영감을 주는...
(Inspirational...)
Sponsored by Patricia Feinberg
Guest Curator, KyoungHwa Oh
An Exhibition of Ceramic Art by KyoungHwa Oh, Heesoo Lee, Kyungmin Park, and Ashtonn Means
September 1 - 29
Opening reception September 1
Clay Symposium September 2, 9am-4pm
With a process art such as ceramics, few develop the skills necessary to hold the title “Master Ceramicist.” The years of experience, trial and error, and adversity through failure make it one of the most challenging mediums in the field of art. This exhibition brings together four titans in the realm of ceramics, all of whom are worthy of the title: KyoungHwa Oh, Heesoo Lee, Kyongmin Park, and Ashtonn Means. All four artists bring their unique artistic flair to this exhibition and have developed personal aesthetics that have gained their works national and international acclaim.
KyoungHwa Oh holds a BFA from Washburn University, Topeka in Kansas, and an MFA from Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC) in Illinois. She currently serves as an Associate Professor of Art and Design at Colorado Mesa University. As guest curator for this exhibition, Oh selected each artist on the dynamics of their work and connection to the theme “inspirational.”
Born in Seoul, South Korea, Oh’s life experiences and cultural background inspire her ceramics. Her work consists of functional and sculptural carved porcelain. Through the carving process, Oh strives to depict positive and negative space uniting the ideas of fullness and emptiness. She creates ceramic objects that reflect traditional Korean culture and Western contemporary style. Eastern and Western cultures are symbolically expressed through this language. Like yin and yang, Oh encompasses the influence between traditional Asian values and modern Western society.
Born in Seoul, South Korea, Heesoo Lee received her BA in Art from Ehwa University. Florals and landscapes are central themes in her compositions. Lee utilizes slips, underglazes, and layering to achieve a sense of depth and realism in her compositions. Low-relief elements add further depth and separate foregrounds from backgrounds. Lee’s finished works appear more like natural environments than functional objects.
Originally from South Korea, Kyungmin Park earned her BFA from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University in 2008 and her MFA in Ceramics from the University of Georgia in 2012. Currently, Park is an Associate Professor of 3D Studio Art at Endicott College in Beverly, MA.
Park is a figurative ceramic sculptor who draws inspiration from childlike perspectives. Contrasting the darker emotions and restricted psyche of adulthood with the boundless consciousness of children, Park’s sculptures confront the viewer with uncomfortable juxtapositions, encouraging reflection upon personal expectations and narratives. Park largely uses hand-building techniques to construct her figures out of porcelain, a material she prefers for its ability to contrast starkly with bright and colorful decoration.
Ashtonn Means holds a BFA from Colorado Mesa University and currently serves as the Administrative Assistant for the Art and Design Department at CMU and is Co-Owner/Instructor of Means Pottery Studio in Fruita, CO. Her work consists of functional ceramics that utilizes feminine forms and Middle Eastern decorative themes. She embraces a sense of playfulness and whimsy in her aesthetic and seeks to enrich the experience of everyone who interacts with her work as part of their daily life by establishing an intimacy between artist and user.
Photo: Kyounghwa Oh, Influenced XXII