A series of exquisite oil paintings that touch on problems in politics, international relations and human relationships will be exhibited during "Manifest Destiny" at Number 1 Gallery, Silom 21, from Saturday to Sept 24.
This is a good chance to capture masterpieces by Arnont Lertpullpol, a senior lecturer at Silpakorn University's Faculty of Painting, Sculpture and Graphic Arts, who reflects how competition for personal advantages and wars provoked by world leaders have caused immeasurable damage to mankind.
He has chosen to depict crowds of hostile people or soldiers with monstrous faces and blank stars who are striving to survive; and portraits of certain world leaders whose suspicious smiles seem to conceal their villainy.
Some of the paintings are produced by intentionally deposited hues while others simply by the drawing of lines, instantaneous movement of brushstrokes and exquisite colouring.
The title of the exhibition refers to the 19th century belief in the supposed inevitability of the US expanding its borders westward across the North American continent to the Pacific Ocean and beyond. The idea was founded on three movements -- racism, nationalism and expansionism.
The artist points out that such practices are simply caused by a hunger for power. The exhibition is aimed to raise awareness of moral conflicts and ethical principles adhered by humans to justify and legitimise their own actions.
Number 1 Gallery opens Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 7pm. There is no admission fee.
Visit number1gallery.com or call 02-630-2523.
