Artist Eun-Kyung Suh

Eun-Kyung Suh - Artist Statement

I have been creating a series of sculptural vessels as a metaphor for human emotion, memory and experience. For this series, a vessel is any type of container used to hold something. These sculptural vessels are created out of diaphanous textiles, using a design originally inspired by Bojagi, a traditional art form in Korea. Bojagi is the wrapping cloth used to cover, store or carry everything from precious ritual objects to everyday clothes and common household belongings. It is usually a square cloth of various sizes made out of silk, cotton, and ramie. Bojagi was originally made by anonymous women throughout the Choson dynasty (1392~1910) in Korea. Leading isolated lives in a society in which the ideology of Confucianism was dominant, they had no art education. Despite this, they developed Bojagi with artistic beauty and unique styles. They applied various techniques such as embroidery, painting, dyeing, gold leaf, and quilting to employ its motifs, patterns and colors. They made good use of small, otherwise useless, pieces of leftover cloth, patching them up into useful wrappers.

My interest in Bojagi does not lie on how to re-create traditional Bojagi, but on how to extend the basic patchwork structures into my sculptural vessel forms. I am fascinated not with Bojagi’s overall design but with the process of making it, one patch after another. The woven fabric is made of repetitive horizontal and vertical structures; the process of Bojagi-making is composed of a series of vertical and horizontal actions that move against and beyond the fabric itself. It involves collecting cloth scraps, re-configuring and re-constructing them for a different use, which I interpret, is the way our memories form between layers of time and space. The daily moments we experience are modified, fantasized, deleted, reconnected and stored as a collection of memories. In this context, I convert flat cloth patterns into sculptural vessel forms to metaphorically contain memories, which are stored where a layer of time and space intersect. Folding, wrapping, and sewing are employed to transform two-dimensional fabrics into three-dimensional enclosed forms or vessel, which function as a private and sacred place where people record their memories. Enclosed textile vessel forms with printed images and texts demonstrate narrative work in both pictorial and sculptural fields.

For instance, I created a large number of purple and transparent double-layered chiffon fortune cookie forms (see Purple on Thursday). Each had a short text of historical significance written on it; I interpreted a fortune cookie as a vessel, holding individuals’ wishes. To reveal intangible yet vivid memories and emotions captured inside the vessel forms I intensified their fragility with the semi-transparency of a sheer fiber. I would like to continue creating textile sculpture and installation work, transforming the homely act of sewing and converting traditional cloths into art that embraces life and society.

Resume

Education

2002 University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA Design MFA

2000 University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA Design MA

1991 Ewha Womens University, Seoul, Korea English BA

International Exhibitions

2008 Iowa Metals Guild Exhibition St. Petersburg, Russia
2006 Color: Bold/Subtle Upstream People Gallery, Omaha, NE
2006 Contained Art Galerie sei-un-do, Zurich, Switzerland
2004 Minimal Rings Confident Gallery, St. Petersburg, FL
2004 Bellagio Gallery, Asheville, NC
2003 The Beautiful III Period Gallery, Omaha, NE
2003 Manifestation II:Form and Function Denise Bibro Fine Art, New York, NY

National Juried Exhibitions

2008 Think Tank Eagle Art Gallery, Murray, KY
2007 Works on Paper South Shore Art Center, Cohasset, MA
2006 Top Award Winner Exhibition Pen and Brush Inc., New York, NY
2005 Paperwork In, On and Of Paper Foundary Art Centre, St. Charles, MO
2005 Paperworks 2005 b.j.spoke gallery, Huntington, NY
2005 Paper in particular Columbia College, Columbia, MO
2005 Fine Craft Exhibition Pen and Brush Inc., New York, NY
2003 Crafts National 37 Penn State University, University Park, PA
2003 National Women’s Exhibition Impact Artists’ Gallery, Buffalo, NY
2003 Midland Arts Association Museum of the Southwest, Midland, TX
2003 30th Annual Juried Competition Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, LA
2003 Hand crafted: Ceramics, Fiber, Rocky Mount Center, Rocky Mount, NC
Glass, Metal, Wood
2002 Craft Forms 2002 Wayne Art Center, Wayne, PA
2002 Combined Talents Competition Museum of Fine Arts, Tallahassee, FL
2002 5th National Juried Competition Baker Art Center, Pershing, KS
2001 Craft Forms 2001 Wayne Art Center, Wayne, PA

Regional Juried Exhibitions

2002 26th Annual Rock Island Exhibition Augustana College, Rock Island, IL
2000 Iowa College Salon XXII Brunnier Art Museum, Ames, IA

Grants, Contracts & Awards

2008 Research Funding ($5,887), University of Minnesota, Duluth
2008, 2006 Visualization and Digital Imaging Lab Research Summer Grant ($2,000 each), University of Minnesota, Duluth
2007 First prize in Works on Paper / National Juried Exhibition, South Shore Art Center, Cohasset, MA
2007, 05, 03 Chancellor’s Faculty Small Grants ($750 each), University of Minnesota, Duluth
2006 Special Recognition in Color: Bold/Subtle / International Juried Art Exhibition, Upstream People Gallery, Omaha, NE
2005 Outstanding Merit Award for Jewelry in Fine Craft Exhibition, Pen & Brush Inc., New York NY
2003 Grant-in-aid of Research, Artistry and Scholarship ($21,761), University of Minnesota, Duluth
2003 Third Place in National Women’s Exhibition, Impact Artists’ Gallery, Buffalo, NY

Reviews and Publications

2007 LaVenture, Tom. “UMD Art+Design Faculty Biennial Exhibition features two Asian Artists.” Asian American Press 8 Mar. 2007.
2007 Walker, Stephanie. “Juror Statement.” Works on Paper-National Juried Show. Bancroft Gallery. 12 Jan. 2007.
2006 Bradshaw, Larry. “Juror’s Statement.” Annual Color: Bold/Subtle Juried Online International Art Exhibition. Upstream People Gallery. 1 Dec. 2006.
2006 Portfolio Brochure design for Kee-Ho Yuen, Professor in Metalsmithing and Jewelry at the University of Iowa, IA
2004 Gregory, Arch. Minimal Rings: Full Spectrum Publishing , 2004. 119, 187
2002 Catalogue design for Metalsmithing and Jewelry Department at the University of Iowa, IA



	Eun-Kyung Suh - Artist Statement I have been creating a series of sculptural vessels as a metaphor for human emotion, memory and experience. For this series, a vessel is any type of container used to hold something. These sculptural vessels are created out of diaphanous textiles, using a design originally inspired by Bojagi, a traditional art form in Korea. Bojagi is the wrapping cloth used to cover, store or carry everything from precious ritual objects to everyday clothes and common household belongings. It is usually a square cloth of various sizes made out of silk, cotton, and ramie. Bojagi was originally made by anonymous women throughout the Choson dynasty (1392~1910) in Korea. Leading isolated lives in a society in which the ideology of Confucianism was dominant, they had no art education. Despite this, they developed Bojagi with artistic beauty and unique styles. They applied various techniques such as embroidery, painting, dyeing, gold leaf, and quilting to employ its motifs, patterns and colors. They made good use of small, otherwise useless, pieces of leftover cloth, patching them up into useful wrappers. My interest in Bojagi does not lie on how to re-create traditional Bojagi, but on how to extend the basic patchwork structures into my sculptural vessel forms. I am fascinated not with Bojagi’s overall design but with the process of making it, one patch after another. The woven fabric is made of repetitive horizontal and vertical structures; the process of Bojagi-making is composed of a series of vertical and horizontal actions that move against and beyond the fabric itself. It involves collecting cloth scraps, re-configuring and re-constructing them for a different use, which I interpret, is the way our memories form between layers of time and space. The daily moments we experience are modified, fantasized, deleted, reconnected and stored as a collection of memories. In this context, I convert flat cloth patterns into sculptural vessel forms to metaphorically contain memories, which are stored where a layer of time and space intersect. Folding, wrapping, and sewing are employed to transform two-dimensional fabrics into three-dimensional enclosed forms or vessel, which function as a private and sacred place where people record their memories. Enclosed textile vessel forms with printed images and texts demonstrate narrative work in both pictorial and sculptural fields. For instance, I created a large number of purple and transparent double-layered chiffon fortune cookie forms (see Purple on Thursday). Each had a short text of historical significance written on it; I interpreted a fortune cookie as a vessel, holding individuals’ wishes. To reveal intangible yet vivid memories and emotions captured inside the vessel forms I intensified their fragility with the semi-transparency of a sheer fiber. I would like to continue creating textile sculpture and installation work, transforming the homely act of sewing and converting traditional cloths into art that embraces life and society. Resume Education 2002 University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA Design MFA 2000 University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA Design MA 1991 Ewha Womens University, Seoul, Korea English BA Solo & Two Person Exhibitions 2010 Upcoming, Antipodal Encounter Augsburg Art Gallery, Minneapolis, MN 2008 Encased Memory: Textile Sculpture Duluth Art Institute, Duluth, MN 2007 Naturally Inspired Bloomington Art Center, Bloomington, MN 2004 Wearing Our Tears Tweed Museum of Art, Duluth, MN 2002 Mechanisms: Secondary Defense Gallery Space, Iowa City, Iowa 2002 Jewelry Invitational Iowa Artisans Gallery, Iowa City, IA International Exhibitions 2008 Iowa Metals Guild Exhibition St. Petersburg, Russia 2006 Color: Bold/Subtle Upstream People Gallery, Omaha, NE 2006 Contained Art Galerie sei-un-do, Zurich, Switzerland 2004 Minimal Rings Confident Gallery, St. Petersburg, FL 2004 Bellagio Gallery, Asheville, NC 2003 The Beautiful III Period Gallery, Omaha, NE 2003 Manifestation II:Form and Function Denise Bibro Fine Art, New York, NY National Juried Exhibitions 2008 Think Tank Eagle Art Gallery, Murray, KY 2007 Works on Paper South Shore Art Center, Cohasset, MA 2006 Top Award Winner Exhibition Pen and Brush Inc., New York, NY 2005 Paperwork In, On and Of Paper Foundary Art Centre, St. Charles, MO 2005 Paperworks 2005 b.j.spoke gallery, Huntington, NY 2005 Paper in particular Columbia College, Columbia, MO 2005 Fine Craft Exhibition Pen and Brush Inc., New York, NY 2003 Crafts National 37 Penn State University, University Park, PA 2003 National Women’s Exhibition Impact Artists’ Gallery, Buffalo, NY 2003 Midland Arts Association Museum of the Southwest, Midland, TX 2003 30th Annual Juried Competition Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, LA 2003 Hand crafted: Ceramics, Fiber, Rocky Mount Center, Rocky Mount, NC Glass, Metal, Wood 2002 Craft Forms 2002 Wayne Art Center, Wayne, PA 2002 Combined Talents Competition Museum of Fine Arts, Tallahassee, FL 2002 5th National Juried Competition Baker Art Center, Pershing, KS 2001 Craft Forms 2001 Wayne Art Center, Wayne, PA Regional Juried Exhibitions 2002 26th Annual Rock Island Exhibition Augustana College, Rock Island, IL 2000 Iowa College Salon XXII Brunnier Art Museum, Ames, IA Grants, Contracts & Awards 2008 Research Funding ($5,887), University of Minnesota, Duluth 2008, 2006 Visualization and Digital Imaging Lab Research Summer Grant ($2,000 each), University of Minnesota, Duluth 2007 First prize in Works on Paper / National Juried Exhibition, South Shore Art Center, Cohasset, MA 2007, 05, 03 Chancellor’s Faculty Small Grants ($750 each), University of Minnesota, Duluth 2006 Special Recognition in Color: Bold/Subtle / International Juried Art Exhibition, Upstream People Gallery, Omaha, NE 2005 Outstanding Merit Award for Jewelry in Fine Craft Exhibition, Pen & Brush Inc., New York NY 2003 Grant-in-aid of Research, Artistry and Scholarship ($21,761), University of Minnesota, Duluth 2003 Third Place in National Women’s Exhibition, Impact Artists’ Gallery, Buffalo, NY Reviews and Publications 2007 LaVenture, Tom. “UMD Art+Design Faculty Biennial Exhibition features two Asian Artists.” Asian American Press 8 Mar. 2007. 2007 Walker, Stephanie. “Juror Statement.” Works on Paper-National Juried Show. Bancroft Gallery. 12 Jan. 2007. 2006 Bradshaw, Larry. “Juror’s Statement.” Annual Color: Bold/Subtle Juried Online International Art Exhibition. Upstream People Gallery. 1 Dec. 2006. 2006 Portfolio Brochure design for Kee-Ho Yuen, Professor in Metalsmithing and Jewelry at the University of Iowa, IA 2004 Gregory, Arch. Minimal Rings: Full Spectrum Publishing , 2004. 119, 187 2002 Catalogue design for Metalsmithing and Jewelry Department at the University of Iowa, IA





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