VIPOO SRIVILASA

As a Thai-born Australian artist, I am interested in culture shift and migration experience– how a change of culture and place affects people. My work explores contemporary social, political, and ethical issues that come from my experience of living in both Australia and Thailand.

I work predominantly in ceramics but also produce animation, works on paper, and mixed media sculptures. I am interested in expanding my art practice into a community-based art form involving and connecting with other members of the international art community.

My current interest is in blue-and-white ceramics. I use the blue and white color combination as a reference to the Chinese porcelain exported to Europe hundreds of years ago, but also to my own migration from Thailand to Australia, from east to west. — Vipoo Srivilasa

The Patience Flowers Series

An eighteenth-century Meissen Snowball Blossoms Teapot was the inspiration for Vipoo Srivilasa’s “Patience Flowers” series. The Meissen piece, decorated with hundreds of hand-painted, three-dimensional blossoms, impressed Srivilasa with the amount of patience, concentration, and skill that was required to create it and inspired him to produce his own work with a similar resonance. The “Patience Flowers” series was first begun during his residency in Jingdezhen, China, in late 2010.

Profile

Vipoo’s development as a professional artist began when he moved from Thailand to Australia in 1997 to undertake a Master of Fine Art and Design (Ceramics) at the University of Tasmania, where he later accepted a six-month Honorary Research Associate position. Now working and living in Melbourne, Srivilasa works predominantly in ceramics but also produces animation, works on paper, and mixed media sculptures.

In 2002, he was selected by Craft Australia to represent the country at SOFA CHICAGO (Sculpture, Objects, & Functional Art), in the exhibition ATTITUDE: New Australian Ceramics. Since then he has achieved widespread recognition in the ceramics field, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region and more recently in Europe, the United States, and Canada.

In addition to exhibiting his work, Srivilasa is actively involved in directing and participating in international cultural exchange projects aimed at creating opportunities for contact between artists working in clay. In 2012, as a result of his success with these community-building programs, he was elected as a member of the International Academy of Ceramics, the foremost organization representing the interests of ceramicists worldwide.

Vipoo Srivilasa

Born in Bangkok, Thailand

Lives and Works in Melbourne, Australia

Education

1998 Master of Fine Art and Design (ceramic), University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania

1997 Graduate Diploma of Arts (ceramic), Monash University, Melbourne, Australia

1994 Bachelor of Art (ceramic), Rangsit University, Bangkok, Thailand

Scholarship and Awards

2014 Gold Coast International Ceramic Art Award

Lighton International Artists Exchange Program

Australia–Korea Foundation

2013 Cool Japan Fund, Japanese government

Arts Victoria, International Program Grant

Australian Council for the Arts, Skill and Arts Development General

2012 Creative Industries Fund, Copyright Agency Limited

Australia–Thailand Institute Project Grant

Australia International Cultural Council Grants

2011 Arts Victoria, International Program Grant

Australian Council for the Arts, New Work Development Grant

2009 Australian Council for the Arts, Skill and Arts Development General

2008 Arts Victoria, International Program Grant

Sculpture Award, Suncoast Clayworkers Awards, Queensland

Finalist, Toyota Travel Award

2007 Australian Council for the Arts, New Work Development Grant

Honorable Mention World Ceramic Biennale, Icheon, Korea

2005 Australia–Thailand Institute Project Grant

Arts Victoria, International Program Grant

2004 First (Acquisitive) and Third Prize, Artful Teapot Award, Paynter Gallery, Bendigo, Victoria

Second Prize, Golden Teapot Award

2004, Morpeth Gallery, Morpeth, New South Wales

2003 First Prize, Golden Teapot Award, Morpeth Gallery, Morpeth, New South Wales

2001 First Prize (ceramic hand-building), City of Redcliffe Excellence in Craft Award, Queensland

Merit Prize (paperclay), Port Hacking Potters Group Awards, New South Wales

1999 Highly Commended, Tasmania Potters Society Annual Exhibition, Tasmania

1998 Honorary Research Associate, School of Art University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania

Northcote Decoration Award, Tasmania Potters’ Society Annual Exhibition, Tasmania

Solo Exhibitions

2014 Happy Land, Edwina Corlette Gallery, Brisbane, Australia

2013 How to Make a Million Before Dinner, Edwina Corlette Gallery, Brisbane, Australia

Red Room, Maunsell Wickes Gallery, Sydney, Australia

2012 Indigo Tomb, Nellie Caston Gallery, Melbourne, Australia

Thai Na Town – Little Oz, 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, Sydney and Chulalongkorn

University’s Art Center, Bangkok, Thailand

Indigo Monster, La Lanta Fine Art, Bangkok, Thailand

Ready to Play, Maunsell Wickes Galleries, Sydney, Australia

2011 Symbols, Edwina Corlette Gallery, Brisbane, Australia

2010 Aftermath, collaboration project with the Pottery Workshop, PWS Gallery, Jingdezhen, China

2009 Indigo Kingdom, Anna Pappas Gallery, Melbourne, Australia

Colonies, Surapon Gallery, Bangkok, Thailand

2008 For The Future, Über Gallery, Melbourne, Australia

Roop, Root, Ruang, (Taste-touch-tell) 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, Sydney, Australia

2006 My Self : My Other, Über Gallery, Melbourne, Australia

2005 Lai Krarm, Surapon Gallery, Bangkok, Thailand

2004 People I Have Met, Skepsi on Swanston, Melbourne, Australia

2003 Mythical Monster, Freeman 3 Gallery, Hobart, Australia

2002 Action Man, Haecceity Arts Gallery, Melbourne, Australia

2001 The Coral Show, Haecceity Art Gallery, Melbourne, Australia

2000 Ocean Fantasies, Jam Factory Contemporary Craft and Design Gallery, Adelaide, Australia

1998 Ocean Fantasies, Side Space Gallery, Hobart, Australia

1997 Mermaids, State Craft Gallery, Melbourne, Australia

Group Exhibitions

2015 GrowlerFest, Lawrence, KS

GrowlerFest, Cummington, MA

Selected Works from Current Projects, Ferrin Contemporary, New York Ceramics & Glass Fair, NY

Made in China: The New Export Ware, Ferrin Contemporary, New York Ceramics & Glass Fair, NY

Everything is All White, Kasher|Potamkin, New York, NY

2014 Made in China: The New Export Ware, Ferrin Contemporary at Independent Art Projects, North Adams, MA

Made in China: The New Export Ware, Ferrin Contemporary, Miami Project, Miami, FL

artKamp: indigo mass, Independent Art Project, North Adams, MA

Earth and Fire: South East Asian Ceramic, Workhouse Art Centre, Lorton, VA

BIG Ceramic, Yarra Gallery, Melbourne, Australia 23rd Biennale Internationale de Céramique deVallauris, Vallauris, France

COLLECT, Saatchi Gallery, London, Great Britain Melbourne Art Fair, Melbourne, Australia

Inquiring Finds, Honolulu Museum of Art Spalding House, Honolulu, HI

Mythology Meets Archetype, Northern Clay Centre, Minneapolis, MN

50 Shades of Brown, Gallerysmith, Melbourne, Australia

Adrian Sassoon, The European Fine Art Fair, Maastricht Exhibition Centre, Netherlands

Edwina Corlette Gallery, Melbourne Art Fair, Melbourne, Australia

2013 The Gyeonggi International Ceramic Biennale, Icheon, Korea

SEXSE@Medalta, Medalta Gallery, AB, Canada

Ceramic Top 40, Ferrin Contemporary and Red Star Studios, Kansas City, KA

Sydney Contemporary Art Fair, Sydney, Australia

3×3 Project, The National Art Gallery, Bangkok, Thailand

Hobart Art Prize, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart, Australia

New Blue and White, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA

Represented by Ferrin Gallery, New York Ceramic Fair, New York, NY

The Hua Krathi Project, RMIT University School of Art Gallery, Melbourne, Australia

Modern Masters, International Trade Fair, Munich, Germany

Crafting Design/Designing Craft: 40 Years of JamFactory, JamFactory Gallery, Adelaide, Australia

2012 Ferrin Gallery at Art Miami, Midtown, Miami, FL New World: Timeless Visions, NM

Museum of Art Santa Fe, NM

Jakarta Contemporary Ceramic Biennale 2012, Nort Art Space, Jakarta, Indonesia

Adrian Sassoon, Pavilion of Art & Design, London, England, UK

Masterpiece London, Adrian Sassoon, The Royal Hospital Chelsea, London, England, UK

COLLECT, Clare Beck at Adrian Sassoon, Saatchi Gallery, London, England, UK

Pacific Rim Connection, Azuma Gallery, Seattle, WA

The Pottery Workshop 25th Anniversary, Seattle Design Center, Seattle, WA

On Kindness: an Australia India Culture Exchange, Habitat Centre, New Delhi, India

Man and Beast, Rex Irwin Art Dealer, Sydney, Australia

Cross Path, Beaver Galleries, Canberra, Australia

Thai Trends from Localism to Internationalism, Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, Bangkok, Thailand

2011 Presented by John Natsoulas Gallery, SOFA Chicago, Chicago, IL Ceramic Annual of America, San Francisco, CA

The Pursuit of Porcelain, Ferrin Gallery, SOFA New York, NY

In Family Unity – Unity of the World, Moscow State Institute of International Relations, Moscow, Russia

East-West Ceramic Collaboration, University of Hawaii Art Gallery, Monoa, HI

2010 International Ceramics Competition of L’ALcora, L’Alcora Ceramics Museum, Castellon, Spain

A New Insight of International Contemporary Ceramics, Degas Arts Space, Shanghai, China

Elegant Monsters, Gallerie Philosophie, Taipei, Taiwan

Gold Coast International Ceramic Art Award, The Art Centre, Queensland, Australia

Ceramic Now?, Whitehorse Art Space, Melbourne, Australia

Hobart Art Prize, Tasmania Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart, Australia

Anna Pappas Gallery, Depot Gallery, Sydney, Australia

In the Family Unity – Unity of the World, Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia

2009 Blue-White, White-Blue, Galerie Handwerk, München, Germany

The Ring of Fire, Ayala Museum, Makati, Philippines

At the Crossroad of Civilization, Yingge Ceramic Museum, New Taipei City, Taiwan

Pressing Matter, Cheongju Biennale, Cheongju, South Korea

Super Normality, J Gallery, Bangkok, Thailand

Zibo international Ceramic Art Expo, Zibo, China

Trans-Pot, Nanjing Arts Institute, Nanjing, China Bravura: 21st Century Australian Craft, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia

Recent Acquisitions: City of Port Phillip, The Gallery, St. Kilda Town Hall, Melbourne, Australia

Professional Experience

2014 Project Leader, artKamp, international artist residency, Project Art, Cummington, Massachusetts, USA

Invited Artist, South East Asian Ceramic Symposium, Workhouse Art Centre, Lorton, VA

Ferment, Long Beach Museum, Los Angeles, CA

Invited Artist, Bleach Masterclass, Melbouren Now, National Gallery of Victoria, Canada

Invited Artist in Residence, Northern Clay Centre, Minneapolis, OH

2013 Invited Artist in Residence, Medalta International Artists in Residence, Medicine Hat, AB, Canada

Invited Artist in Residence, Happy Lucky Site, porcelain factory, Arita, Japan

Invited Artist in Residence, Cicada Press, College of Fine Art, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

Invited artist, Mentoring Camp, The 7th Gyeonggi International Ceramic Biennale 2013, South Korea

Visiting Artist, Scotch College, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

2012 Invited Artist in Residence, Pottery Workshop, Jingdezhen, China Panel Artist, Australian Ceramic Triennials, Adelaide, Australia

Visiting Artist, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand

Visiting Artist, Rachasuda College (hearing disability college), Bangkok, Thailand

Artist in Residence, Sacred Heart Primary School, Melbourne, Australia

Artist in Residence, St Margaret’s Junior School, Melbourne, Australia

Invited Artist, Little Treasure, Shapperton Art Museum, Shapperton, Victoria, Australia

2011 Invited Artist in resident, University of Hawaii, HI

Invited Artist in Residence, Medalta International Artists in Residence, Medicine Hat, AB, Canada

Visiting Artist, Emily Carr University, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Visiting Artist, Wesley College, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Artist in Residence, Doncaster Gardens PS, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Artist in Residence, Numurkah Primary School, Numurkah, Victoria, Australia

2010 Artist in Residence, Pottery Workshop, Jingdezhen, China

Participating Artist, Sanbao International Art Festival, Sanbao Ceramic Art Institute, Jingdezhen, China Visiting artist, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand

Artist in Residence, Scotch College, Beaconhills College, Victoria, Australia

Artist in Residence, Moree Christian School, Moree, New South Wales, Australia

2009 Artist in Residence, Thai Celadon factory, Chiang Mai, Thailand

Artist in Residence, Huaguang Ceramic, Zibo, China

Visiting Artist, Nanjing Arts Institute, Nanking, China

Guest Demonstrator, The Ring of Fire, Ayala Museum, Makati, Philippines

Guest Demonstrator, The Crossroad of Civilization, Yingge Ceramic Museum, New Taipei City, Taiwan

Guest Demonstrator, Pressing Matter, Cheongju Biennale, South Korea

Guest Demonstrator, Spring Fever Clay Festival, Queensland, Australia

Guest Demonstrator, Australian Ceramics Triennial, Sydney, Australia

Exhibition Co-ordinator, At the Crossroad of Civilization, Yingge Ceramic Museum, New Taipei City, Taiwan

Keynote Speaker, Art Education Victoria Annual Conference, Melbourne, Australia

2007 Master Artist, Clay Edge: 7th Gulgong Ceramic Festival, Gulgong, New South Wales

Visiting Artist at Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, China

2006 Guest Demonstrator at VERGE, 11th National Ceramics Conference, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Organizer and manager, Clay Alchemy, cultural exchange project between Thailand and Australia Exhibition Panelist, Craft Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

2005 Conference Presenter, Art Education Victoria Annual Conference, Victoria, Australia

Exhibition Panelist, Craft Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Guest Lecturer, Rachasuda College (hearing disability college), Bangkok, Thailand

2004 Selection Panelist, FRESH

2004 Student Award, Craft Victoria, Victoria, Australia

Conference Presenter, Art Education Victoria Annual Conference, Victoria, Australia

Teacher, Holmglen TAFE, Victoria, Australia

Project Leader, Clay Alchemy, a cultural exchange between Thai and Australian artists

2003 Tour Leader, Thailand Pottery, Craft and Cuisine Tour, Where? Conference Presenter, Art Education Victoria Annual Conference, Victoria, Australia

Visiting Artist, Mentone Girls’ Secondary College, Mentone, Victoria, Australia

Guest Lecturer, Silapakorn University, Prasanmit University, Bangkok

2002 Visiting Artist, Washington University in Saint Louis, St. Louis, MO

Guest Lecturer, SOFA Chicago, “ATTITUDE: New Australian Ceramics,” Chicago, IL

Guest Lecturer, “Craft as a Career” for Craft Victoria, Australia

1999 Access Tenant, Ceramic studio, Jam Factory, South Australia

1998 Artist in Residence, College of Fine Art, University of New South Wales, New South Wales, Australia

1995 Product Development Manager, Nattawit Co., LTD (ceramic export company), Bangkok, Thailand

1993 Freelance Fashion Accessories Designer, Bangkok, Thailand