Lot 16: THAVORN KO-UDOMVIT (b. Thailand 1956)

Seed no. 2
signed 'Thavorn Ko' (lower left side)
acrylic paint and epoxy on wood
51 1/2 x 8 1/4 in. (131 x 21 cm.)
The broadest point of this sculptural work measures 8 1/4 in. (21cm.) and the rest of the width measuring 5 1/2 in. (14 cm.).

(cont'd from Lot 15) this moment of growth almost like a trophy championing the artist's cause.

Whilst Thavorn did not explicitly depict religious themes in these two works, they are very subtle reminders of the Buddhist religious influences - which exemplify great respect for nature - at large in Thai society. His interpretations of the organic beauty of life draw on this extension of the relationship between man, nature and hence beliefs. Traditionally, farmers in Thailand gather rice seeds in reverence to this humble life giver and in belief that this will bring them an abundant harvest. The seedlings in these two works depict that very spirit of creation. 'Forms such as these are products of natural evolution that seem to possess a special power which induces us to worship them. It is this impulse which is the origin of man's artistic spirit, a spirit which by means of an internal artistic grammar gives rise to works of art.' (Artist statement, 2006) In the two present lots, Thavorn has illustrated that it is nature which gives birth to life, nourishing the spirit, and hence gives impetus and reason to create art.