H Gallery Bangkok is very pleased to announce the first solo exhibition in Thailand by the Czech-born and Bangkok-based Jiri Kobos. Extant and Intangible is a series of richly layered paintings which are rooted in the artist’s study of art historical traditions in non-objective expression. Kobos explores the spatial capacities of color to heightened emotional effect, inviting us to feel part of the spaces he creates.

The title Extant and Intangible refers to, on the one hand, Kobos’s considered pursuit of authenticity and originality and, on the other, the shadows or ghosts which float across his measured and contrasting surfaces from the canonical tradition of abstraction. Contemporary abstract painters grapple with much: the weight of their history, possibilities for critical re-interpretation and our lingering desire for an art of transcendence or spirituality. Kobos’s works allow us to contemplate such.

Jiri Kobos was born in 1958 in Bohemia and has traveled extensively, relocating to Asia in 1987. Kobos first exhibited in Florence and Munich in the late 70s and has since shown in cities as diverse as Jakarta, Mumbai and Istanbul. In 2011 he was included in art biennales in Izmir and Florence. Kobos’s works are held in private collections in Japan, Singapore, South Africa and Russia, amongst many other countries.