The Asian male nude

M.P.D. returned to South Asia in March 2000 after a break of 12 years, and through his ongoing research, recognized the absence of the Asian male and in particular, the Asian male nude, from the "cannon" of fine art. As an American painter, and in light of America's historical conflicts with Asian countries, i.e., Japan, China, Korea, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, that absence became more disturbing. Subsequently M.P.D. began to, "put marks on a surface".

M.P.D. who studied in New York under famed deconstructionist Mark Tansey, as well as being mentored by James McCourt and Susan Sontag, works using oil on fresco plaster on wood, and feels, in the words of Roger Lipsey, that "art needs to be about something more than the precious personality of the artist".

This show, his first in Asia, features the most recent of his work.

More about M.P.D.

M.P.D. was born into a Germanic, working class family of pig farmers in New Holstein, Wisconsin, U.S.A. He left home at age 15 to work as a Page in the United States Senate, Washington, D.C.

While on scholarship at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, he interned as a refugee relief worker in the Philippines. A year later, he was hired by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) to assist refugees along the borders of Thailand. As a "team leader," his work continued for 8 years.

Returning to the United States in 1988 M.P.D. lived in New York City, where he studied painting under the private mentoring of Mark Tansey, James McCourt, and Susan Sontag. He also studied Art as Therapy at the School of the Visual Arts in Manhattan.

In 1995, he founded ArtLook, Inc., a multi-media development company. Of numerous projects, ArtLook is most proud of the award winning titles:

• "Eyes of the Nation: A Visual History of the United States With the Library of Congress" - Washington D.C.
• "A History of the Silk roads" -The Asia Society - New York City
• "The Contemporary History of China" - The University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Realizing in the year 2000 that the corporation's success was interfering with his pursuit of painting, "putting marks on a surface," M.P.D. scaled the company back and returned to Thailand where he has continued to paint uninterrupted.

"Absent - The Asian Male, Concentration on the Nude" will take place at Liam's Gallery, Pratamnak Road Soi 4, Pattaya, from 13 July through 16 September, 2006, 10.00 am - 07.00 pm, everyday except Monday.