Janny Baek’s psychedelic ceramics are objects in flux

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