James Prapaithong, Fly me to the moon (2022). Oil on canvas. 240 x 180 cm. Courtesy the artist and Hive Center for Contemporary Art, Shanghai.
James Prapaithong, Nightfall (2023). Oil on canvas. 40 x 30 cm. Courtesy the artist and Hive Center for Contemporary Art, Shanghai.
James Prapaithong, Pale Blue Moon (2023). Oil on canvas. 150 x 200 cm. Courtesy the artist and Hive Center for Contemporary Art, Shanghai.
James Prapaithong, A Sky full of Stars #1 (2023). Oil on canvas. 30 x 40 cm. Courtesy the artist and Hive Center for Contemporary Art, Shanghai.
James Prapaithong, Strawberry Moon (2023). Oil on canvas. 40 x 30 cm. Courtesy the artist and Hive Center for Contemporary Art, Shanghai.
James Prapaithong, Cosmic Night (2023). Oil on canvas. 40 x 30 cm. Courtesy the artist and Hive Center for Contemporary Art, Shanghai.
Among the countless artists captivated by the moon’s allure over the centuries (from J.M.W. Turner to Vincent van Gogh) is Thailand’s James Prapaithong.
For his inaugural solo exhibition in Asia, the London-based artist brings a recent series of oil on canvas paintings to Hive Center for Contemporary Art’s Hive Becoming space in Shanghai.
Prapaithong’s paintings depict glimpses of landscapes under moonlit skies, characterised by a distinctive cinematic aesthetic.
In works such as Strawberry Moon and Cosmic Night (both 2023), the night sky is bathed in the moon’s soft, mysterious glow, evoking stillness and mystery. The clouds in the surrounding scenery, made by embedding the paint into the canvas, are almost out of focus, adding to the paintings’ filmic feel.
Speaking to Ocula Advisory in 2021, Prapaithong said, ‘For me, the moon is an object of inner peace. Sometimes I look up at it and it takes my mind off things. In my paintings, I try to render a feeling of yearning by using this motif.’
Whisper is on view until 12 December 2023.
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