Art & Culture

Lanna Spirit a Duo Exhibition

Toot Yung Art Center

The Design Gallery at Toot Yung Art Center Presents Lanna Spirit A duo exhibition by Kachama & Somluk Pantiboon. 30th Sept. – 2nd Dec. 2018

For the grand opening of the Design Gallery, dedicated to present the best design art from Northern Thailand and beyond, Toot Yung Art Center proudly presents creations by weaving artist Kachama, and ceramic master Somluk Pantiboon.

Both sourcing their material and inspiration from the Lanna region, Kachama and Somluk have been continuously working to bring a fresh contemporary twist to their respective ancestral craft.

Both artists received training in Japan adding to their know-how a unique simplicity and formal purity.

About Kachama
Kachama’s highly refined textiles bear witness to the weaving techniques of various tribal people with whom she learned her skills. She incorporates the beadwork of the Katu, the patterns of the Karen, indigo-dyed batik of the Hmong in a celebration of the skills that were passed down from generation to generation over the centuries.

The originality of Kachama’s creations lays in the contrast between the source materials; several tribal patterns can be found within the same piece, with elements from their folk stories, but also raw material such as yaka and bamboo strings juxtaposed to fine silk, silver threads or antique tribal fabrics.

Kachama has renewed this ancient form of craft bringing it to a pure art form through which she can express her deepest thoughts and emotions. She poetically tackles subjects such as pollution, integrating into her weaving found material such as cans and plastic waste. Each detail, each material, each pattern is linked to Kachama’s personal life struggles, love, and passion, making every piece unique.

Her works can be found in the collection of the Textile Museum in Lyon, France, acquired after an exhibition in 2008, Textile Museum of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, The Hong Kong Museum textiles Society, The National Handicrafts and Hill tribes center (Taiwan). She has worked with several luxurious hotels and resorts, such as the Hansar group, the Tamarind boutique hotel and Ban San Doi in Chiang Mai. She was part of the prestigious exhibition Metissages during the La Fête Festival at the Jim Thompson art center in 2009.

In January 2018, she held a solo exhibition at the residence of H.E. The German Ambassador to Thailand in Bangkok.

About Somluk Pantiboon
Somluk Pantiboon established his famous ceramic studio Doi Din Daeng in Chiang Rai in 1991. Their high-quality potteries are regularly produced, under the guidance of Somluk giving  training and job opportunities to many in the region. Somluk graduated from Chiang Mai’s faculty of industrial design major in ceramic, he later enriched his technique with Japanese masters Mr.
Iwao Onuma and Tarouemon Nakazato.

He spent 5 years in Japan honored with prestigious prices and exhibitions such as the Nitten exhibition held at the Metropolitan Museum in Tokyo or the Arts and Crafts exhibition at the Fukuoka Art Museum where he received a special award.

After returning to Thailand his notoriety grew with prices from the annual ceramic exhibition in Bangkok, the Asian Arts and Crafts exhibition at the Fukuoka Art Museum, Japan, the Fletcher Challenge Award exhibition, Auckland, New Zealand. From 2012 to 2015, he founded and directed Art Bridge Chiang Rai promoting foreign and Thai artists based in the region. He held solo exhibitions at the Vigeland Museum (2004), Oslo, Norway, the Earth Home Gallery (2007), Hong Kong, most recently exhibiting clay paintings at Wang Hinghoi and Artist+Run Galleries in Bangkok (2018).

Toot Yung Art Center
74/3 Moo 4, Kilek, Mae Rim District, 50180,
Chiang Mai, Thailand

M: +66 (0)84 914 5499 (ENG)
M: +66 (0)86 312 1377 (THAI)
E: mtibayrenc@gmail.com
Invitation cover by Pakitsilp Varamissara
Source: Toot Yung Art Center