A new art gallery, Art Space, which is a joint initiative between Moca Bangkok and Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok, is adorned with the art collection "Eat Drink Love – Celebrating Life' by ceramicist Nino Sarabutra. The elegant gallery showcases 201 multicoloured heart shapes, 365 illuminated drink bottles, 4,000 porcelain flying butterflies, and a ceramic dinnerware set, "Black Ripples", on a 12m-long dining table. These items are from previous collections created by the ceramicist; however, Nino did not include her lauded ceramic skulls here.
"The Art Space is located in the newly opened Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok. Ceramic skulls do not seem appropriate for the new hotel. I would like to create a celebratory extravaganza fitting for a luxury hotel opening, so I chose hearts, bottles, butterflies and dinnerware to fill out this 400m² space," said Nino.
Nino studied ceramic art at Silpakorn University, but she worked as a creative advertiser for 20 years before returning to ceramics and has been a full-time artist since 2008. Ceramic heart shapes were created for her first solo exhibition "Exploring Love" in 2009. At "Eat Drink Love – Celebrating Life", every single heart that she ever created and collected is displayed.
There are 201 multicoloured heart shapes at the retrospective.
"Ceramic hearts were my first work. The theme is simple. We feel love every day towards everyone and everything. Love has continually inspired me to create new ceramic hearts. Some ceramics include messages of my reaction towards a situation. When King Bhumibol Adulyadej The Great passed away, I created an exhibition with all black hearts. One ceramic, which is not in the form of a heart, was made from the idea that if we could see through a heart, this would be its structure," explained Nino.
The 365 illuminated drink bottles brighten the celebratory atmosphere in the gallery. When walking past the bottles, visitors feel like they are in a special reception. These porcelain bottles were designed for the 2005 exhibition, "What Are We Drinking?", to raise awareness of drinking.
"There are 365 bottles because we drink every day and I would like everyone to ask ourselves why do we drink? Are we really thirsty? Some people drink because they are addicted to sugar or caffeine in their drinks. I hope people are aware of their beverage. I also drink alcohol, but I drink because I feel happy with it. I do not drink if I am alone. I also drink to complement cuisine. If I cook a lamb dish, I will prefer to drink red wine to water," she said.
Aside from spending time on her ceramic designs, Nino has a passion for cooking and kitesurfing and these two activities inspired her to design her own dining series, "Black Ripple".
"The pattern of 'Black Ripple' was motivated by ripples that I saw while I was kitesurfing during summer. The sea was so peaceful, but my kitesurfing created ripples in the sea. And I like to cook. A plate was designed because I wanted a long and large container for a sea bass. I also wanted to have large plates for every guest, so I made them. However, they were so large that there was no room for my Champagne glasses in the dishwasher. I then had to design lighter plates. I created dinnerware for my convenience. I did not intend to market it, but when people saw the dinnerware, some of the guests asked to purchase them," Nino said.
'Black Ripple' dining set was inspired by ripples in the sea.
The gorgeous 4,000 flying porcelain butterflies on the ceiling are meant to remind us about our last days. The artist created the butterflies for her retrospectives "Live, Love & Let Die" in 2011 and 2018.
"Butterflies are beautiful, but they have short lives. Thus, beauty does not last forever. The exhibition aims to tell everyone to make the most out of their lives, so that when it comes to the last day, you will not regret it," she said.
Even though Nino believes in happiness, she is aware of death and this awareness was the idea behind her prominent ceramic skulls, "What Will You Leave Behind", in 2012.
"I remind people that everyone will die and if people die today, what do they leave behind for others? I use death to remind people to enjoy their lives. I do not intend to tell that death is scary, but when we die, we lose all our rights. After death, we cannot control our lives. However, death can be beautiful if we have lived a good life," said Nino.
Nino said she makes the most out of her life and can pass away without any worry. However, she still has passion for art and wants to continue to develop her artworks for future collections.
"Ceramic is my main work, but I am working on mixed media for the next exhibition. In the past, I learned glassblowing to create blue glasses and bottles. I do not mind using other mediums if they can depict my ideas better than ceramic," explained Nino.
With a 400m² space and large windows, the ceramicist views the new gallery, Art Space, as a new opportunity.
"Any gallery and any space are new opportunities that bring new people to a new environment. I really like the sunlight that radiates through the gallery. If I could hold another exhibition here, I would create new artworks that complement the sunlight here. This is a beautiful space with different visitors than other galleries. It is the first time that my family members, including my parents and my grandchildren, came to see my exhibition. People of all ages come here," said Nino.
"Eat Drink Love – Celebrating Life" runs at Art Space, Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok, Charoen Krung Road, until March 28. Admission is free. Visit facebook.com/FourSeasonsHotelBangkok or call 02-032-0888.
