Through his wide-ranging practice, Natee Utarit explores the medium of painting, establishing dialogues with both photography and Western classicism. In this fine work created through the woodblock print technique, the artist brings to focus a lotus flower emerging from a shadowed field, its delicate form illuminated against the background. The Latin phrase Dum vita est, spes est conveys the idea that while there is life, there is hope. Moving forward with Hope! Natee Utarit first gained international recognition when he was selected to participate in the 3rd Asia-Pacific Triennial in Brisbane, Australia, in 1999. A graduate of Silpakorn University in Bangkok, where he majored in Graphic Art, he later went on to exhibit alongside leading Asian artists, including Ai Weiwei, in Future Pass, a collateral event of the Venice Biennale in 2011. His other international exhibitions include The Spirits of Maritime Crossing, Palazzo Mangilli Valmarana, Venice, Italy (2024), MEDEA, Ancient Market of Ortigia, Italy (2023), and Thai Contemporary in Beijing (2007). In 2010, he was given a mid-career retrospective by the Singapore Art Museum called Natee Utarit: After Painting. Recent solo showcases of his work include The Strange World of the Super Unknown, Richard Koh Fine Art, S.E.A. FOCUS (2025), Déjà Vu: Buddha is Hiding, STPI Creative Workshop & Gallery, Singapore (2024), Historia, Richard Koh Fine Art, Gillman Barracks, Singapore (2023), and Optimism is Ridiculous, Richard Koh Fine Art, National Art Gallery, Kuala Lumpur (2018). His accolades include the Silpathorn Award, conferred by Thailand’s Ministry of Culture, and the Asia Arts Game Changer Awards.