he is known throughout Asia and the world. He works in an original, dynamic genre rooted in a unique perspective of Thai Buddhism. One of the foremost Asian artists, he has won wide acclaim from the general public as well as the art critics.Mr. Thawan was born in 1939 in Chiang Rai, northern Thailand. He studied at Silpakorn University under the Italian painter, Corrado Feroci, who is known as the father of modern Thai art, and also had the Thai name Silpa Bhilasri.