Fong Choo
biography |
portfolio | artists listing
b. 1957, Republic of Singapore
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2006 Hot Tea!, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2003 Gasparilla Festival of Arts, "Best of Show", Tampa, FL
Hot Tea!, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2002 New Talents in Crafts II, Wustum Museum of Fine Arts, Racine, WI
East Asian Shores, The Arts Center, St. Petersburg, FL
Creations in Clay: Contemporary Ceramics, Peoria Art Guild, Peoria, IL
2001 Masters in Clay, Jordan River Arts Council, East Jordan, MI
2000 Milestones: Turning Points in Clay, Randalph Art Guild, Asheboro, NC
Tantalizing Teapot Exhibit, Greater Reston Art Center, Reston, VA
1999 Chado: The Japanese Way of Tea, Jordan River Arts Council, East Jordan, MI
1998 Governor's Invitational, Governor's Mansion, State Capital, Frankfort, KY
Spotlight 98, Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN
Best of 1998, Ohio Craft Museum, Columbus, OH
Crafts National 32, Zoeller Gallery, Pennsylvania State University,
University Park, PA
Tempe Tea Party, Tempe Arts Center, Tempe, AZ
1997 Invitational Miniature Art Exhibit, Valley Art Center, Chagrin Falls, OH
Teapots in Miniature, Waldron Arts Center, Bloomington, IL
Tea 'N Trompe, Craft Alliance, St. Louis, MO
Spotlight 97, Hickory Museum of Art, Hickory, NC
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Fong Choo, a native of the Republic of Singapore, received a bachelor's degree in business from Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, North Carolina, in 1988. He went on to complete a master's degree from the University of Louisville, Kentucky, in 1993. In addition to maintaining a studio in Louisville since 1985, Choo has been an adjunct faculty member at Bellarmine College in Louisville since 1990. He regularly conducts workshops on his forming techniques and offers lectures on his ceramic work in Kentucky and the surrounding area. He has been in countless shows during this time and has received more than 15 awards for his ceramic works. In addition, he is represented in numerous galleries throughout the United States.
Inspired by his Chinese heritage, Choo produces miniature teapots as his signature pieces. These miniatures have a long-standing tradition in the great Yixing (Yi-Sing) style of pottery. Choo, however, reinterprets the tradition by incorporating jewel-tone glazes rich in surface variations. While the forms he produces are small in scale, they carry a large presence through the detail of form and surface and the highly sophisticated manner in which they come together.
Choo airbrushes his glazes onto each piece to create an interesting overlap effect. The work is most often fired in gas kilns to a high temperature, giving it the authentic look of larger, high-fired functional ware. Working in a tedious fashion, much like a jeweler, he is forced to pay particular attention to each aspect of the process, working meticulously to combine forms and the detailed glazing techniques he uses. This is vital to ensure success working on such a small scale.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2006 Hot Tea!, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2003 Gasparilla Festival of Arts, "Best of Show", Tampa, FL
Hot Tea!, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2002 New Talents in Crafts II, Wustum Museum of Fine Arts, Racine, WI
East Asian Shores, The Arts Center, St. Petersburg, FL
Creations in Clay: Contemporary Ceramics, Peoria Art Guild, Peoria, IL
2001 Masters in Clay, Jordan River Arts Council, East Jordan, MI
2000 Milestones: Turning Points in Clay, Randalph Art Guild, Asheboro, NC
Tantalizing Teapot Exhibit, Greater Reston Art Center, Reston, VA
1999 Chado: The Japanese Way of Tea, Jordan River Arts Council, East Jordan, MI
1998 Governor's Invitational, Governor's Mansion, State Capital, Frankfort, KY
Spotlight 98, Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN
Best of 1998, Ohio Craft Museum, Columbus, OH
Crafts National 32, Zoeller Gallery, Pennsylvania State University,
University Park, PA
Tempe Tea Party, Tempe Arts Center, Tempe, AZ
1997 Invitational Miniature Art Exhibit, Valley Art Center, Chagrin Falls, OH
Teapots in Miniature, Waldron Arts Center, Bloomington, IL
Tea 'N Trompe, Craft Alliance, St. Louis, MO
Spotlight 97, Hickory Museum of Art, Hickory, NC
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Fong Choo, a native of the Republic of Singapore, received a bachelor's degree in business from Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, North Carolina, in 1988. He went on to complete a master's degree from the University of Louisville, Kentucky, in 1993. In addition to maintaining a studio in Louisville since 1985, Choo has been an adjunct faculty member at Bellarmine College in Louisville since 1990. He regularly conducts workshops on his forming techniques and offers lectures on his ceramic work in Kentucky and the surrounding area. He has been in countless shows during this time and has received more than 15 awards for his ceramic works. In addition, he is represented in numerous galleries throughout the United States.
Inspired by his Chinese heritage, Choo produces miniature teapots as his signature pieces. These miniatures have a long-standing tradition in the great Yixing (Yi-Sing) style of pottery. Choo, however, reinterprets the tradition by incorporating jewel-tone glazes rich in surface variations. While the forms he produces are small in scale, they carry a large presence through the detail of form and surface and the highly sophisticated manner in which they come together.
Choo airbrushes his glazes onto each piece to create an interesting overlap effect. The work is most often fired in gas kilns to a high temperature, giving it the authentic look of larger, high-fired functional ware. Working in a tedious fashion, much like a jeweler, he is forced to pay particular attention to each aspect of the process, working meticulously to combine forms and the detailed glazing techniques he uses. This is vital to ensure success working on such a small scale.