Thai Artist Thakol Khao Sa-ad Explores Straightness and Anthropometry in Meticulous Works
Thai artist Thakol Khao Sa-ad confronts the conventional white cube model in Southeast Asian art through a ten-year commitment to straightness, merging painting and woodworking with a philosophical approach. His artworks break down mass media visuals into meticulously hand-painted color grids, while his sculptures challenge the Vitruvian concept of human proportion by creating tools from exotic woods to achieve precise edges. These instruments, inspired by the artist's physique, are foundational to traditional Thai woodworking and architecture. Thakol’s creations, characterized as both meticulous and generous, emphasize how form is influenced by local practices and individual bodies. Residing in Thailand, he has exhibited solo at Gallery VER and Cloud in Bangkok. His upcoming exhibition will take place at Nova Contemporary in Bangkok from 15 June to 6 August. This profile was curated by David Teh and featured in the Summer 2017 edition of ArtReview Asia, in collaboration with K11 Art Foundation.
Key facts
- Thakol Khao Sa-ad is a Thai artist focusing on straightness in painting and woodworking.
- His paintings break down mass media images into hand-drawn color grids.
- He creates sculptural tools from rare timbers to achieve perfectly straight edges.
- These tools reference traditional Thai joinery and architecture based on anthropometric measures.
- Thakol's work questions the rationality of modern metric systems versus hands-on methods.
- He has exhibited solo at Gallery VER and Cloud in Bangkok.
- His next exhibition is at Nova Contemporary in Bangkok from 15 June to 6 August.
- The profile was published in ArtReview Asia's Summer 2017 issue, selected by David Teh.
Entities
Artists
- Thakol Khao Sa-ad
- David Teh
Institutions
- Gallery VER
- Cloud
- Nova Contemporary
- ArtReview Asia
- K11 Art Foundation
Locations
- Thailand
- Bangkok