Vipoo Srivilasa was recently featured by Melbourne Art Fair in an in-depth interview exploring his longstanding ceramic practice and the ideas behind his major exhibition re/JOY.
Published as part of Melbourne Art Fair’s coverage of the 2026 fair, the feature, Veteran of the Kiln, Vipoo Srivilasa on Creating Works That Radiate Joy, offers an insight into Srivilasa’s creative process, his relationship with clay, and the stories and experiences that inform his work.
Thai-born and now based in Australia, Srivilasa has spent decades developing a distinctive ceramic practice characterised by vibrant colour, humour, storytelling and an enduring sense of joy. His journey with ceramics began at the College of Fine Arts in Thailand, where an early interest in creating fashion accessories from air-dry clay led him to pursue ceramics as his major subject through his graduate and master’s degrees.
Speaking with Melbourne Art Fair, Srivilasa describes his enduring fascination with clay and the transformation that takes place through the ceramic process. He also reflects on the patience required by the medium, particularly given the unpredictability of the kiln.
“There are always accidents in ceramics,” Srivilasa explains. Rather than viewing these moments simply as failures, he considers them part of the learning process, with each mistake offering an opportunity to understand the material more deeply.
This relationship between transformation, imperfection and renewal is central to re/JOY, Srivilasa’s largest body of work to date, which was touring Australia at the time of the interview. The exhibition incorporates fragments from broken objects donated by members of the public, each carrying its own personal history. By embedding these fragments into new ceramic sculptures, Srivilasa transforms objects associated with loss, change and transition into works that celebrate memory, care and connection. At the heart of re/JOY is also an exploration of migration stories that may otherwise remain unheard.
The artist’s own migration story forms part of the exhibition through an eighth sculpture incorporating a blue-and-white porcelain button belonging to his grandmother. The buttons, which Srivilasa brought with him to Australia, connect him to his childhood, his Thai heritage and his family history, while also helping to explain his longstanding attraction to blue-and-white ceramics.
The Melbourne Art Fair feature also explores Srivilasa’s creative rituals, including his morning practice of preparing sencha tea before beginning work in the studio. For the artist, this repeated ritual provides a transition into creative work and has become an important part of his studio practice.
At Melbourne Art Fair 2026, Srivilasa presented his Fortune Teller Deities, a series of ceramic figures conceived as quiet companions for everyday life. Rather than predicting the future, the deities embody small but meaningful forms of support - helping, listening, protecting and encouraging.
The works reflect Srivilasa’s characteristic ability to approach universal human experiences with humour, warmth and optimism. Uncertainty, hope, fatigue, longing and courage are transformed into playful ceramic figures designed to offer reassurance through presence rather than prophecy.
Srivilasa was presented by Föenander Galleries at Melbourne Art Fair 2026 alongside fellow gallery artists Lottie Consalvo and Harry McAlpine. The Melbourne Art Fair feature provides a valuable insight into Srivilasa’s practice and the ideas that underpin his work, offering audiences a closer look at the artist behind some of contemporary ceramics’ most joyful and engaging works.
Read the full feature here: Melbourne Art Fair: Veteran of the Kiln, Vipoo Srivilasa on Creating Works That Radiate Joy.
