3 from Korea at the Mindy Solomon Gallery

It gives me great pleasure to bring together for the inaugural show of the Mindy Solomon Gallery the dynamic ceramics of Sung Jae Choi, Kang Hyo Lee, and Sunkoo Yuh; three artists who embody both traditional and formal elements of Korean art while incorporating a vibrant and individual contemporary perspective to their art. While all three of the artists were classmates in Korea at the Hong Ik University in Seoul, each has developed a personal approach to their work.

The history of Korean pottery, going back to centuries-old techniques and aesthetics, is one of transition and continued exploration. The Three Kingdoms of Korea (57 BC-668 AD), provided the beginning of Korean ceramic history. In its early development pottery was simple in color, shape, and design, serving primarily functional use. During the Goryeo Dynasty (918–1392) ceramics of this period are considered by some to be the finest small-scale works of ceramics in Korean history. Throughout evolving cultural and socioeconomic changes, Korean pottery developed into a high art form, appreciated for both its utilitarian and ceremonial function.

Sung Jae Choi, currently residing in Chongju, Korea, believes that the beauty of ceramics arises naturally in the process of dealing with the materials of clay and elements of fire. Choi applies a white slip to the surface of his unfired pots. He utilizes twigs, bamboo shoots, millet stalks, and at times his own fingers as a brush. His seemingly spontaneous finger markings create stunningly simplistic depictions of water fowl and other earthly matter.

Kang Hyo Lee resides in Chongju, Korea. He works with the Buncheong approach of putting white slip over dark stoneware clay and embellishes with strong, vigorous brushstrokes and finger wiping. He utilizes the Ongii form to create his one of a kind vessels. Lee also creates surfaces that feature delicately floating pale peach spots, created through the firing process.

Sunkoo Yuh is the only artist that resides in the United States. Yuh’s work is influenced by Korean Folk painting coupled with the psychological dynamics of mundane daily life. His work is a means of transformation from interior images to tangible ceramic sculptures, sometimes monumental, sometimes small. Images come from his life experiences-he draws intuitively and spontaneously with ink and brush, creating a stunning body of 2-dimensional work. Yuh works with porcelain for his smaller sculptures and stoneware for his monumental works. He fires to 2381 degrees Fahrenheit, and utilizes 40-50 different high temperature glazes on top of each other. Rather than controlling glazes, he allows the fluxing elements to play by their own rules. Yuh is almost always satisfied with the spontaneous outcome of his work that is defined by his trademark multi-layered drip surfaces.

The power of exceptional art is the artist’s ability to transcend cultural barriers in order to convey a universal message of harmony and shared human experiences. The body of work represented in this exhibition encompasses the best in contemporary ceramics today and will leave a lasting impression on the viewer.