A true professional artist is neither a dauber nor a dabbler. It is a profession like any other, but with a longer "apprenticeship" than most. Jessada Kongsommart has now served his apprenticeship. Twelve years, including four years at Burapha University studying Fine Arts, have produced a rare talent. This talent was displayed in the two dozen paintings unveiled at the Art Café last week.
Jessada's works are in many private collections these days. His ability to capture the substance and "movement" of Thai fabrics on canvas is uncanny in its technique. And quite frankly I found myself staring at some of these canvases in the exhibition, wondering at his control over light and shade.

Jessada Kongsommart is still young, almost frightfully young, but there is nothing about him that calls for the word "upstart". His achievement is well deserved. What you will experience in the National Gallery is the works of an extremely talented and hard working young man who is both ambitious and modest.

Jessada Kongsommart’s art has the wonderful expression of timeless knowledge. He draws his themes from rural life of the countryside in "TIN TEE CHAN KERD" (in the Kalasin Province) where he grew up. The sweet, damp smell of pure oil, living so close to mother-nature that you can breathe her beauty, the handicraft of the village people, the silk fabric patterns, yes, that homage to pure traditional life at the risk of being crushed under the steely paws of modern, noisy, urban life. There is also a dark sensual undercurrent in many of Jessada's paintings that gives them an almost erotic quality.

The exhibition of Jessada Kongsommart’s art in the National Gallery is of course the high point of his career. I can think of no greater honour for a painter, he is now an established and highly regarded artist. The next step must be the world. Being a Norwegian I found it strange that these paintings, so clearly anchored in Thai traditions, should move me so deeply. But then I realised that Jessada's art transcends all our differences, they speak a language that all human beings can understand, no matter where he is born on Earth. We walk on the same soil, breathe the same air under the same heaven, all of us experiencing the darkness of sorrow and the light of love, with the soft whispers of spirits and the gods in our ears.

Concerning Jessada’s art works, at first sight I had the impression, that all of them were collages made from different fabrics of silk, combined with some items of rural Thai daily life. But then, looking on the scribbled backside of the photos, I recognized that most of the pictures were painted oil/acrylic on canvas in a detailed way. I only remember to have seen such perfection before with the dress of the Spanish Royal Family at some old masters at the Prado in Madrid. Unbelievable, how this young man, who at that time was still studying the Fine Arts at Burapha University, could handle color and paintbrush in such a virtuous way.

So, first I decided to mark Jessada’s art "photo realistic", painted nearly in the old French 3 dimensional "trompe l'oeil" way. But then, deciphering also the titles on the photos, I recognized that I was mistaken again. "Thai Living", "Landscape", "Warm" or "Sleep" indicated, that his pictures had the intention to express something very different to what the onlooker may see on the surface. Something, that everybody, wherever he may live on this Planet, will understand and is longing for: The feeling of being home, surrounded by family and friends, not to be scared, being loved and to love somebody, living in peace and harmony, feeling safe and secure, or just being content and happy.

When the season for the harvest arrives, all the machinery is made ready to plow and farm the land. After the agricultural duties are complete, people attend to their handicraft work. Women prepare their tools for spinning, and weave the colourful silk threads in preparation for forthcoming celebrations. The men in turn, gather and prepare materials for their handicraft work before the rainy season comes. These are the kinds of country life activities which have been going on from the past to present day, and the skills are passed on from generation to generation.