Puntusawasdi produces architectural three-dimensional sculpture in hardwood, slate, organic fibres, and metal. In his Tilted series, ongoing since 2002, the artist plays with perception to challenge audiences’ understanding of volume and space, so prodding us to consider philosophical and spiritual questions. A student of the seminal Thai artist Montien Boonma (1953-2000), Tawatchai marshals formal elegance and grandiose scale to produce works that if cerebral, are always underpinned by pure visual seduction. Tawatchai has shown at the Venice and Sydney Biennales and has twice been awarded a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant.
Tawatchai Puntusawasdi (b. 1971) pursued his art education at Chiangmai University (BFA), and then Silpakorn University (MFA). Based in Chiangmai, he produces architectural three-dimensional sculpture in hard-wood, slate, organic fibres, and various types of metal. In his Tilted series, ongoing since 2002, the artist plays with visual perception and physical balance to challenge audiences’ understanding of volume and space. In so doing, Tawatchai prods his viewers to consider philosophical and spiritual questions, his sculpture/installations translating complex ideas about uncertainty and transcendence into tangible form. His works also revolve around concepts of reality, so tangentially referencing Buddhist thinking. A student of the seminal Thai artist Montien Boonma (1953-2000), Tawatchai marshals formal elegance and grandiose scale to produce works that are simultaneously cerebral and visually seductive. Tawatchai has exhibited in Japan, the United States, Europe, Australia, Taiwan, and wider Southeast Asia. He has participated in both the Venice and Sydney Biennales and has twice been awarded a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant.
EDUCATION
2001
MFA Sculpture, Silpakorn University, Bangkok
1993
BFA Sculpture, Faculty of Fine Arts, Chiangmai University, Thailand
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2012
Marco Polo, Numthong Gallery, Bangkok
Missed Destination, Faculty of Fine Arts Gallery, Chiangmai
2010
Leisure, Pongnoi Art Space, Chiangmai
2009
Without Balancing, Ardel art Gallery, Bangkok
2008
Dwelling Series, Esplanade Concourse, Singapore
2007
The Beauty of Distance, VWFA, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Southeast Wind, Fondation La Roche Jacquelin, France
2005
Flat Perception, Numthong Gallery, Bangkok, Thailand
2003
DIM, Chulalongkorn Art Gallery, Bangkok, Thailand
2001
A Village Among Mountains, Chiangmai Art Museum, Thailand
1998
Realistic Image, Bangkok University Art Gallery, Bangkok, Thailand
1996
Form-Shape-Form, Japan Cultural Council, Bangkok.
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2012
Thai Trends from Localism to Internationalism, Bangkok Art and Culture Center, Bangkok, Thailand
2011
Inside, Jandela,Esplanade, Singapore
RAW, Numthong Gallery, Bangkok
2009
Jakarta Biennale 2009, Jakartar, Indonesia
2008
Beasts, Breasts & Beauty, Contemporary Southeast Asian Art from a Private Collection, Alliance Française, Singapore
Siamesesmile, Bangkok Art and Culture Center, Bangkok
This is not A Fairy Tale, Soka Art Space,Taipei, Taiwan
2007
Show me Thai, MOT Museum, Tokyo, Japan
Non Absolute Ideal, Nan River Side Art Gallery, Nan Province; National Art Gallery, Bangkok
2004
Zones of Contact, Biennale of Sydney, Australia
International Drift Wood Sculpture, Shihmen Resevior, Taipei,Taiwan
Art for Andaman, Phuket Island, Phuket, Thailand
Arcus Program, Artwork in Moriya train station, Ibaraki, Japan
Luggage Project, Colorado International Airport, U.S.A.
2003
Thai Pavillion, 50th Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy
2000
Bangkok meet Koln, Artswitcher Kunstwerks, Koln, Germany
1999
Glocal Scents of Thailand, Edsvik konst och kultur, Sollentuna, Sweden
AWARDS
2008
Honor Prize, 1st Biennial Sculpture Exhibition, Guadalajara, Mexico
2007
Pollock Krasner Foundation, U.S.A.
2001
Asian Cultural Council, U.S.A., Headsland Center for the Arts, San Francisco.
2000
Pollock Krasner Foundation, U.S.A.
1996
Asia Arcus Program, Japan
1995
Grand Prize, Sculpture, Osaka Triennale, Japan
1994
3rd Prize,Sculpture,40th National Art Exhibition,Bangkok
