portrays the big bad city in which one's survival depends on having both abstract and
material needs met.
His obsession with residential architecture has a direct impact on the way he creates his masterpieces, themselves symbols of the living and the dead, past and present, invisible and visible. Through his art, images of his hidden memories are out in the open.
"Genii Loci" is a Latin term for the protective spirit of a place. Some Asian cultures regard personal belongings and idols as the dwelling places of spirits, a belief that still resonates to this day. The artist is able to render this spiritual belief in physical form by
drawing his inspiration from Thailand's building custom. Tradition dictates that one material in a building be assigned as the dwelling place of its guardian spirit who is responsible for the safety of its occupants. Rush's art is a reinterpretation of this traditional
belief through the right blend of design, function and artistic value.
The Genii Loci collection – on the theme of "the cycle of life" – is divided into three parts: "Body, "Sense" and "Memory".
"Body" focuses on the cycle of growth and the human body.
"Sense" portrays the transience of human life through the message that the texture of a wooden home, like that of human beings, is subject to decay through time.
"Memory" reflects the artist's desire to search for spirits dwelling in objects. "Memory" reflects the use of memories of people and places as embedded in a collection of old personal effects.
These objects serve as the artist's raw materials for creating works of art that can grow into the "homes of spirits" the same way termite mushrooms have sprouted up from a piece of wood. The artworks in this section store and bring back memories of
his family through a collection of his deceased loved ones' personal belongings and old photos.
"Cycle" (or "time") represents the cycle of the seasons as well as the many moments in the artist's life that he has wanted frozen. The changing of the seasons is like the rise and fall of a curtain in the theatre symbolising the beginning and the end of a real-life drama.
The artist uses gold leaf to illustrate the stark contrast between the fragility of gold leaf and the durability of gold as a substance.
The exhibition is an intentional integration of time, memory, loss and recollection that, through art, has transformed the abstract into the concrete so that it's easy for us to relate to the past once again. The exhibition portrays both a lost environment and an existing
chaotic one in which people struggle to survive emotionally. The exhibition serves as a dialogue that attempts to turn our society on to the memory of our ancestors and the need to preserve our cultural roots.
For further information or reservations, please contact Martin Gerlier, MoonStar Fine Arts Advisors at 093 5826588or e-mail:
[email protected]
S Gallery – Lobby Level, Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit
S Gallery is open daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.