Research Page

I read about artist YoonJee Kwak and her Bottomless Pit vessel series in a Ceramics Monthly magazine. At first glance, her work seems to mimic something like a knitting pattern, crochet, or macramé, but on a much deeper level, it resembles us as humans and our universal truths. Her Bottomless Pit series dives into the anthropomorphism of pottery and how artwork can reflect the most profound aspects of the human experience. In a simple sense, anthropomorphism is the attribution of human characteristics to non-human entities. By personifying her ceramic vessels, Kwak can explore complex themes from self-reflection to identity to spirit and breath. Her intricate open-work coil systems allow her flexibility within her message; she can form the piece to convey a very specific or abstract point. The Bottomless Pit series is a reflection on human limitations; the incompleteness of it and its purposeful design for leakage is a reflection of humanity. Something of great challenge for Kwak was figuring out how to give airiness and breath to coils, which led to lots of experimentation and eventually her unique style of grid-like coil fragments.

I think her style of ceramics is really unique and beautiful, I have never come across anything like it. It is fascinating how she gets her work so symmetrical(when that’s her goal), even though she uses coils to produce her pieces. I wonder what some of her creations looked like when she was still developing her final technique, and if she ever experimented with different clays.

Month and year of your magazine: October 2021