Channatip Chanvipava (b. 1993) is a Thai artist of Chinese descent residing in England, whose autobiographical paintings intertwine the microcosm of his personal memory with the macrocosm of universal emotions, shared experiences, and collective memory.
A self-taught painter who graduated from The London School of Economics, Chanvipava employs his practice as a form of self-discovery and reflection, using memory as both method and subject. His works explore the fluidity of personal identity, shaped through physical dislocations and cultural migrations.
His process is an act of recollection, repositioning, and reappropriation — allowing him to make sense of and transform his past. He is drawn to the tension between abstraction and figuration that emerges through memory’s subjectivity, creating open narratives where remembered forms, figures, and spaces take on new meaning. The act of painting becomes a meditative ritual, where memory is revisited and reimagined. His bold brushstrokes and layered, sculptural textures reveal a dynamic interplay between control and spontaneity, intentionality and improvisation. Through paint, he gives memory a place in the present, infused with affirmation and possibility.
Chanvipava’s paintings often address themes of identity and belonging, aligning with contemporary dialogues around self-representation and social constructs. His work examines personal and collective histories, reflecting on resilience, intimacy, and transformation. Reinterpreting classical and contemporary influences, he affirms the universality of love and emotion through his distinctive approach to abstraction and figuration. His practice is a poetic meditation on remembrance—each painting a distilled moment of contemplation, an invitation to navigate the interplay of memory, space, and identity. In his own words, his paintings are ‘containers of deeply encoded, voluntary memories,’ a remembrance of things present, where personal histories transcend into universal narratives.
Currently based between Bangkok and London, Chanvipava’s works have been exhibited across the United Kingdom, Italy and Thailand, including solo showcases such as: The Sound of Many Waters, presented by Roman Road at Dimora Ai Santi at the 60th Venice Biennale, Italy (2024); Wizards of Omaha, Ronchini Gallery, United Kingdom (2024); among others. He has undertaken residencies in France and the United Kingdom, and is collected by The London School of Economics & Political Sciences, United Kingdom, and the DC Collection, Thailand.