“My process is a constant negotiation with gravity,” says Soojin Choi. The artist crafts intimate ceramic sculptures portraying a pair caught in an intricate embrace, their limbs forming a seemingly endless tangle. These figures balance precariously with pockets of negative space visible throughout. “I intentionally minimize ground contact to emphasize specific gestures and the psychological tension between the two figures, giving the work a sense of lightness and emotional presence,” Choi explains.
As a long-time resident artist at The Clay Studio in Philadelphia, Choi uses her formal training as a painter to influence the sweeping, gestural marks in her work. Her figures are depicted as three-dimensional line drawings, with quick outlines in a darker hue and visible brushstrokes and drips layered over 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 notes.
Choi begins her creative process with a concept of how the two figures will interact and the ambiguous moment they might capture. As she shapes their forms from stoneware slabs and reinforces them with nylon strands, the original plan often shifts. “What I find most exciting is that the figures’ gestures often evolve and shift during the construction process,” she shares, adding that she aims to explore the “gray area” of human emotion.
Choi is currently delving into the unpredictability of glazes and their ability to add a dynamic quality to her work. “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 remarks.
Johansson Projects will showcase Choi’s work in a duo show next month, and she is also set to participate in a group exhibition in September at the Mesa Contemporary Art Museum. Visit her Instagram to explore more of her creative process.
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