MCAA
is fortunate to have a multi-talented artist/educator
as juror for Michigan Ceramics 2004. Eva Kwong,
a print artist as well as a ceramist, is much
in demand as a workshop presenter, lecturer, guest
artist, panelist and exhibitor across the US and
abroad. She was well-received as a guest presenter
at MI Mud 1999 and her work has been seen by Michigan
residents in two recent exhibitions.
Eva Kwong at MI Mud 1999
Just in the next few months, Eva is scheduled
to participate in the 38th Annual NCECA (National
Council on Education in Ceramic Arts) Conference
in Indianapolis, March 17 – 20, Clay Modern:
The 6th Annual Gulong Event in Australia, May
2 – 8, and The Natural Object, a hand building
workshop at the Anderson Ranch Arts Center, June
21 – July 2. She is also an experienced
juror who has served, for example, on the selection
committee for Fellowships given by the Virginia
Commission for the Arts.
Inspired by nature for her ceramic work, Kwong
says, “We must learn to look at a tree root,
a stem, or a leaf and change its form and to feel
any change in its form. If we can learn how to
look at nature this way, a totally new universe
emerges -- this is the power of forms. They awaken
our inner feelings directly.” Her deep interest
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in natural
forms and designs extends to the microscopic,
as evidenced by her 2001 solo exhibition at the
University of Michigan, Bacteria, Diatoms and
Cells. Her suface treatment involves carving through
layers of colored slips to reveal contrasting
colors beneath, often in patterns suggesting the
structure and movement of cells.
Thus it is fitting that Eva Kwong was selected
as one of six artists to demonstrate at the NCECA
conference entitled Investigations, Inspirations,
the Alchemy of Art and Science, and to exhibit
her work in the invitational – Biomimicry:
The Art of Imitating Life.
Concerned also with duality, balance and partnership
in forms, Eva’s work often pairs opposites
– hand built with wheel thrown, organic
with geometric, non-functional with functional,
quiet with exciting – to achieve a unified
whole with an engaging visual complexity. This
was exemplified in her 2002 solo exhibit from
the Opposites Attract Series at Pewabic Pottery
in Detroit.
Glimmer Vase,
glazed stoneware
by Eva Kwong
To name just of few more of her credits, Eva
Kwong’s work has been exhibited in Craftwork
Regional II,
Clay Odyssey at the Archie Bray Foundation, Focus
on Function – National Ceramics Biennial
at the
University of Minnesota, and the 1999 Ceramic
Arts Millennium-End Invitational in Beijing, China.
Her awards
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include fellowships
from the Ohio Arts Council, a National Endowment
for the Arts Fellowship, an Arts Midwest/NEA Regional
Fellowship, and a Pennsylvania Council on the
Arts Fellowship.
Immortal Peach, wood
fired porcelain by Eva Kwong, 2002
Born in Hong Kong, Eva
earned her BFA from the Rhode Island School of
Design and her MFA from the Tyler School of Art.
Her teaching experience includes the Rhode Island
School of Design, the School of the Art Institute
of Chicago, Cranbrook Academy of Art, Anderson
Ranch Arts Center, Penland School of Crafts, Arrowmont
School of Arts and Crafts, and Kent State University,
where she currently teaches ceramics.
Eva Kwong will be giving a workshop in conjunction
with Michigan Ceramics 2004. We look forward to
having her back in Michigan.
Big Bulb With
Hidden Vase, salt glazed stoneware by Eva Kwong
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