THE REVENGE OF NATURE Wongsatorn Tanapathomsinchai

RUSSO YUBERO

The Revenge of Nature Wongsatorn Tanapathomsinchai

The Revenge of Nature French poet Charles Baudelaire wrote in one of his essays that the poets, and this can extend to all artistic disciplines, were the Universe Fortune tellers. This statement could not be more true today, when the art world simultaneously reflects the frenzy of the financial bubble and the worries of a younger generation who can perceive the terrifying effects of this insatiable race towards money, always more money, while our resources are rapidly vanishing and the planet seems to the edge of what it can bear. A French artist, Aurele, was the first to raise his concerns, over 20 years ago, about how we were treating the planet and how it would reject us if we became a threat. His guard dog was protecting the Earth, not us. He was trying to save us from ourselves. While some scientist were warning us, nobody listened. When Aurele warned us, nobody listened either, and now we are at this precise point when Nature is about to take its Revenge. While some are barking to warn us about how a significant part of the art market has become a stock exchange, others, like young prodigy Wongsatorn Thanapathomsinchai, are taking their tools to engrave and paint images that quietly show us both the beauty humanity created, and the threat Nature could become if we continue to mistreat it, and the next beauty that would then arise, the beauty of the destruction, the beauty of our own demise. When we carefully look at these images, we realize they combine classical harmony with a filigree of strong warning, a message from another very young man to the older generation. And it is true that at this time, we, the ones who have contributed to place our civilization at bay through our senseless desire of always more, need to halt and listen. Listen to the silence of this threat. The slow but irresistible Revenge of Nature. Helene Yubero & Francois Russo, December 2019

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Wongsatorn Tanapathomsinchai

Wongsatorn Tanapathomsinchai’s (b. 1996) innovative approach to etching integrates this classical technique with a powerful prophetic message. His meticulous renderings present a dark commentary on the drama of deforestation and environmental disaster, evoking a sense of foreboding. Wongsatorn’s interest in this theme is deeply influenced by Professor Yanawit Kunchaethong, Dean of the Faculty of Painting, Sculpture and Graphic Arts at Silpakorn University in Bangkok where he studied. Since the artist’s debut in 2018, his work has been widely sought after and exhibited at leading galleries and shows including the Indonesia International Print Triennial Competition, the Bangkok Triennale International Print and Drawing Exhibition, the Guanlan International Print Bienniale in China and the International Print Bienniale in Varna, Bulgaria.

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Revenge of Nature I

Size : 60 cm x 80 cm, Ink on Etching Edition of 8 plus 4 AP, for each color.

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Revenge of Nature II

Size : 82 cm x 60 cm, Ink on Etching Edition of 8 plus 4 AP, for each color.

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Previous page :

Sorrento, 2008

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Revenge of Nature III

Size : 60.5 cm x 42 cm, Ink on Etching Edition of 8 plus 4 AP, for each color.

Revenge of Nature IV

Size : 61 cm x 42 cm, Ink on Etching Edition of 8 plus 4 AP, for each color.

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Revenge of Nature V Size : 81 cm x 60 cm, Etching Edition of 8 plus 4 AP

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Revenge of Nature VI Size : 79.5 cm x 60.5 cm, Etching Edition of 8 plus 4 AP.

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Previous page :

Chernobyl, 2018

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Revenge of Nature VII

Size : 80 cm x 60.5 cm, Ink on Etching Edition of 8 plus 4 AP, for each color.

Revenge of Nature VIII Size : 39 cm x 60.5 cm, Ink on Etching Edition of 8 plus 4 AP, for each color.

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Belief I

Size : 79.5 cm x 39 cm, Ink on Etching Edition of 8 plus 4 AP, for each color.

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Belief II

Size : 41.5 cm x 60 cm, Ink on Etching Edition of 8 plus 4 AP, for each color.

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Previous page :

Nizhnevartovsk, 2015

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Belief III

Size : 42 cm x 60.5 cm, Ink on Etching Edition of 8 plus 4 AP, for each color.

Back to Nature I

Size : 60 cm x 80 cm, Etching Edition of 8 plus 4 AP.

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Back to Nature II

Size : 80 cm x 59 cm, Ink on Etching Edition of 8 plus 4 AP, for each color.

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Back to Nature III

Size : 50.5 cm x 40 cm, Ink on Etching Edition of 8 plus 4 AP, for each color.

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Previous page :

Bangkok, 2011

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Back to Nature IV

Size : 60 cm x 40 cm, Ink on Etching Edition of 8 plus 4 AP, for each color.

Back to Nature V

Size : 79.5 cm x 60 cm, Ink on Etching Edition of 8 plus 4 AP, for each color.

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Inside Feeling I

Size : 60 cm x 42 cm, Ink on Etching Edition of 8 plus 4 AP, for each color.

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Inside Feeling II

Size : 59 cm x 40.5 cm, Etching Edition of 8 plus 4 AP.

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Previous page :

Venice, 2019

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Inside Feeling III

Size : 59 cm x 40.5 cm, Ink on Etching Edition of 8 plus 4 AP, for each color.

Inside Feeling IV

Size : 30 cm x 40 cm, Etching Edition of 8 plus 4 AP.

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Inside Feeling V

Size : 60 cm x 40 cm, Etching Edition of 8 plus 4 AP

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Inside Feeling VI

Size : 39 cm x 29.5 cm, Ink on Etching Edition of 8 plus 4 AP, for each color.

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Credits This book has been published on the occasion of the exhibition “The Revenge Of Nature” at Gallery Russo Yubero in January 2020. A special edition of 50 copies have been numbered 1 to 50 and signed by the Artist. All the artworks in this book are etching, printed and signed by the Artist, some of them set off by hand ink application. The edition is limited to 8 for each artwork, numbered 1 to 8, plus 4 Artist Prints, not numbered.

Curators Hélène YUBERO Francois RUSSO

Creative Direction Francois RUSSO Assistants Pontakorn NUNSAI, Pakin JANETHUMNUGUL

Coordination Raweewan CHAIMANEE

Publisher RUSSO YUBERO PUBLISHING books@russoyubero.net Route du Grand Lancy 6A 1227 GEVEVA SWITZERLAND

Printed in Bangkok January 2020 / First Edition