Michele Maatsch is not the classic example of a trailing spouse. A seasoned traveler in her own right with a full-time translating profession that travels with her, she still finds the time to indulge in her real passion: art. But besides "nourishing her own soul" by studying pottery with Bathma—a Thai potter who honed his skill in Japan—she is putting her energy into promoting young, contemporary Thai artists whom she found tucked away at Section 7 in Bangkok's Chatuchak market.
Michele's Story: Nuturing the next generation of contemporary Thai artists
By Ines Ehrlich
Acclimate, May 2009
Michele discovered some 60 painters, ceramists, and sculptors who display their works among the more conventional shopkeepers in this section of the market. Throughout the week they paint, sculpt, or work their pottery, combining their passion with a day job to ensure a regular income. But on the weekends, they gather at the market to display their works of art and mingle among fellow artists. Stumbling upon them by chance, she was intrigued. This intrigue eventually culminated in a grand opening event that had the expat community of Bangkok flocking to Section 7.
Seeing this vibrant Frenchwoman moving from one artist to another, chatting with her Thai protégés, is somewhat of an enigma. She has managed to create an enviable rapport with a group of next-generation artists who, according to Michele, will undoubtedly make it big and leave their artistic mark.
Some have already made quite a name for themselves such as Attasit Pokpong with his huge Chinese-style portraits and urban scenes. Michele tells us about Vichit Nongnua, better known as Chit, a graduate of Silpakorn Fine Arts University, who is a sculptor, painter, and passionate ceramist. Then there's sculptor Tanop Wichyanundh, known for his lanky, bronze statues, and Ping, a sculptor and painter who, according to Michele, inhabits a strange, dark world that drifts between the conscious and subconscious, and continues to explore the various avenues his creative mind conjures up.
Citizen of the world
Michele was born in Champagne, France,—a name that reflects her character, since nothing describes her more adequately than bubbly, even by her own words. Traveling frequently from a young age, Michele grew up in Morocco absorbing the traditions, customs, and warm hospitality of the Muslim and Jewish communities, as well as those of a host of other foreigners who had settled there. Every year she would travel through Spain with her parents on their way to France where she would spend her summer holidays. Acutely aware of the differences between the cultures of Morocco and France, Michele says the only thing she felt at home with in France back then was the language. The formalities of entertaining protocol starkly contrasted with her experience of Middle Eastern hospitality.
She returned to France with her parents as a teenager, completed high school, and began studying literature. The itch to travel, however, quickly got the better of her, and she resumed her passion for trotting the globe. She found herself in the vast expanses of India at a time when its mystical allure was beginning to reach the West, a trend Michele says was perpetuated somewhat by the Beatles and Somerset Maughan's novel The Razor's Edge, where he discusses the theme of Eastern mysticism.
In India she adapted herself to changing circumstances, finding herself working as a journalist, a film assistant, a tour guide, and then a student at J. Nehru University, where she studied political science and taught French. Michele spent four years roaming throughout India and Nepal before returning to France, where she settled down to raise her daughter. Adapting herself to change once again, Michele decided to make the most of her linguistic skills by resuming her academic studies and becoming a translator.
Developing her passion
Over the years Michele has translated an impressive array of books by well-known authors such as Margaret Atwood, James Baldwin, John Banville, Neil Jordan, Armistead Maupin, J. Noon, Andrew O' Hagan, Pramoedya Ananta Toer, John Updike, and numerous lesser-known authors. No stranger to change, she eventually became a trailing spouse, joining her husband, who works for Siemens, on postings in Greece, Malaysia, and eventually Thailand. Michele and Fritz have been in Thailand for seven years now, and they don't know how long their posting here will last. But uncertainty doesn't faze Michele, who takes her job wherever life takes her and finds sources of inspiration to satisfy her love of art.
"I became interested in the Chatuchak painters because I am interested in painting in general. I think these artists are doing something really worth discovering, and I'm convinced we can help them get better exposure," she says.
She first encountered the artists when roaming the market, and her fascination with their work prompted her to buy numerous paintings from them over the years. "I already knew Bathma as I had enrolled in his pottery class. He introduced me to the rest of the artists, who invited me to an artist's opening at the market," she recalls.
Michele says the electrifying atmosphere at the opening was so charged that she couldn't help wondering out loud what it would be like if the entire section had an official opening event. Two of the artists dared her to organize it, and the rest is history.
Michele set about finding sponsors, printing posters and t-shirts, and getting publicity for the opening event, which was recently held at the market. Despite the heat and the crowds, there was an undeniable buzz, with jazz players livening up the atmosphere even more. Whether passers-by were lured into the section by chance or whether they came especially for the opening, it was an event to remember. The eclectic display of works such as the acrylics and charcoals by Kitti Narod, who recently exhibited his works in Montreal, Rukying Khymarn's abstract oil portraits, Virat Rungpayak's tattooed forms, or Thatree Suksilapachai's narcissistic self-portraits, was a feast for art lovers looking for the nuances of the Far East in contemporary interpretations.
Satisfied with the outcome—it appears that the event has left its mark—Michele is already in the midst of organizing the next event. With three books in the works for the coming year, her own pottery classes, and active participation in the International Women's Club of Thailand, one wonders where she gets all that positive energy that makes her life here in Bangkok so much fun.