STACK VESSELS SCULPTURE BY SOO JOO

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STACK VESSELS SCULPTURE
BY SOO JOO

ON VIEW AT STUDIOTWENTYSEVEN NEW YORK GALLERY

UNIQUE WORK
YEAR 2023

KOREAN CERAMIC STONEWARE WITH CELDON GLAZE
WALNUT WOOD, STEEL BASE

IN	H	10.2	Ø	8.8
CM	H	26	Ø	22.5

CUSTOM SIZE OR FINISH ON REQUEST

HAND SCULPTED IN SOUTH KOREA

AVAILABLE
LOCATION NEW YORK, USA

BIOGRAPHY
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Soo Joo’s Stack Vessels is a timeless series of unique sculptural works, exploring balance, form, and material through a precise and technically demanding ceramic process. The series is composed of eleven individually formed vessels, each distinct in proportion and silhouette. These carefully calibrated compositions pay homage to the natural world by emphasizing equilibrium through variation

The vessels are crafted from Korean ceramic stoneware and finished with a celadon glaze chosen for its ability to articulate curvature and depth without ornament. Each form is wheel-thrown and meticulously trimmed by hand, then glazed to subtly accentuate its contours. Fired individually at high temperatures, the vessels present a notable technical challenge: rounded ceramic forms without flat bases are inherently unstable during firing, as gravity and heat can cause distortion or collapse. The successful realization of these works reflects an ambitious engagement with the limits of high-temperature stoneware ceramics

Following firing, the vessels are assembled on a discreet wooden base reinforced with a hidden steel structure, ensuring stability while preserving the visual clarity of the stacked forms. The neutral, restrained palette situates the work in close dialogue with the natural world, evoking stone, earth, and mineral, while contributing to the sculptures’ sense of timelessness. Balancing formal rigor with material sensitivity, Stack Vessels stands as a refined investigation into precision, restraint, and the quiet complexity of ceramic construction

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Soo Joo

Born Seoul, South Korea, 1994

A Korean-American artist, Soo Joo creates biophilic works influenced by traditional Korean art and design, which values forms that harmoniously coexist with nature. Inspired by her childhood in the suburbs of New England, her deep connection to East-Asian ink calligraphy, and her interdisciplinary study of evolutionary biology, Joo is driven by our innate human need to feel connected to the natural world. At the core of her work is an investigation into how non-living, abstract forms can still carry the essence of nature, and an exploration into the physical and physiological benefits of bringing biophilic design into our built environment

In creating her novel organic forms, Joo begins by creating watercolor paintings and monoprint artworks from which she develops her expressive and gestural furniture works. Using natural materials with a long history with mankind such as wood, ceramics and bronze, she uses traditional woodworking techniques to painstakingly bent-laminate, stack-laminate and hand-sculpt each of her pieces, carving over several days to ensure that the curves flow from every angle. Through this process, she creates works of extraordinary elegance, harmony, and timelessness that celebrates Korean biophilic aesthetics

Currently based in Seoul, South Korea, Soo is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design and classically trained in fine art at Sunhwa Arts School. She worked with international sculptor Lee Jae Hyo for a year in Italy and Korea, and was an Artist Resident at Anderson Ranch Art Center and Penland School of Craft in the United States

Soo Joo is exclusively represented by STUDIOTWENTYSEVEN

STUDIOTWENTYSEVEN