Huh Sang Wook

Huh Sang Wook is a Buncheong ceramic artist known for the animated motifs and the Bakji sgraffito technique that contain the scenery of nature and life through various expressions and variations. Seasonal flowers blooming, playful gestures of animals, calmly placed daily objects, and the touch of vague memories are contained in the sometimes grandiose and sometimes quiet works. Buncheong, a Joseon-era style of Korean ceramics, is an expressive technique characterized by dark stoneware covered with white slip and a clear glaze. The most crucial aspect of his work is the method of including surface design, removing the outside glaze by scraping and carving, and applying the Buncheong technique.  His process uses traces of the past to create new interpretations by infusing character into each stroke.  

Huh's work has been presented in numerous exhibitions and biennales, including the World Ceramic Biennale Korea and Cheongju Craft Biennale, housed by the Victoria & Albert Museum, Crafts Museum in New Delhi, Musée Ariana in Geneva, and Gyeonggi Ceramic Museum, and a finalist of the Loewe Craft Foundation Prize 2022. 

"When I began working with the Park-ji technique, it was not just about revealing or hiding marks. It was more like relief. I would shave it off, so the white part popped out, and the clay would go deeper. When I recall myself, I think I approached it more traditionally. I brought the technique of bygone days and would make markings without overthinking. I used the expression "to plane" when I was young, but today I use the expression "to scrape." I had a lot of thoughts about the depth of carving, how I would chisel the patterns, how I would make sketches on the surface, but I realized it's not just carving or scratching, but it is a journey to find myself." - Huh Sang Wook