Choi Boram South Korean, b. 1985

Choi Boram (b. 1985) reimagines blue and white through sculptural forms that resist refinement and closure. Based on Jeju Island, South Korea, she constructs her vessels from coarse clay assembled in visible patches, leaving seams exposed rather than concealed. Thousands of hand-drawn cobalt lines are applied directly onto raw stoneware and fired unglazed, preserving texture, tension and the trace of human labour.

In her earlier works, surfaces were densely inscribed, creating a sense of completion through rhythmic accumulation. In the Blue Jar - Undoing series, she introduces the void as an active element. Areas of negative space interrupt the cobalt fields, allowing emptiness to shape the composition. This shift creates space for pause and reflection, enabling the artist to step back and contemplate the process.

By embracing the void, Choi deliberately works against her own established language. Exposed and unfinished surfaces reflect the challenge of undoing habits formed over years of making. Blue and white becomes not a resolved aesthetic but a dynamic field shaped by gesture, interruption and absence. In confronting her own conventions, she transforms the vessel into a site of tension between control and release.

Public Collections (selected)

The British Museum, UK

The Chatsworth House Collection, UK