Sam Chung Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota to Korean immigrants, ceramicist Sam Chung now lives and works in Tempe, Arizona. He earned his BA in studio art from St. Olaf College before obtaining an MFA in ceramics from Arizona State University, where he now teaches as an assistant professor of ceramics. As a visiting artist or artist in residence, he has attended Hungary’s International Ceramics Studio, Denmark’s Guldagergaard International Ceramic Research Center, Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass, Colorado, and The Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts, among others. Chung’s work uses the vessel as his main point of departure to explore the balance between form, function, and design. Constructed by hand, he originally created his architecturally complex work from porcelain slabs although he has expanded his practice to include wheel-thrown work. He has described his slab-built process “almost like a puzzle” in the working of the piece’s parts, fitting pieces together much like dressmaking with slits in the clay that allow it to be folded and curved. His wheel-based work, such as the Cloud Motif series, combines elements of slab. To create the dimensional shapes, Chung first draws on the thrown pot and then slices into it. The shape is then pulled forward from the pot and he fills in the gap with slab. Working with a soft yet strong clay like porcelain allows for increased malleability with the form. Chung’s work merges disparate traditional forms and techniques from Asian, Scandinavian, and English culture to create his distinct aesthetic and “bring forth a new language of pottery for the future.” He says his interest in pots stems from their “unique ability to serve a multitude of roles and functions. They can exhibit decorative beauty, bring attention to more functional/tactile concerns, and also create historical, cultural, and experiential associations.” Influenced by architecture and geometry, his work plays with design, line, and form to reflect a refined elegance while maintaining utility. His Cloud Motif series appropriates both historical Korean ceramic forms and the ubiquitous cloud motif, which represents immortality and longevity in Asian art. Chung adopts the motif to explore his own “floating sense of identity between Korean and American cultures.” He goes on to say, “Their ever changing, formless nature is analogous to the way I perceive the fluidity of my cross-cultural identity. The way I incorporate the clouds has both a physical and illustrative dimension. They protrude out of the pot’s surface with their contours graphically outlined in China paint. Metaphorically they are breaking out of the past, yet leaving a remnant of tradition behind. The cloud imagery is contemporized to create a new identity, suggesting a renewal and transformation.” Chung has exhibited both nationally and internationally. His work is part of the permanent collections of Crocker Art Museum, The American Museum of Ceramic Art, Icheon World Ceramic Center, and the Guldagergaard International Ceramic Research Center. His work has been featured in publications such as Ceramics Monthly, The Art of Contemporary American Pottery, and Clay Times.