Tanapan “Bang” Puangpakdee was born in Bangkok Thailand, at the age of eight years old his parents moved him and his brother to the bustling streets of Brooklyn for a new life. They would then move to Spring Valley, Rockland County where he grew up.

His artistic journey began while studying graphic design and advertising at The School of Visual Arts in NYC. He graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and worked in various industries of design for sixteen years.

In 2016, he took a leap of faith to pivot from graphic design towards his love for drawing on location. This graphic approach to drawing was learned during his studies at SVA. This style of line drawing was the foundation that Bang used as his daily practice to navigate into the world of fine arts. He applied principles of positive and negative space, opposition, scale, contrast and selectivity to create his compositions.

The onset of the pandemic in 2020 proved to be a pivotal moment for the world and Bang’s artistic evolution was no exception. Amidst the fear, chaos and uncertainty, Bang was inspired by the moment and found solace in creating large paintings in his studio in East New York. During this period, Bang had started meditation and energy practices which became a huge inspiration for his abstract paintings. His studio practice involved using traditional and non-traditional painting methods to freely express his energy and movement through layers of bold gestural articulation on canvas.

Presently, Bang’s new studio space would brings him back full circle to the place he grew up in. Located at the historic Garner Art Center in Rockland County’s Garnerville. He is grateful to be part of this artist community and continues to push the boundaries of his artistic expression. His purpose is to make art accessible to more people in the community through demonstrations and workshops.

Bang graciously attributes the success of his artistic development to the love and nourishment he receives from many great teachers, family, mentor, friends and art lovers world wide.