奇蒂•纳罗德Kitti Narod 生活之四 Life Series No.4

奇蒂·纳罗德(Kitti Narod)1976年出生于泰国，毕业于泰国皇家理工大学 Pohchang 艺术学院，现生活工作于巴吞他尼府。他曾先后在伦敦、蒙特利尔、新加坡、曼谷、台北举办个展，在曼谷、墨尔本、都柏林、爱丁堡参与群展。他的作品曾在英国爱丁堡艺术节（2007）、英国曼彻斯特艺术节（2005）、曼谷文化艺术中心（2019）展出并广受欢迎，被诸多公共机构和个人收藏。芬芳之城 “关系”一直是Kitti画面的重点，猫在主人脚边的缱绻呢喃，伴侣的相拥交缠，陷于爱情的男人与女人在狂喜中奔跑，男人女人们以不同的姿态赤裸身躯进入梦乡……在他的作品中，人与动物、自然，都以不同的方式彼此联系、交融、依恋。这些色彩明亮又温暖的刻画时常传达出喜悦、疗愈的情感，Kitti所画的一切都共生于一个芬芳馥郁的城邦当中。 和所有人一样，在过去的一年中Kitti经历了复杂的情感。除了新冠在全球的大流行，泰国本土也遭遇政治、经济和社会的动荡。Kitti观察和参加了各种各样的公众集会，它们提出了保护权利、平等和自由的诉求。同时，这些经历和社会问题成为他作品的新的灵感来源，他在新作中用自己的绘画语言和风格去诠释与呈现他们。我们能够看到数十只惊惧亦或是愤怒的猫在表达情绪，亦或是让男人与女人一共褪下衣服裸露身体，来提示人们生而赤裸，生而平等。“无论社会经济阶层或性取向如何，大家都是一样的……大家共同分享的场所和情境再一次体现了乌托邦，或者是我脑海中的理想社会——我们尊重每一个个体，以及平等性。” Kitti从文艺复兴时期的教堂绘画中汲取了很多绘画灵感，他笔下人物的简化五官、修长体态和身体阴影的表现方式，都让我们想起早期的基督教绘画。在处理各种元素错综交织的整体效果时，他将十种、百种形象重复、叠加，又不致使空间局促的手法，或许也得益于教堂画对繁复细节的处理方法。他在简化的背景一贯使用清晰的直线切分，使得人物、动物以最直接主体的方式铺开在画面当中。针对个体和局部，Kitti流畅自由地发挥，结合从马蒂斯及南美艺术中发掘的技法与元素，不同面貌、身份以最简单的形式被勾勒出来。同时又叠加组合成为一个融洽舒适的整体，实现了画面复杂的统一。也把私人记忆和情感体验，转化成为共同分享的回忆。 在社会分化的时代，Kitti的作品试图提醒我们欣赏简单的乐趣，并注意日常生活中的平凡而基本的细节。与个展“乐园”一样，本次展览“芬芳之城”依然想要表达人们团结、统一和平等的愿望。对于Kitti来说这次展览是一个在明媚的“城中”自我疗愈的过程，也让经历着挑战的我们有了更加温暖的角度看待与世界的关系。           Fragrant City Tang Contemporary Art is proud to present “Fragrant City,” a solo show for Thai artist Kitti Narod, in its Bangkok space. After “Joy Land,” this is Narod’s second solo exhibition with the gallery. Relationships have always been the focus of Narod’s paintings: cats mew and curl around the feet of their owners; lovers embrace one another; men and women falling in love run toward each other wild with joy; and nude men and women striking different poses wander into a dreamworld. In his work, people, animals, and nature are connected and longing for one another in different ways. These images, painted in bright, warm colors, often convey joy and healing; everything Narod paints coexists in a city permeated with a strong fragrance. Like everyone else, Kitti Narod has experienced a lot of complex emotions in the last year. In addition to the global coronavirus pandemic, Thailand experienced political, economic, and social turmoil. Narod observed and participated in various public gatherings advocating for the protection of people’s rights, equality, and freedom. These economic and social issues became fresh sources of inspiration, which are presented in his new work using his characteristic style. He depicts dozens of scared or angry cats expressing their emotions, or men and women shedding their clothes to show that all people were born naked and equal. “Regardless of socio-economic status or sexual orientation, everyone is the same… Everyone’s shared spaces and circumstances are represented in a utopia, or my ideal society—we respect every individual and equality.” Narod draws a lot of inspiration from Renaissance church painting. The simplified features, slender bodies, and physical shadows of the figures in his work are reminiscent of early Christian painting. In an overall effect that blends numerous elements, he repeats and layers one dozen or one hundred forms, without the space feeling cramped; these compositions draw on the way that Christian religious painting incorporates an array of complex details. He clearly segments the simple backgrounds with straight lines, then spreads the people and animals over the painting in the most direct yet subjective way. Narod makes easy and free use of individuals and parts, combining techniques and elements from Matisse and South American art. He portrays different features and identities with the simplest of forms. These forms are then grouped and layered into an agreeable, comfortable whole, achieving a complex unity in the paintings. These works embody personal memories and emotional experiences, transformed into shared memory. In an era of social divisions, Narod’s work reminds us to appreciate simple joys and to focus on the ordinary, basic details of everyday life. As in his solo show “Joy Land,” he wants “Fragrant City” to express the desire for togetherness, unity, and equality. For Kitti Narod, this exhibition is a healing process for a beautiful city, but it also offers us a brighter perspective on our relationships with a challenging world.