House of art

One of the key works on show at the debut exhibition, `Phra Bhumibol 2007'.
On Sunday, the province of Kanchanaburi played host to a big crowd of local art heavyweights as well as a large number of artists who gathered to celebrate the launch of Emjaroen Gallery, a new gallery founded by National Artist Pratuang Emjaroen.
A well-respected and much loved master of art whose repertoire spans from painting to poetry, Pratuang's greatest wish for his life was to find a home for his paintings. In this sense, Emjaroen Gallery is a symbol of self-fulfilment that has been over 13 years in the making.
Comprising three main exhibition sites on a 1.28 hectare plot, Emjaroen Gallery's first building, the Circle Building, which was completed in 1994, will serve as a venue for temporary exhibitions. The two other buildings are the Triangle Building _ which will hold a permanent collection of work by Pratuang _ and the Dome Building, which provides space for gallery shops selling reproductions of Pratuang's work as well as additional temporary exhibition space.
Pratuang has also created large sculpture entitled Rice Seed as a focal point for the gallery.
Construction of the gallery was made possible by the sale of works by the National Artist.
For its debut exhibition, the entire exhibition space in all three buildings of Emjaroen Gallery is being used to present works by 128 artists, including some of the gallery founder's National Artist peers as well as leading local artists such as Preecha Taothong, Chalermchai Kositpipat and Somsak Chaothanapong. Other big names in art who honoured Pratuang by attending the launch included Thawan Dachanee, Prayad Pongdum, Kamol Tassananchalee, Sawat Tantisuk and Angkarn Kalayanaphong.
Those interested in experiencing the work of the 128 participating artists in the 'Power of Art' exhibition can visit Emjaroen Gallery, Sumrong sub-district, Tha Muang, Kanchanaburi, between Wednesdays and Sundays from 9am to 5pm. The exhibition runs until January 7. For more information, call 08-9155-3545.