YOUNG MI KIM
United States
2019
Pitfired stoneware
10 3/4″ wide x 10 1/4″ deep x 8 1/2″ high

Young Mi Kim is a South Korean ceramicist who works and teaches in Woodstock, New York. Young Mi’s sculptural ceramic pieces are hand built. She layers strands of clay in a coil, slowly and carefully working upward as she discovers the shape. She writes, “In essence, each layer marks time and space. When I hand build my pots, it is a form of meditation. It is my attempt to live in grace: like an open vessel, empty and yet full.” Young Mi is also a gardener, and her time in nature clearly influences her work. Her sculptures often resemble flowers, seed pods, fungi and other organic forms.

This smaller work’s wonderfully mottled surface is a result of pitfiring. There is a patina to it similar to the algae one finds on vessels exposed to water or humidity for a long time. It could be a large barnacle, or a coral flower. Young Mi’s undulating vessels are a leap of faith: after the hours it takes for her to build their delicate shapes, she never knows if they will survive their time in the kiln. Each unique work represents a singular success after much trial and error.

Read more about Young Mi Kim here.