Today we’d like to introduce you to Yoory Jung.
Yoory, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I was born in Korea and moved to the United States when I was twelve. Moving from Korea to the United States was a traumatic experience for me. I struggled to adjust to a new environment, so I became a very timid little girl. Art was something I always enjoyed and allowed me to express without verbal communication. From a very early age, I wanted to be an artist, but I didn’t know which direction I wanted to go. After high school, I attended Cypress College to build a portfolio and to explore different mediums of visual art. From the very first day of my Painting 1 class, I fell in love with the medium. In 2016, I was admitted to Otis College of Art and Design and graduated in 2018 with BFA in Painting. My current work revolves around challenging the viewers’ perception through levels of abstraction. I started Celadon Series from me wanting to know who I am as Korean American. Often times I feel that I am not Korean enough or American enough to fit into one category. More so, due to my current status as a “Dreamer”(DACA).
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
In my continuing investigation of celadon as reference, material, and process, I am introducing tensions between abstraction and representation, as well as between performativity and objecthood. I wanted to bring Korean Celadon masters’ craftsmanship into my work by appropriating the process that is similar to, but different from celadon making. So, I begin with clay color as ground in order to reference and simulate the material of the celadon as ceramic. Then I add layers of colors close to Celadon. Identity is a concept that requires others, and so is my painting. It requires the viewers to examine what they are seeing.
Have things improved for artists? What should cities do to empower artists?
In today’s culture, people are overloaded with sensory stimulus and constantly shift attention from one thing to another. Moreover, because of sensory overload, the body takes in stimulus without awareness and audience becomes hard to be pleased. Since we are overloaded with optical and tactile stimulants every day all the time, as a contemporary artist, one has to be more alert and aware of these experience in order to be more responsive to contemporary culture. As a contemporary artist, we are faced with great difficulties in giving audiences an immediate and intimate experience.
Cities like ours need to create more platforms for young artists to encourage and help artists thrive.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
You can go to my website or follow me on social media to see my recent work. Also, you can schedule a studio visit by email or through my website. Follow me on social media to get an update on any upcoming exhibitions or events.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.yooryjung.com/
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simplyoory/
Image Credit:
June Chae, Yoory Jung
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