bio
Sam Chung is a Korean-American ceramic artist living in Phoenix, Arizona. He creates pottery that reframes historical ceramics from a cross-cultural perspective.
Sam received his MFA from Arizona State University and a BA degree from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. He also worked as a special post-bac student at the University of Minnesota. He taught at Northern Michigan University from 1998-2007, and has been a Professor of Ceramics at Arizona State University since 2007. He was awarded a U.S. Fulbright Scholar grant in South Korea for the 2021-22 academic year.
He has exhibited his work nationally and internationally including: Harvey Preston (formerly Harvey Meadows), Duane Reed, Tansey Contemporary, Gallery IMA, Soluna Living (Korea), Ann Linnemann Gallery (Denmark), Greenwich House Pottery. Sam’s work is included in the collections of The Everson Museum (NY), Crocker Art Museum (CA), Icheon World Ceramic Center (Korea), Guldagergaard (Denmark) and San Angelo Museum (TX). He has also presented numerous lectures and workshops both nationally and internationally.
solo exhibitions
Greenwich House Pottery-Jane Hartsook Gallery, Gallery IMA, Lawrence Arts Center, AKAR, Plinth Gallery, Lacoste Gallery.
group exhibitions
Huue Gallery (Seoul, Korea), Harvey Preston Gallery, Tansey Contemporary, The Clay Studio, Lillstreet Art Center, Gallery I|M|A, Cross Mackenzie Gallery, Red Lodge Clay Center, Dubuque Museum of Fine Art, Sherry Leedy Contemporary, Santa Fe Clay, Taipei County Yingge Museum and Icheon World Ceramic Center. His work is in the collections of the Crocker Art Museum, Icheon World Ceramic Center (Korea), Guldagergaard (Denmark), Shepparton Art Gallery (Australia), University of Arkansas, Arizona State University Art Museum, etc.
residencies
KwangjuYo, Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts, The Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts, Guldagergaard International Ceramic Research Center (Denmark), The International Ceramics Studio (Hungary), The Pottery Workshop (China).
Photo by Adam Field
“A consistent point of departure for my work has been the ceramic vessel and playing with the balance between form, function and design. I am interested in the way that pots have the 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. I work within the context of pottery to exploit its universal familiarity and impose my own vision for merging historically and culturally disparate influences. I am curious about the relationships I see among various forms of creative expression from both past and present, and try to bring forth a new language of pottery for the future.”
~ Sam Chung