Janny Baek’s psychedelic ceramics are objects in flux
Korean-American architect and sculptor Janny Baek speaks about expressing ‘vibrancy, pleasure, and hope’ through her vivid ceramics, ahead of a major show at Culture Object, New York (on view until 20 May 2023)
Architecture, design and tradition come together effortlessly in the works of Korean-American ceramic artist, Janny Baek. Based in New York City, Baek studied ceramics at Rhode Island School of Design before pursuing a master’s degree in architecture at Harvard University. She primarily uses the traditional nerikomi clay technique – a Japanese decorative process that involves stacking clay before slicing through it at a cross-section to reveal a pattern – albeit, with an unexpectedly contemporary effect.
‘In traditional nerikomi, coloured clays are stacked and create thin slabs of a pattern when the stack is sliced through,’ the artist explains. ‘Since my focus has always been on revealing a change occurring across the surface (rather than a tiled or otherwise repeated surface pattern), I’ve modified this, sometimes adhering more closely to traditional nerikomi by using striped patterns that change in colour, but other times breaking from that and treating the coloured clay in different ways; as a patterned, coloured sheet and applied to the surface of a form, or as an inlaid material, or as a three-dimensional sculpted surface texture.’
Janny Baek at Culture Object, New York
From 22 March – 20 May 2023, Baek is presenting her first solo exhibition at Culture Object, a Manhattan gallery championing artists whose conceptual and functional approaches encompass technical innovation and material experimentation. ‘My sculpted ceramic forms are based on the themes of growth, flux, and other various states of in-between,’ she says. ‘I enjoy working in a realm of ambiguity between the familiar and the strange, or with some uncertainty as to whether something is one thing or the other. Lately, I’ve been using more familiar natural forms, such as plant life and clouds, as a departure point to try to imagine what it looks like and feels like to undergo a change. Where there is change, there are questions, possibilities, desire, and agency.’
It’s a line of critical thinking reminiscent of her architecture days; Baek founded McMahon-Baek Architecture with her husband Thomas McMahon in 2014, which she continues to run with him, alongside her ceramic practice, which she returned to in 2019. Baek’s hand-built forms exude a sculptural, yet intimate quality that also conveys levity and exuberance, thanks to her embrace of bright, vibrant colours. Hazy ombres and gradients effortlessly collide with animated geometric patterns and organic textures. Best of all, the resulting vessels are all functional.
‘I make colourful work to express vibrancy, pleasure, and hope. As another aspect of transformation, I often use gradients, with coloured surfaces that are blooming, ripening, or otherwise becoming something that expresses a different character from one side to the other,’ she says. ‘I find it interesting to make my work out of what could be seen as these artificially bright colours, with the ultimate earthy material, clay. Ultimately, I hope that my work communicates the wonder and importance of questioning assumptions and being curious: about ourselves, our world, and our future.’
Janny Baek: 'The Pleasure of Growth', 22 March – 20 May 2023 at Culture Object, New York. cultureobject.com; jannybaek.com
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
Pei-Ru Keh is a former US Editor at Wallpaper*. Born and raised in Singapore, she has been a New Yorker since 2013. Pei-Ru held various titles at Wallpaper* between 2007 and 2023. She reports on design, tech, art, architecture, fashion, beauty and lifestyle happenings in the United States, both in print and digitally. Pei-Ru took a key role in championing diversity and representation within Wallpaper's content pillars, actively seeking out stories that reflect a wide range of perspectives. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two children, and is currently learning how to drive.
-
‘Hedonistic and avant-garde’: Rabanne’s Julian Dossena on the legacy of the chainmail 1969 bag
Paco Rabanne’s 1969 chainmail handbag encapsulates the late designer’s futuristic, space-age style. Current creative director Julien Dossena tells Wallpaper* about the bag’s particular pleasures
By Jack Moss Published
-
Postcard from Paris: Olympic fever takes over the streets
On the eve of the opening ceremony of Paris 2024, our correspondent shares her views from the streets of the capital about how the event is impacting the urban landscape.
By Minako Norimatsu Published
-
The Mercury Prize nominees for 2024 have been revealed
Charli XCX, The Last Dinner Party and Beth Gibbons are amongst this year's nominees
By Charlotte Gunn Published
-
Nona Faustine confronts the past in New York
Artist Nona Faustine reframes New York's colonial past in an exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Casa Bosques’ queer-themed book curation comes to New York’s East Village
In Pride Month 2024, Casa Bosques’ pop-up bookstore in The Standard hotel, East Village, offers a stylish haven for literary mavens
By Hannah Silver Published
-
‘Very few museums were interested in my work until recently’: Amalia Mesa-Bains on her first-ever retrospective
‘Amalia Mesa-Bains: Archaeology of Memory’ is a long-overdue exhibition at El Museo del Barrio in New York celebrating five decades of the trailblazing Chicanx artist
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
Frieze New York 2024: what to see in and around the city
Frieze New York 2024 (until Sunday 5 May) sees the city’s ample spring season programming celebrated at The Shed
By Osman Can Yerebakan Published
-
Calling NYC grads! Sarabande Foundation invites you to an industry masterclass to pave way into the creative world
‘What Now?’ by Sarabande Foundation is a post-college guide to support graduates in making their next steps, with advice from the likes of Burberry, Thom Browne, and more
By Tianna Williams Published
-
‘I don't know what art is, but we have to make these things to understand ourselves’: Antony Gormley in New York
Wallpaper* meets Antony Gormley as his new exhibition, ‘Aerial’ opens at White Cube New York
By Hannah Silver Published
-
The New York art exhibitions to see in July
Read our pick of the best New York art exhibitions to see in July, from Jenny Holzer’s ‘Light Line’ at The Guggenheim to ‘Cosmography: an exploration of space and humanity’ at Templon
By Hannah Silver Last updated
-
Surreal, uncanny, seductive: step into Graham Little’s world
Scottish artist Graham Little presents his first US retrospective at The FLAG Art Foundation in New York
By Hannah Silver Published