Artist: Sam Chung
Sam Chung, ARIZONA
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BIO
Sam Chung is a Korean American ceramic artist living in Arizona. He creates pottery that reframes historical ceramics from a cross-cultural perspective. Sam received his MFA from Arizona State University and a BA degree from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. He is a Professor of Ceramics at Arizona State University. He was awarded a U.S. Fulbright Scholar grant in South Korea for the 2021-22 academic year.
Sam has exhibited his work nationally and internationally at Duane Reed Gallery, Harvey Preston Gallery, Ann Linnemann Gallery (Denmark), Soluna Living (Korea), Northern Clay Center, ClayAKAR and Greenwich House Pottery. Sam’s work is in several permanent collections including the Everson Museum of Art (NY), Crocker Art Museum (CA), Icheon World Ceramic Center (Korea), Guldagergaard (Denmark), and the Weisman Art Museum (MN).
ARTIST STATEMENT
I work within the context of the vessel to exploit its universal identity and impart my own vision of merging historical, contemporary and cultural influences. I am curious about finding relationships between various forms of creative expression ranging from art, traditional craft to design. When I combine these oftentimes disparate relationships, they bring forth a new object that is intended to provoke one’s perception of what is familiar versus what is new.
My most recent work draws influence from Korean art and design. Clouds are a ubiquitous symbol depicted in traditional Korean art. I am interested in the way in which clouds represent a phenomenon that is constantly in flux. Their nature to morph and adapt is similar to the way in which I relate to my own floating sense of identity. These cultural references are intended to serve as an anchor to point towards my own ethnic lineage, but also question my perception of belonging within or outside of it.