Sunti World Art Gallery welcomes artists in residence

By STEFANIE THOMPSON

This Week in the Flathead

The Sunti World Art Gallery has been bringing art by the world’s masters to Whitefish for about a year. This summer, the gallery welcomed two of those creators as artists in residence.

“They have been loving this experience and the opportunity to paint Western subjects,” said Erica Pichetchiayakul, co-owner of the Sunti World Art Gallery. “They are used to doing mostly commissioned work [in Thailand] so it has been nice for them to be able to create their own work.”

Kowit Sernklang and Sarawut Kanpairee arrived in Whitefish in late June and began their live-art demonstrations in July. Passers-by may have seen Kanpairee outside of the gallery on Spokane Avenue painting.

“People want to talk to me, but my English isn’t good,” Kanpairee said, as translated by Pichetchiayakul. “But I like to share my art and my country with them.

“It’s beautiful here, and people have such respect for artists. People get excited. I want to thank everyone who has seen my work, they have been such an encouragement.”

As an underprivileged child in Udon Thani, Thailand, Kanpairee dreamed of becoming an artist. With minimal schooling in fine art, he went on to create realistic and detailed oil paintings that even the Thais, who deeply value higher education diplomas, came to appreciate.

A primarily self-taught artist with his own technique and style, Kanpairee transforms the traditional one-dimensional Thai-style paintings into a three-dimensional tangible world. He showcases multiple paintings within a painting, emphasizing story and symbolism to create a lifelike utopia.

A five-time participant at the prestigious Chalerm Prakiet, Kanpairee received the Royal Princess Choice Award and a special visitation from Princess Royal Maha Chakri Sirindhorn. He was awarded Best of Show at the 2009 Jitagum Chalerm for the Royal Thai Police at Chiang Mai Exhibition Hall. In 2011, he received the Special Prize Award at the juried Golden Paintbrush Exhibition for His Royal Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej at the Bangkok Art and Culture Center. Kanpairee also received second place in 2015 at the national charity auction for elephants, sponsored by Arrow USA clothing line.

A professional artist for 25 years, Kanpairee has participated in many national, juried art exhibitions in Thailand, including the Contemporary Art Exhibition at Chiang Mai Exhibition Hall, Realistic Art Exhibition at Kasikorn Bank Exhibition Hall in Bangkok, Singh Corporation 65th Anniversary in Bangkok, and Gueymai AC Pacific at Mae Jo University Exhibition Hall, Chiang Mai.

When Kanpairee is not working on his realistic masterpieces, he enjoys exploring the freedom of surrealism through his “Ever Green Collection.”

“Here I have a lot of freedom in my thinking,” Kanpairee said. “I can create anything I like and it’s valued.

“I love Montana! I love Whitefish!”

Sernklang works inside the gallery because the indoor light is better for charcoal work, but said his experience in Montana has also been positive.

“Everything, the people in Whitefish, Montana is so cute,” Sernklang said, as translated by Pichetchiayakul. “I can’t believe the respect people are giving us. Where I come from it’s very different.

“I just want to say thank you. I want to stay forever. I’m so grateful for the opportunity and the response.”

Sernklang’s charcoal paintings are uniquely realistic. He uses one of the oldest artistic mediums and forms of expression, applying crushed charcoal to a cotton-woven paper with dozens of authentic Chinese brushes. Each brush has a different thickness, coarseness, texture and durability.

Often mistaken for photographs, Sernklang’s paintings are extremely lifelike, enhanced with emotion. He places emphasis on inner power, conveyed through the highlights of his subjects’ eyes, which is achieved by erasers and is the most personal aspect of his work.

Sernklang’s personal experience with losing loved ones is what motivates him to find the light in his paintings. A single father and widower, Sernklang lost his wife in a fatal car accident before he was 30 years old. His parents died when he was a child and he has already lost the relatives who raised him. While the losses can feel overwhelming at times, Sernklang said he finds solace in Buddhist philosophy and in painting. With each stroke, he strives to celebrate life through the white light in the eyes of his subjects, always reminding himself, “When there is loss, there is light.”

“They are both so humble and wonderful,” Pichetchiayakul said.

Kanpairee and Sernklang will continue to perform live demonstrations at the Sunti World Art Gallery through September. They are at the gallery daily during regular business hours, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

They will also be featured on Friday, Aug. 19, from 5 to 7 p.m. at “An Evening with Internationally Acclaimed Artists,” a showcase event that will also include Allen Jimmerson and gallery owner and namesake Sunti Pichetchiayakul.

Kanpairee and Sernklang will also be at the gallery during the Sept. 1 Whitefish Gallery Nights event from 6 to 9 p.m.

Sunti World Art Gallery is located at 345 Spokane Avenue in Whitefish. For more information, call 406-862-1084 or visit www.suntiworldart.com.

“You have to see it to believe it,” Pichetchiayakul said of Kanpairee and Sernklang’s art. “It is truly amazing and inspiring.

“In their culture, it’s such a tough crowd. It’s nice for them to come here and be getting the recognition they deserve.”