Karms Thammatat's 'Utopia Now' at Unit London Explores Dystopian Visions Through Chiaroscuro and Cartoon Forms

Thai painter Karms Thammatat presents a solo exhibition titled 'Utopia Now' at Unit London, running through 20 May. The show features eerie, distorted characters in bleak settings, blending European Old Master chiaroscuro with cartoon-like forms reminiscent of Takashi Murakami's style. Works from 2023 include a teenage cyclops, a green dog with metallic spiked teeth, and a vase of flowers with eyes, all sharing disproportionately large eyes that convey strain rather than sweetness. Scenes depict purgatorial environments, such as hazy Renaissance mountainscapes and austere beige interiors, where characters like a boy with flesh-colored wings weighed down by spiked balls or children restrained by shackles display mirthful expressions. This juxtaposition highlights a search for utopia, critiquing ideals of perfection in technology and popular media. Thammatat's paintings suggest joy lies not in extremes but in accepting imperfection, with characters' masks representing internal doubt rather than external protection, unlike Zeng Fanzhi's blank-faced figures. The exhibition occupies Unit London's shadowy lower space, emphasizing tension between high and low art forms to add gravity to bizarre narratives.