Eunsuh Choi
Artist processes
One of the characteristics that make the human experience such a unique one is that we all share a longing for personal enrichment. The search for individual fulfillment is a deep-seated pursuit within all of us. No matter how significant or superficial one’s ambition might be, it is the presence of aspiration that beckons us as humans to somehow claim or carve out our own understanding of ourselves within our lifetime. Although there is much attention and sensitivity towards the things that make us very different from one another, there is an undeniable connection in that we all desire something better for ourselves. This impulse is the impetus within my sculptural work, work that visually communicates the spiritual essence of human ambition.
My work specifically focuses on communicating the graceful flow of our emotional tendencies through the plastic medium of flameworked glass. I like to work sculpturally, utilizing form and its surrounding atmosphere to portray narratives based on the human encounter with success and failure in the pursuit of personal ambition.
I’m interested in portraying human aspiration with organic forms from the new perspective I had about myself within a foreign country. Originally from South Korea, I relocated to the United States. My Korean heritage tends to make me question myself in terms of my direction as an artist and an individual especially here in the USA. To address my interest in human aspiration, I like to integrate my personal philosophy and experience incorporating my Korean heritage into the work in an effort to merge my Eastern background and my Western experiences, similar to how we, as humankind, are unified through the sensation of personal ambition.
The structures that I create within recent work resemble objects that the viewer is familiar with in daily living. Ladders, trees, clouds, boxes, houses, and even hybrids of the five appear as reoccurring formal motifs.
The ladder is an object of strong symbolic references to these thematic interests. There is a certain poetry spoken when making work of this nature, with this material and in the manner that I use glass. These objects are associated with all things dense and structurally sound, whereas my renditions are light and airy— almost celestial. The gloss and glisten that is reflected from the glass construction further imply a spiritual or apparitional quality. It is as if these pieces were composed of light and were revealing themselves unto the viewer as a holy vision, towards a direction above and beyond where they stand.
In my work, I am attempting to create a physical representation of what it feels like to have a personal moment of revelation when standing in the presence of the actual piece. The moment feels as if something sacred is taking place as the viewer visualizes him or herself climbing the dedicate structure in an equally delicate manner— transcending one’s self beyond the realm of physical possibility. Although beautiful looking objects, there is an allure to these pieces that similarly surpasses their physicality in that the viewer not only becomes overwhelmed by what they see, but, more importantly, in what they sense internally.
I use the metaphorical qualities of organic structures within the natural world as motifs for ascension. In a much more lively and asymmetrical composition, I use a similarly delicate assemblage of glass rods to create renditions of a tree form. Although the tree holds many sacred and symbolic connotations, it is apparent that I am interested in using it to make a metaphorical connection to the spirit of human aspiration. Unlike a ladder, this is an object that lives and breathes, has the capability of growing and is equally capable of dying. It is a mortal entity in itself and is a thing that bears many human qualities, but it seems that it’s potential for escalation could be of my main interest. Although all trees start as seedlings, it takes a certain kind of environment and a certain set of circumstances for that seed to gradually grow into its full potential as a tall, budding and healthy tree. There is a unique parallel between the development of any given tree and the human spirit in that there is no redundancy amidst their kind in how either thing develops or what it is they develop into. Nor is there a guarantee that either thing will develop into their full potential. The pieces that I create under the influence of the natural world read as individual narratives, perhaps even as portraiture of certain individuals or moments of my own personal growth. Nevertheless, I use the malleable qualities of glass to bend and curve the material into frozen renderings of limbs and branches that ethereally reach toward some invisible goal above them. Some of the more interesting pieces are those in which I integrate the organic motion of the limbs with the stoic stature of the ladder form.
My recent work carries a quiet, meditative tone that leans heavily towards its spiritual. It’s the kind of work that viewers bask in rather than investigate on behalf of its celestial allure and its ability to evoke introspection. It wouldn’t be accurate to consider me as a spiritually spoken person, nor should my work be considered prophetic. However, there is an undeniable internal and contemplative aura within my work that resonates with our human desire for and pursuit toward something “higher” and “bigger.” I would like to offer a chance for viewers to identify their own dreams with my portrayal of the human need to aspire. We will try every possible approach towards achieving our goals.
Korean-born glass artist Eunsuh Choi is a portrait artist, whose flameworked pieces are personal narratives, portraits of her own moments of growth.
Eunsuh Choi’s is the archetypal immigrant’s tale run through the artist’s filter. Choi arrived in the U.S. having already completed a Master’s degree in glass from Kookmin University (Korea), but determined to pursue further glass education. She chose the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) as a place where she could both study English and earn a second MFA degree in glass.
Eunsuh Choi uses flameworking techniques to create objects and installations composed of intricately fused glass threads. Sitting in diligent concentration behind a small torch, she bends and joins thin glass rods into complex arrangements and systematic structures evoking the textiles she studied in Korea.
Today, the artist forms countless tiny glass rods into a cube composed within a perfect hexahedron. Eunsuh works her way through a psychological journey that juxtaposes aspiration and limitation; meanwhile, the forms in her art shift to reflect the mental work. She has produced a succession of melting ladders, cages, boxes, and trees. “In my current work I combine a box or house with the organic form of the tree. The tree becomes a metaphor for the self — reaching, climbing, singing, and striving. I place the tree inside the box or house, a cage with triangular symmetrical shapes as the object that lives and breathes and has the capability of growing or dying. It represents my struggle inside the box of my existence when, as a foreigner and woman, I come across limitations on the attainment of my dreams. I am in the process of flameworking my way out of the box.”
Choi strongly prefers to work larger than life. One piece “Aspiration” which is 12ft height is on permanent collection at the Corning Museum of Glass. Her artworks are also in the European Museum of Modern Glass (Germany), Cafesjian Center for the Arts, Cafesjian Foundation (Armenia), The Corning Museum of Glass (USA), Wallace Library, Rochester Institute of Technology (USA), Lotte Hotel Yangon (Myanmar), Korea Craft Museum (KOREA), Kim Young English Institute (KOREA), EU Glass (USA), LG Jewelry Museum (KOREA), Tozour Energy Systems (USA), Byuck San Engineering Co.Ltd (KOREA) and she was nominated as a searchlight artist by the American Craft Council in 2009 and got a talent award from Jutta Cuny-Franz Foundation in Germany in April 2013.
Choi’s work has been featured in a number of magazines, including Sculpture Magazine (USA), NEUES GLAS (GERMANY), The Flow magazine (USA), Coburger Tage Bllatt (GERMANY), Necie Presse (GERMANY), Pittsburgh magazine (USA), Whirl (USA), Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (USA), South Jersey Times (USA), Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (USA), 500 Rings (USA), Art Buzz (USA), NICHE Magazine (USA), Public Art magazine (KOREA), GLASHAUS (Germany), Glass (USA), Profitable Glass Magazine (USA), American Craft Magazine (USA), Baltimore Style Magazine (USA), Jungle Magazine (KOREA), Luxury Magazine (KOREA), New Glass Review (USA). She has given lectures at The State University of New York College at Brockport (USA), Rochester Institute of Technology (USA), International Flameworking Conference (USA), Tyler School of Temple University (USA), Chungju University (KOREA), Kookmin University (KOREA), Wilson High School (USA), UrbanGlass (USA), International Society of Glass Beadmakers (USA), Hongik University (KOREA), and Cornish College of the Arts (USA).
Choi has been working glass for over 23 years and has broad knowledge in all aspect of glass. Eunsuh Choi seems destined to be a notable presence on the American glass art stage for years to come.
Private Collections (USA, Europe, Indonesia, and S. KOREA)
2017.07 Lotte Hotel Yangon (Myanmar)
2016.06 LG Jewelry Museum (KOREA)
2016.01 Tozour Energy Systems (USA)
2013.10 Byuck San Engineering Co.Ltd (KOREA)
2013. 05 European Museum of Modern Glass (Germany)
2012. 05 Cafesjian Center for the Arts, Cafesjian Foundation (Armenia)
2007. 07 The Corning Museum of Glass (USA)
2007. 06 Wallace Library, Rochester Institute of Technology (USA)
2005. 05 Korea Craft Museum (KOREA)
2003. 09 Kim Young English Institute (KOREA)
Solo Exhibition
2015. 10 “Aspiration”: The Endless Journey, Nazareth Art Center, Nazareth College of Art, Rochester, NY (USA)
2013. 02 “Consciousness”, Hodge Gallery, Pittsburgh Glass Center, Pittsburgh, PA (USA)
2012. 06 Rochester Biennial, Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester, NY (USA)
2007. 05 Dyer Arts Center at NTID, Rochester, NY (USA)
Selected/ Invited Exhibition
2020.02 Collect 2020, Gallery Sklo, Somerset House, London (United Kingdom)
2019. 09 “Girls kick glass” Legacy Glassworks, Minneapolis, MN (USA)
2019.07 “Pivot”, Imagine Museum, Saint Petersburg, FL (USA)
2019.06 “From the Flame”, Flint Institute of Arts, Flint, MI (USA)
2019.01 Exhibit A’s 10yr Anniversary Exhibition, Corning, NY (USA)
2019.01 “Articulating Craft” Nazareth College, Pittford, NY (USA)
2018.02 “Black and White” Gallery Exhibit A, Corning, NY (USA)2017.10 “Embodiment” Pittsburgh Glass Center, Pittsburgh, PA (USA)
2017.10 “Embodiment” Pittsburgh Glass Center, Pittsburgh, PA (USA)2017.04 “Lampwork” European Museum for Modern Glass, Coburg (GERMANY)
2017. 03 “Finding Home: Shine the Light”, Deep Arts, Rochester, NY (USA)
2017.02 “Women of Glass” Zen Glass Gallery, St. Petersburg, FL (USA)
2017.01 “No Fun” Ruckus Gallery, Philadelphia, PA (USA)
2016.11 SOFA Chicago Expo 2016, represented by Sklo Gallery (Seoul, Korea) and Chesterfield Gallery (NYC,NY), Navy Pier, Chicago, IL (USA)
2016.10 Glass Fashion Show, Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, OH (USA)
2016.06 Glass Fashion Show, Glass Art Society, Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, NY (USA)
2016.05 The 44th Annual International Awards Exhibition, Habatat Galleries, Royal Oak, MI (USA)
2015.11 Small works, Tansey Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM (USA)
2015. 11 SOFA Chicago Expo 2015, represent by Tansey Contemporary, Navy Pier, Chicago, IL (USA)
2015.10 “Transformations” Bevier Gallery, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY (USA)
2015.10 “Contemporary Korean Glass Art” Sklo Gallery, Seoul (S.KOREA)
2015.04 “Teapots” 9th Invitational, Morgan Contemporary Glass Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA (USA)
2015.03 “Emerging Artists” Habatat Galleries FL, West Palm Beach, FL (USA)
2015.02 Palm Springs Fine Art Fair, represent by Tansey Contemporary, Palm Springs Convention Center,Palm Springs, CA (USA)
2015.01 Art Palm Beach, represent by Gallery Sklo, Palm Beach County Convention Center, West palm Beach , FL (USA)
2014. 11 “Small scale BIG ideas”, Tansey Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM (USA)
2014. 11 SOFA Chicago Expo 2014, represent by Tansey Contemporary, Navy Pier, Chicago, IL (USA)
2014. 10 2014 Taos Art Glass Invitational, Total Arts Gallery, Taos, NM (USA)
2014.06 “Out of Town” UK Contemporary Glass Society (United Kingdom)
2014. 04 “Keepers of the Flame: A Celebration of Contemporary Flamework”, Wheaton Art Gallery, Millville, NJ (USA)
2013. 11 The 10th Anniversity exhibition, Sklo Gallery, Seoul (KOREA)
2013. 10 “A Touch of Glass”, Gershman Y’s Gallery, Philadelphia, PA (USA)
2013. 10 “Through the Future brightly”, The Bender Gallery, Ashville, NC (USA)
2013. 04 eXpose 2013, Habatat Galleries, MI (USA)
2013. 03 2013 International Flameworking Conference, Wheaton Arts, Carneys Point, NJ (USA)
2012. 11 Craft Forms 2012, Wayne Art Center, Wayne, PA (USA)
2012. 06 Glass Fashion show, The Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, OH (USA)
2012. 04 “Tea Pot”, Morgan Contemporary Glass Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA (USA)
2012. 03 “Fragile Paradigms”, Hodgell Gallery, Sarasota, FL (USA)
2011. 10 “Curious Harmony”, Morgan Contemporary Glass Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA (USA)
2011. 09 Cheongju International Craft Biennale, Cheongju Cultural Industry Complex, Cheongju (KOREA)
2011. 06 Images 2011, Robeson Gallery, Penn State University, Philadelphia, PA (USA)
2011. 05 Dual Nature: Contemporary Glass & Jewelry, Wing Luke Asian Museum, Seattle, WA (USA)
2011. 02 NICHE Award, Pennsylvania Convention Center, Philadelphia, PA (USA)
2011. 01 Mesa 32nd Annual Contemporary Crafts, Mesa Arts Center, Mesa, AZ (USA)
2010. 09 Art Prize, Grid 70, Grand Rapids, MI (USA)
2010. 09 Transitions: Artists of UrbanGlass, Brooklyn, NY (USA)
2010. 04 Glass Jewelry: An International Passion, Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, Louisville, KY (USA)
2010. 03 Made in NY 2010, Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center, Auburn, NY (USA)
2009. 12 Speak For The Trees, Friesen Gallery, Sun Valley, ID and Seattle, WA (USA)
2009. 06 2009 Breakthrough Ideas in Global Glass, Hawk Gallery, OH (USA)
2009. 06 Glass on Glass by Regional NY Glass Makers, Corning, NY (USA)
2009. 04 Feminine Essence, Judy Youens Gallery, Santa Fe, NM (USA)
2009. 02 Searchlight Artists, American Craft Council, Baltimore Convention Center, Baltimore, MD (USA)
2008. 12 CraftForms 2008, Wayne Art Center, Wayne, PA (USA)
2007. 11 Emerging Glass Artists, Sklo Gallery, Seoul (KOREA)
2007. 11 Contemporary Craft Exhibition, BELSKIE MUSEUM of ART & SCIENCE, NJ (USA)
2003. 09 The 3rd Cheongju International Craft Competition Special Invitation, Cheongju (KOREA)
Group Exhibition
2017. 01 Department of Art Faculty Exhibition, The Tower Fine Arts Gallery, Brockport, NY (USA)
2013. 09 Department of Art Faculty Exhibition, The Tower Fine Arts Gallery, Brockport, NY (USA)
2010. 08 Pilchuck Faculty Show, Pilchuck Glass School, Stanwood, WA (USA)
2009. 10 2008 Emerging Artist in Residence at Pilchuck Glass School, Freisen Gallery, Seattle, WA (USA)
2009. 06 The Diva of GAS Glass Fashion Show, The Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, NY (USA)
2008. 10 EAiR Show, Pilchuck Gallery, Pilchuck Glass School, Stanwood, WA (USA)
2008. 06 The 38Th International Student Exhibition, GAS Conference, Portland, OR (USA)
2007. 11 Contemporary Craft Exhibition, BELSKIE MUSEUM of ART & SCIENCE, NJ (USA)
2007. 06 The 37th Silence Auction at GAS Conference, Pittsburgh, PA (USA)
2007. 06 The 37Th International Student Exhibition, GAS Conference, Pittsburgh, PA (USA)
2007. 05 2007 WALKTGROUGH, 7A Booth, Rochester Institute of Technology, New York (USA)
2007. 02 2007 NICHE Student Award, Philadelphia, PA (USA)
2006. 09 The Habatat Galleries show, Gallery R, Rochester, NY (USA)
2006. 06 The 36Th International Student Exhibition, GAS Conference, St. Louis, MO (USA)
2006. 05 2006 WALKTGROUGH, 7A Booth, Rochester Institute of Technology, New York (USA)
2006. 02 2006 NICHE Student Award, Philadelphia, PA (USA)
2004. 02 INGLASS Group 5th Exhibition for Art Glass, Gallery Korean Craft Promotion Foundation, Seoul (KOREA)
2003. 09 Changjo Art Group 2nd Exhibition, Gallery wood& metal& clay, Seoul (KOREA)
2003. 09 “Craft for Life” Cheong Ju International Craft Biennale Exhibition, Gallery Korea Craft, Cheong Ju (KOREA)
2003. 08 Korean Craft Artists Association Group 30th Exhibition, Seoul Arts Center, Seoul (KOREA)
2003. 08 INGLASS Group 4th Exhibition for Craft, Art Center Ma No, An Sung (KOREA)
2003. 06 M.F.A Degree Exhibition, Gallery Kook Min, Seoul (KOREA)
2003. 03 INGLASS Invitation Exhibition, Art Center Ma No, An Sung (KOREA)
2003. 02 INGLASS Group 4th Exhibition for Art Glass, Se Jong Center for Arts, Seoul (KOREA)
2002. 11 Changjo Art Group 1st Exhibition, Gallery wood& metal& clay, Seoul (KOREA)
2002. 08 INGLASS Group 3rd Exhibition for Craft, Gallery Korean Craft Promotion Foundation, Seoul (KOREA)
2002. 06 Glass Art Festival 3rd Competition, In Sa Art Center, Seoul (KOREA)
2002. 02 INGLASS Group 3rd Exhibition for Art Glass, Se Jong Center for Arts, Seoul (KOREA)
2002. 01 Kook Min Art of Glass, Gallery Korean Electronic Center, Seoul (KOREA)
2001. 06 International Glass Window& Door 6th Exhibition, COEX, Seoul (KOREA)
2001. 06 INGLASS Group 2nd Exhibition for Craft, Gallery Kum Gang, Dae Jeun (KOREA)
2001. 06 “Cool Dishes and properties for Summer”, Happy World Department Store, Seoul (KOREA)
2001. 06 “Cool Dishes and properties for Summer”, Gallery Sam Sung Plaza, Bun Dang (KOREA)
2000. 12 B.F.A Degree Exhibition, College of Design, Contemporary Design Center, Seoul (KOREA)
2000. 11 Glass Art Festival 2nd Competition, Gallery wood& metal& clay, Seoul (KOREA)
1997. 12 A.F.A Degree Exhibition, College of Design, Gallery Han Yang, Seoul (KOREA)
