Formerly a telecommunication engineer, fluent in Vietnamese, Tira has been deeply connected to Vietnam for over 20 years.

He said he first became avidly interested in Vietnamese artwork in 2008 and 2009 after he acquired a collection of 250 Vietnamese paintings.

From his first collection forward he became increasingly intrigued by the unyielding spirit of the Vietnamese people portrayed in the paintings of Vietnamese artists.

This led him to procure a collection of artwork including a number of pieces by internationally acclaimed Vietnamese artist Ton Duc Luong and the wife of Italian late trade counselor in Vietnam, Petro Paris.

He initially published two books portraying historical events from the rich history of Vietnam.

His first book published in 2010 themed “Important and valuable Vietnamese modern paintings), comprised 200 sketches of nearly 40 Vietnamese painting in the 1950-1970 period.

The second book coming out in 2012 and themed “Ton Duc Luong – sketch of history”, includes sketches and pastels featuring women and young volunteers’ activities in the resistance war against American imperialists and post-war socialism construction.

Since then he has organised a number of prominent Vietnamese artwork exhibitions in both Vietnam and Thailand and established a Thailand-Vietnam art gallery featuring the artwork of Vietnamese and Thai painters.

His third book portrays To Ngoc Van, an example reflecting Vietnamese society between 1906 and 1954.

Tira’s good works have helped strengthen fine relations between the Vietnamese and Thai peoples.