Food becomes the art medium and connection.
“Breast Stupa Cookery”, an ongoing, collaborative art project started in 2005
by Thai artist Pinaree Sanpitak, explores how cooks interpret her signature form of breasts and stupas. A concept of the sensual and the sacred. Professional and amateur chefs create meals inspired by her specially designed breast stupa-shaped cooking molds made in cast aluminum, glazed stoneware, glass, chocolate trays and cookie cutters.
Pinaree Sanpitak (b. 1961, Thailand) is an internationally acclaimed Thai contemporary artist known for her exploration of womanhood, the female body, and spiritual embodiment through painting, sculpture, and installation. Her signature breast motif evokes both the maternal and the sacred, often recalling the form of a Buddhist stupa.
Her work frequently incorporates everyday forms—such as bowls, pillows, jars, and mats—connecting art to lived experience and memory. Sanpitak has exhibited at major biennales including Venice, Sydney, Setouchi, and the Bangkok Art Biennale, and her large-scale installations have been shown at LACMA, the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, and the Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation. She received the Silpathorn Award in 2007, and her work is held in over 30 public collections worldwide. In addition to her artistic practice, she currently serves as a trustee of the James H.W. Thompson Foundation.
The James H.W. Thompson Foundation 50th Anniversary presents
Breast Stupa Cookery and beyond
Indulge in an extraordinary culinary experience at our Gala Dinner, showcasing Pinaree Sanpitak’s captivating “Breast Stupa Cookery” project. Witness chefs transform iconic molds into edible art, a sensual and sacred fusion of food and form. Join us for an unforgettable evening where art meets gastronomy.
"Breast Stupa Cookery – Gala Dinner"
The James H.W. Thompson Foundation 50th Anniversary Gala
Pinaree Sanpitak’s Breast Stupa Cookery with Samrub Samrub Thai
This event marks the return of the Breast Stupa Cookery project, celebrating both the 50th anniversary of the James H.W. Thompson Foundation and the 20th anniversary of the project itself. Attendees will experience the culinary delights of Thai cuisine prepared by the restaurant Samrub Samrub Thai, surrounded by world-class artwork by Pinaree Sanpitak.
The event will take place at the Jim Thompson House Museum and Jim Thompson Art Center on Saturday, July 19, 2025, from 6:00 p.m. onwards.
Reserve a seat for 7,900 baht per seat by clicking the button below for more information and registration, or contact artcenter@jimthompsonhouse.org or call +66 62 601 2444 daily from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
The James H. W. Thompson Foundation
In 1975, an initial meeting was convened with the aim of creating a foundation to manage Jim Thompson’s estate. This led to the establishment of the James H.W. Thompson Foundation in 1976, and the opening of his Bangkok residence as a private museum. Thompson’s relatives were determined to keep his extensive art collection intact in Bangkok, preserving his legacy as a patron of Southeast Asian art and culture. Today, the Foundation, overseen by a Board of Trustees, is responsible for operating the museum, maintaining Thompson’s vast art collection, and safeguarding his archives.
The James H.W. Thompson Foundation stands as a lasting tribute to Jim Thompson, an American businessman whose passion for Thai culture not only revived the traditional silk industry but also elevated regional artistic heritage on the global stage. The Foundation continues to honor Thompson’s legacy by preserving and promoting art, culture, and craftsmanship, making it one of Thailand’s most prominent cultural institutions. Through its efforts, the Foundation ensures that Thompson’s influence endures, offering a glimpse into the beauty and depth of Thai cultural traditions.
Jim Thompson Art Center
Founded in 2003, The Jim Thompson Art Center (JTAC) is an art organization committed to fostering artistic activities and endeavors by creating space for contemporary art. The new home of the Jim Thompson Art Center expands its vision by creating an inclusive and multi-functional place for diverse experiences of contemporary art in Bangkok and beyond. Our mission, as we accommodate expanded programs in our new facilities, is to be an inclusive art organization that addresses critical issues emerging in our locale that also resonate with the regional and global community. We collaborate with our extensive network made up of the local community and international cultural institutions to facilitate relevant and meaningful public programs to serve trans-generation constituencies and future generations.
The new JTAC consists of a 4-storey multi-functional cultural space that includes two exhibition galleries, a functional rooftop space, a café, shop and William Warren Library, as well as multiple rooms and open air spaces that connect the building together. Notable and important to its mission of being an inclusive organization, the building includes highly versatile multi-use and modular spaces ready to be transformed for public programs, performances, lectures, shows, workshops and other activities.
Jim Thompson House Museum
Jim Thompson House Museum was built by Jim Thompson, an American entrepreneur who came to Thailand in 1946 as a military officer with the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the forerunner of the CIA. He established the Thai Silk Company and worked closely throughout the 1950s with the Cham Muslim weavers from Ban Krua community along the Sansaeb canal to create a cottage industry. Across from the Ban Krua community, he decided to build a teakwood house, an interpretation of the Thai traditional house but with a modernist twist. He also collected Thai and Southeast Asian pre-modern art and artefacts.
Pinaree Sanpitak's
Breast Stupa Cookery with Samrub Samrub Thai.
July 19, 2025
Jim Thompson’s House is surrounded by local communities, temples, and mosques. This menu is inspired by the food of the Baan Krua community, the oldest Muslim community in Thailand, known for its contributions to silk weaving for Jim Thompson. It also draws from old cookbooks written by noblewomen of Thai, Chinese, and Muslim descent. This menu reflects the culinary dynamics passed down through generations by the hands of women who cook.
Chef Prin Polsuk has been paving the way for Thai cuisine with his unwavering passion for preserving ancient Thai recipes and re-inter preting them respectfully for today’s time.
Growing up in a family of farmers in Northern Thailand, Prin became mesmerized by Thai culinary traditions and started his cooking career at the legendary Mandarin Oriental working for the unofficial ambassador of Thai cuisine, Chef Vichit Mukura, before being poached by acclaimed Australian chef, David Thompson, to run the kitchen at Nahm in London and Bangkok.
With homemade-style cooking of regional Thai dishes embedded in his memoir, he and his food activist partner, Mint Jarukittikun, have been traveling in and around Thailand to comprehend the sub-local regional Thai food culture, seeking forgotten recipes as well as long lost ingredients. In 2017, they co-founded Samrub Samrub Thai, an educational restaurant that acts as a platform where they advocate the value of native Thai ingredients and Thai regional cuisine straight from its core.
