A woman with glasses and pearl earrings, wearing a black shirt, sits at a table holding a large pink and white striped shell sculpture. Behind her, a series of large seashell sculptures are displayed on a table, with a textured brick wall and a radiator in the background.

Photo Credit _ Alan Wiener

Containment: Where Korean Heritage Meets Contemporary Form

Hongmi Kim Hoog is a ceramic artist whose practice bridges Korean tradition and contemporary material exploration. She holds an MFA in Ceramic Art from The City College of New York, an MA in Studio Art from New York University, and a BFA in Ceramic Art from Ewha Womans University. Born and raised in South Korea, she draws inspiration from Korean ceramic heritage and her mother’s quiet strength.

Working with Yeonlimun (연리문) and related layered-clay techniques (agateware, neriage, and nerikomi), Hoog laminates clays and pigments into sheets that are cut and rebuilt into vessel forms. Through this process, the vessel becomes an act of containment—a place to hold memory, tenderness, and resilience. Her recent works incorporate crystal glazes, layered mid- and low-fire surfaces, luster overglaze, and ottchil (옻칠, natural lacquer) to create luminous, emotionally resonant textures.

Hoog completed a residency at Greenwich House Pottery (New York) in 2023. Her work has been selected for the Jingdezhen International Ceramic Art Biennale (China), the Biennal de Ceràmica d’Esplugues Angelina Alós (Spain), and the Guilford Art Center Ceramics Biennial (USA), and for Mediterraneo Contemporary Ceramics Competition (Italy, 2025). In 2026, her work was selected for Absence Takes Form, the NCECA Annual Exhibition (Detroit), and she was named a recipient of the NCECA Multicultural Fellowship.

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