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 was later offered a 6 month Honorary Research Associate position. Now working and living in Melbourne, Vipoo works predominantly in ceramics but also produce animation, works on paper and mixed media sculptures. Vipoo’s recent work has been concerned with the ideas of contemporary social, political and ethical issues as well as his experience living between two homes, Australia and Thailand. The works also show his passion for historical ceramic production. In 2002, he was selected by Craft Australia to represent the country at SOFA (Sculpture Objects & Functional Art) Chicago, in an exhibition titled 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 and the Americas. His work has been exhibited in major international institutes including Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Saatchi Gallery, London; L’Alcora Ceramics Museum, Spain; Ayala Museum, Philippines; Yingge Ceramics Museum, Taiwan; Nanjing Arts Institute, China; Fine Arts Museum, Vietnam; New Mexico Museum of Art, USA; Bangkok Art and Culture Centre; and National Art Gallery, Thailand. A major installation, Thai Na Town - Little Oz, was exhibited at The Art Center, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok in 2013. Vipoo has been representing Australia at many prestigious, curated international exhibitions including Impressed: Contemporary Australian Ceramics, New Delhi; World Ceramic Biennale, Korea; Jakarta Contemporary Ceramic Biennale, Indonesia; Modern Masters, Germany; and Ceramic Annual of America, USA. Within Australia, his work was included in the Bravura: 21st Century Australian Craft exhibition at the Art Gallery of South Australia as well as Fierce and Friendly at the Tasmanian Museum & Art Gallery, Hobart. It has also been exhibited at the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. In addition to exhibiting his work, Vipoo actively involved in cultural exchange projects aimed at creating opportunities for contacts between ceramicists internationally. As a result, in 2012 he was elected a member of the International Academy of Ceramics, the foremost organisation representing the interests of ceramicists worldwide. Last year he was offered the opportunity to lead a month of South East Asian artists' residency at Medalta International Artists in Residence, Canada. Vipoo is currently working on a mentoring camp project between Australian and Korean ceramic artists at The Clayarch Gimhae Museum, Korea. Since 1997, Vipoo has held 23 solo exhibitions in Australia, Thailand and China, and participated in over 100 curated exhibitions across 17 countries. His work has been featured in 8 books as well as national and international peer reviewed publications such as Art and Australia; Australian Art Review; Artist Profile; Ceramics: Art and Perception; Ceramic Review; art4D; Asian Art News; and World Sculpture News.
Part of the “Patience Flower” series, ‘Adam’ was created by Srivilasa in response to the 18th century Meissen Schneeballen (or ’Snowball’) style of decoration, which finds vessels covered in hundreds of hand-applied flower blossoms. Impressed with the skill and composure conveyed in the result of those works, the artist sought similar sonority in playful, contemporary ceramic — drawing & molding a friendly assortment of bear-like creatures, then working in accompaniment with a team of professional ceramic flower makers based in Jingdezhen, China, where Vipoo was then practicing as a resident artist.
Thai sculptor and ceramicist Srivalasa finds a spiky humour and spirit in his ceramics, particularly notable in the pop anthropomorphic entities that radiate a warmth and whimsical quality, mostly crafted over a two year residency in Jingdezhen. ‘Porcelain Bear’s decorative fetish-wear finds no contention with affection, the vivid black (plausibly leatherlike) attractively striking against the polished white ceramic and prompted “blue onion”-style tattoo creating a particularly attractive work. The bears’ receptive stance is particularly amplified with the elaborate shaggy adornment.
