Abby Chaeyoung Kwon

SAIC SHOWS 2022 GRADUATE EXHIBITIONS

Graduates

SAIC SHOWS 2022 GRADUATE EXHIBITIONS

Master of Fine Arts in Studio, Ceramics

Born in Seoul, Korea and currently living and studying in Chicago, artist Abby Kwon’s initial exposure to creative field was through design. After two years of study in Design Academy Eindhoven, she realized she wanted more artistic freedom and personal initiative which prompted her to creating art works. To pursue her dream, she then transferred to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and concentrated her studies in sculpture and ceramics. After receiving her Bachelor of Fine Arts, she continued to further develop her own approach to the medium in their MFA program in the department of Ceramics. Her works have been exhibited in several solo and group shows in gallery 1922 in Chicago. She is currently a candidate for MFA in ceramics from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Abby Chaeyoung Kwon - Untitled (Self Portrait)

Untitled (Self Portrait), 2020, Terracotta encased in plexiglass vitrine, 60 x 12 x 12 in., Photo by Abby Chaeyoung Kwon

In Transition I, 2021, White stoneware with glaze on plywood supports, 108 x 72 x 72 in. (installation size), Photo by Abby Chaeyoung Kwon

In Transition II, 2021, White stoneware with glaze on plywood shelf, 72 x 48 x 7 in.(installation size), Photo by Abby Chaeyoung Kwon

Abby Chaeyoung Kwon - In Transition III-2

In Transition III-2, 2021, White stoneware with glaze on plywood supports, 108 x 72, 72 in. (installation size), Photo by Abby Chaeyoung Kwon

In Transition IV, 2021, White stoneware with glaze on plywood supports, 108 x 72, 72 in. (installation size), Photo by Abby Chaeyoung Kwon

I am interested in the quotidian, the passage of time, and spatial relations. With my ceramic sculpture installations, I explore these ideas to evoke tranquility yet stir the intellect. My stories originate from themes like accumulation of emotions from investigations into space during daily routines. In a nutshell, my works are recordings of daily experiences in relations to time and space.

My most recent works feature multiple ceramic sculptures in serial form as part of a unique subgroup sharing physical traits. They represent a preliminary of a larger idea, serving as a starting point. Structural supports reminiscent of domestic architecture hold up these individual pieces that could be imagined in many different compositions. Exploring the various landscapes of grouping and arranging these multiple ceramic sculptures through active arrangement highlights fluidity and ephemerality while transforming the work into an exercise of positioning and repositioning until an arrangement meets the narrative and site. In return, the action itself becomes an important part of the materiality of the work, rendering it never fixed but ever-changing. This element of movement and temporality has recently been extended to the supporting structures housing the ceramic sculptures, which have been the sole constant amongst the rest of the variables. By questioning the hierarchy within different components of the work, this new endeavor opens up exciting new territory for experimentation in future projects.

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