THE ARTIST KONGTHIN PEARLMICH 'THE PEARLMAN'

   BY IAONNIS GOSS-TAYLOR

THE USE OF PEN AND ART TOOLS CAME READILY TO THE INTENSELY PRIVATE ARTIST KONGTHIN PEARLMICH – ‘THE PEARLMAN’. THERE ARE OVER 2000 POEMS AND MORE THAN 6000 ART WORKS.

LIKE HIS POEMS - THE ART WORKS COVER AN ASTONISHING RANGE OF STYLES AND SKILLS. INDEED, ONE ART COMMENTATOR, WHO IS FAMILIAR WITH HIS CREATIONS, DESCRIBED HIS BODY OF WORK AS WARRANTING THE BIRTH OF A NEW ART TERM – THAT OF ‘KONGTHINISM ‘ – DEFINING THE TERM TO REPRESENT AN ARTIST WHO DEMONSTRATES SUPERB MASTERY OF A RANGE OF ARTISTIC SKILLS INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, SCULPTURE, PAINTING, DRAWING, DESIGN, PHTOGRAPHY, USING A WIDE RANGE OF MATERIALS.

KP iS, ALSO, A POET OF POWER AND SUBSTANCE

EVERY WORK WHICH THE ARTIST HAS PRODUCED IS SIGNED WITH THE INTIALS ‘KP’ ALONG WITH TWO FURTHER SECRET MARQUES, A CATALOGUE NUMBER, AND, OF COURSE, AN OYSTER PEARL.

KONGTHIN PEARLMICH IS LARGELY SELF TAUGHT - GIFTED WITH A NATURAL CREATIVE FLAIR, KEEN VISION AND AN AMAZING ABILITY TO CONVERT HIS CREATIVE IDEAS INTO ARTISTIC REALITY.

HE ADMITS TO HAVING AN UNQUENCHABLE THIRST FOR ALL FORMS OF KNOWLEDGE – THERE ARE MORE THAT 200 THOUSAND BOOKS IN HIS VAST LIBRARY. WHEN NOT WORKING IN HIS STUDIO PRODUCING HIS CREATIONS, HE HAS TRAVELLED THE WORLD SPENDING MANY YEARS VISITING MUSEUMS AND GALLERIES TO STUDY THE GREAT MASTERS. HE IS ALSO A GREAT ADMIRER AND CREATOR OF CUTTING EDGE CONTEMPORARY ART.

ONE INTENSELY THOUGHT PROVOKING PEICE OF WORK CREATED BY THE ARTIST AND EXQUISITELY EXECUTED IS ENTITLED - 'THE MAN DELUSION', OF WHICH THE CENTRE PIECE CONSISTS OF A CHRIST CRUCIFIXION TRIPTYCH. HERE, THE ARTIST HAS COMBINED THE STYLE OF THE NEOCLASSICAL WITH A CONTEMPORARY SYMBOLIC EMPHASIS - TO STUNNING EFFECT. THE TRIPTYCH ITSELF IS INDIVIDUALLY ENTITLED 'HAND OF GOD, FOOT OF MAN, HEART OF ETERNAL LIFE. THE TRIPTYCH IN TURN SITS AS THE FOCAL POINT OF A FURTHER SERIES OF TWELVE INDIVIDUAL PIECES ‘THE APOSTLES’. COLLECTIVELY THE WHOLE WORK IS ENTITLED - ‘THE MAN DELUSION'. EACH INDIVIDUAL APOSTLE PIECE CARRIES ITS OWN TITLE AND CONCEPTUAL MESSAGE, WHICH SEEKS TO EXPLORE THE RELATIONSHIP AND INTERACTION BETWEEN THE HUMAN CONDITION IN MODERN DAY LIFE AND THE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE TEACHINGS OF ANCIENT RELIGIONS.

KONGTHIN PEARLMICH PRODUCED FOUR CRUCIFIXION THEMED TRIPTYCHS (Nos. 1 –4) - AND EACH ONE CARRIES 12 DIFFERENT ‘MAN MADE APOSTLE’ IDEAS - SOME 48 WORKS OF ART IN ALL UNDER THE CHRISTIAN FAITH THEME.

THE ARTIST HAS BEEN SPOKEN OF AS THE "HOWARD HUGHES" OF THE ART WORLD DUE TO HIS INTENSELY PRIVATE NATURE. IT IS TRUE THAT HE HAS WORKED HARD, HITHERTO, TO DELIBERATELY AVOID ALL MANNER OF PUBLIC EXHIBITIONS. HE HAS NEVER SOUGHT THE RECOGNITION OF THE ART ESTABLISHMENT. AS A MAN OF PRIVATE MEANS HE HAS NOT FOUND IT NECESSARY TO PROMOTE HIS WORK IN THIS WAY.

INDEED, THE ARTIST ONLY RECENTLY, AND AT THE BEHEST OF HIS NEWLY APPOINTED PROFESSIONAL TEAM WHO HAVE BEEN CHARGED WITH DISPERSING HIS VAST PERSONAL COLLECTION - FINALLY AGREED TO ALLOW ONE OF HIS TRIPTYCH WORKS TO BE DISPLAYED AT KING’S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE - BECAUSE THE OFFICIALS OF CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL WERE GIVEN AN OPPORTUNITY TO ‘PRIVATELY VIEW’ THE ARTWORK BEFORE THEY CONSIDERED WHETHER THEY CAN PROVIDE A PERMANENT HOME FOR ONE OF THE TRIPTYCH PIECES AT THE CATHEDRAL.

TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE ARTIST’S WORK YOU CAN SEND A MESSAGE TO:

info@kongthinart.com

MUCH OF THE ABOVE SCRIPT WAS ORIGINALLY WRITTEN AS AN INTRODUCTION TO A JOUNALISTIC PIECE THAT I HAD COMPILED FOLLOWING AN INTERVIEW WITH THE ARTIST IN 2006. THE ARTIST DOES NOT DO INTERVIEWS.BUT I PERSISTED IN MY QUEST TO INTERVIEW KONGTHIN ONCE I HAD BEEN INTRODUCED TO HIS WORK BY A FRIEND OF A CLIENT OF ONE OF THE PROVINCIAL FINE ART AUCTION HOUSES THAT I HAD PREVIOUSLY REPRESENTED.

 IT WAS ONLY AFTER WEEKS OF JUMPING THROUGH IMPOSSIBLY HIGH HOOPS AND MY FINALLY AGREEING TO A VERY TIGHT CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT THAT I WAS EVENTUALLY GRANTED AN INTERVIEW. THIS OCCASION ENABLED ME TO UNDERTAKE THE INTERVIEW, AND, GAIN A BREIF BUT FASCINATING INSIGHT INTO THE ENIGMATIC AND INTRIGUING LIFE AND WORK OF THE ARTIST.

HOWEVER, ULTIMATELY, KP DECIDED THAT HE DID NOT WISH THE ARTICLE TO BE FORWARDED TO ANY TYPE OF PUBLICATION.

NONETHELESS, I HAVE SINCE BEEN INVITED TO BECOME A MEMBER OF THE KONGTHIN PEARLMICH ESTATE COLLECTION CURATORIAL TEAM – AN APPOINTMENT I WAS EXTREMELY PLEASED AND EXCITED TO ACCEPT.

I HAVE AMENDED THE ABOVE PIECE TO INCLUDE THE RECENT CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY EVENT.

FURTHER, ALONG WITH THE REST OF THE PROFESSIONAL TEAM AT CHANNEL AND GLOBAL ART FOUNDATION (WHICH IS NOT A LAW FIRM AS WAS INCORRECTLY REPORTED IN THE MEDIA) NOW ENGAGED IN THE PROCESS OF DISPERSING THE COLLECTION - I AM ALSO ATTEMPTING TO CONVINCE ‘KP’ THAT MY ORIGINAL ARTICLE SHOULD NOW BE RELEASED FOR PUBLICATION, AND, THAT HE SHOULD REVEAL MORE OF HIS LIFE AND WORK TO A MUCH WIDER PUBLIC AND APPEAR IN PERSON AT THE FORTHCOMING PRESS LAUNCH OF THE ARTIST'S CATALOGUE RAISONNE EARLY NEXT YEAR.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

IAONNISS GOSS-TAYLOR GRADUATED FROM THE SOUTHAMPTON INSTITUTE/UNIVERSITY WITH AN HONOURS DEGREE IN FINE ARTS VALUATION. HE IS ALSO A GRADUATE OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF ARTS ANTIQUES STUDIES PROGRAMME.

AN EXPERIENCED ANTIQUE FURNITURE AND WORKS OF ART SPECIALIST - HE ALSO SPENT 4 YEARS AS AN ANTIQUE FURNITURE RESTORER.

PREVIOUSLY, HE HAS WORKED AT NUMEROUS LEADING PROVINCIAL FINE ARTS AUCTION HOUSES AS A SPECIALIST VALUER AND FULL TIME FURNITURE AND WORKS OF ART SPECIALIST.

NOW AN INDEPENDENT FINE ARTS CONSULTANT AND WRITER - HIS BOOK

‘THE ENGLISH AND THEIR TEA’ – A STUDY OF THE HISTORY OF THE TRADITIONAL ENGLISH LOVE AFFAIR WITH TEA, WHICH, INCORPORATES THE HISTORICAL DEVLOPMENT OF THE TEA CADDY – IS TO BE PUBLISHED IN 2009.

ALTHOUGH HIS WORK TAKES HIM AROUND THE GLOBE - HE IS PRIMARILY BASED IN THE UK.

Copyright © 2008 Kongthin Pearlmich All rights reserved.