Painterly Figures Entwine in Soojin Choi’s Ceramic Sculptures

“My process is a constant negotiation with gravity,” says Soojin Choi. The artist creates intimate ceramic sculptures depicting a pair entwined in an unknottable embrace, their limbs a seemingly endless tangle. With pockets of negative space peeking through, the characters pose in a precarious balance. “I intentionally minimize ground contact to prioritize the specific gestures and the psychological tension between the two figures, giving the work a sense of lightness and emotional presence,” the artist adds.

A long-time resident artist at The Clay Studio in Philadelphia, Choi is formally trained as a painter, a background that informs the sweeping, gestural marks of her pieces. The figures are depicted as three-dimensional line drawings with the quick outlines in a darker hue, while visible brushstrokes and drips layer atop a coat of white slip. “I prefer surface finishes that feel active and tactile, allowing the traces of my hand and the movement of the material to remain visible on the final sculpture,” she says.

Choi begins with an idea of how the two figures will interact and what ambiguous moment they might create. As she carves their forms from stoneware slabs and strengthens them with nylon strands, the initial plan often veers in another direction. “What I find most exciting is that the figures’ gestures often evolve and shift during the construction process,” she says, adding that the “gray area” of human emotion is where she strives to end up.

Currently, Choi is exploring the unpredictability of glazes and how they can offer a dynamic quality. “What fascinates me about glaze—unlike the more direct application of paint—is how subtle shifts in chemical ratios and kiln heat produce radically different, often unpredictable outcomes,” she says.

Johansson Projects will present the artist’s work in a duo show next month, and she has another group show slated for September at Mesa Contemporary Art Museum. Head to Instagram to see more of her process.

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