Sukumarl Sarakasetrin

For more than 20 years, clay has been my material of choice for exploring my ideas. The physical properties of the material allow me to manipulate the forms in terms of texture, shape and color which become part of my artistic vocabulary and main vehicles for my expressions. My vessels, both sculptural and functional, often attempt to convey different ideas and feelings, within the same piece when viewed from different angles. It is my hope that these different angles provide a viewer multiple opportunities to engage with the work and interact with it, creating our own cultural exchange between artist and viewer.

For a long time, glazing had always been my main interest, as it was a useful means to convey my ideas in general. However, in recent works, I have begun to focus more on topics about human relationship, culture and environment. I have also discovered that, with the use of lacing technique, leaving the glaze out would provide a wider space for viewer’s imagination.

My most recent works have used stoneware, porcelain and raku techniques while focusing particularly on surface decoration. These decoration techniques point back to a particular period of Thai history when cultural forces were competing for a place in shaping Thai society. Today different forces play themselves out on the streets of Bangkok shaping the country and society in which I live.

— Sukumarl Sarakasetrin

Sukumarl Sarakasetrin (Bangkok) Graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Art Education from Chulalongkorn University (1983) and Master’s degree in Visual Art, Illinois State University (1988), Sukumarl became an instructor in Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts, Chulalongkorn University, where she was the Head of Creative Arts Department during 2007-2011. Her ceramics, water color paintings and illustrations have been displayed in several exhibitions, in Bangkok and abroad including solo exhibitions, while she contributed to the academic field with textbooks on ceramics and articles published in Thai Ceramics journal where she is one of the editor team. Her research focus on Lace ceramic and Mocha ware techniques. Her vessels, both sculptural and functional, often attempt to convey different ideas and feelings, and therefore provide different ways for a viewer to engage with the work, leading to a unique cultural exchange between the viewer and the artist. Sukumarl is the Head of the Craft Product Development Research Unit at Chulalongkorn University and also cooperates with international artists and organizes events namely conferences and art projects for needy students.