The Art, the Artist, and the Wine

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I went to a tiny art gallery, tucked away down a narrow soi, for a meet-up of a new group. I've gone to several Meet Up events since arriving in Bangkok, and always met some great people. (Meet Up events are organized by interests and you join the group online, then RSVP to specific events for each group.) Tonight would prove no different.

We met at the gallery, and I think the first thing almost everyone did was comment on how much they liked the space. (Myself included.) The featured art was all done by one artist, Fernando Aceves Humana. He had oil paintings, lithography, etchings, and, my favorite medium, photography. We all walked around admiring the art, talking about the art, and just chatting in general. Then we went upstairs.

Upstairs there were more lithographs, a lithography press, and a shoeless man walking around. I wondered why everyone suddenly came upstairs at the same time.... and then realized the shoeless man was the artist! He gave a nice talk about his art, his process, and what goes into making it. (Lithographs take much longer than I had ever imagined, since each layer of color has to dry before the next is added... and he uses lots of shades.) He also talked about his outreach program in Phnom Penh and how it was helping students learn about art and other new skills. He took us outside, too, so we had a complete tour of his work space. But he did say he'd painted the oil paintings in a basement somewhere else.

All in all, quite an event! His passion for what he does and his willingness to share it made this even more special.

Next up was a trip to a wine bar down the soi for drinks and dinner. We were treated to complimentary sparkling wine while we sat outside enjoying each others' company. Only about ten of us went to the wine bar, so it was really easy to have some good conversations. We talked and laughed until the food and wine ran out and then headed for home, swapping contact info along the way.

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