Face4 2011 , 35 x 12 x 25 cm
Porcelain ceramic works, installed on the wall, inspired by Face

Face1 2011 , 35 x 12 x 25 cm
Porcelain ceramic works, installed on the wall, inspired by Face



Eyes3 2011 , 80 x 15 x 45 cm
Porcelain ceramic works, installed on the wall, inspired by Eye



Eyes4 2011 , 80 x 15 x 45 cm
Porcelain ceramic works, installed on the wall, inspired by Eye

Art is a lifestyle for me. Everything that surrounds and excites me is automatically processed and transformed into the final result: an artwork. It is fascinating to watch the transitions from life to art. The essence of my work is the human being and their everyday life. I find ceramic to be the most versatile material and it is suited to express my ideas. Working in clay is really deep and has much to interest me: philosophy, technique – so much.

In my work, I like to tell stories using symbols which are universal, when you look at my work you could tell your own story, and would interpret what you see in your own way and each work in the series is created to evoke a different moods and emotions. I am exploring abstract appropriated images from our culture and translating these onto the surface of my work. I feel that they address or allude to specific ideals that interest me. It has always been my goal as an artist to make work that speaks to the viewer on a deeper level.

My works are a step in my ongoing growth toward a personal and unique approach to clay. It is my hope that these images will provoke thought in the viewer. The characteristics and limitations of the materials is a fundamental issue for me. I make use of a working process which is based on analysis and experience. I approach my work in a formal and aesthetic way. That does not mean that emotionality and sensuality are set aside – on the contrary, I go for a cool expression with sensitive undertones and thereby join an abstract, new formalistic movement in contemporary art. - An Myung-nam

An Myung-nam

Seed in a Shell 2011, 29 x 37 x 37 cm



Blue Aqua Flower 2011, 28 X 36 X 35 cm



Landscape of a Sprit 2010 26 x 51 x 51 cm Blown, engraved and plished glass



Untitle 2004, Blown glass 111cm

Fluttering flower series / NB0152
Oxidized silver, white pearls, 24k yellow gold leaf
2 1/2" wide x 2 1/2" high on 16" to 18 1/2" multi cable wire



Oriental hill series / N0157
Oxidized silver, white pearls, 24k yellow gold leaf
16" to 18 1/2" length.



The chrysanthemum is bathed in moonlight
Oxidized silver, 18k yellow gold, tourmaline
2" wide x 2" high

Glowing I
10x10x2 inches.
sterling, fine silver and copper wires


So Young Park's contemporary jewelry forms and theory are inspired from her thesis, Nativity and memories from her childhood. She grew up near the ocean in southern part South Korea. So Young used to play with sea life and plants and collected many different kinds of shells and pebbles. She loved touching and observing the surface texture and pattern of shells and various naturally shaped pebbles during her happy childhood.

As So Young grew, she had several tragic experiences involving the death of her friends. She suffered a long time and her view of life and death dramatically grew different from many other people. Through her thesis works, she found that human life and plant life have similar growth and life characteristics. From an atheistic point view, nature reveals the beauty of the eternal cycles of life, like how rebirth transcends the tragedy of death. In order to bear fruit, plants must progress through many stages of life. During this process different parts of the plants body are required to be sacrificed for the fruit. However, this sacrifice does not signify the end of life, but gives birth to new life. In doing so, this process creates the eternal cycle of life. Her thesis pieces express desire, hope, and the power of life through organic plant forms, that are artistically rendered in a simplistic, geometric, and sophisticated manner.

Her jewelry art forms are assembled through the harmonic use of wires, tiny discs, engraved patterns, and textures forged of gold or silver, creating elegant, yet unusual visual forms. The use of wires, small discs, textures, and other small elements represent the single cells that makeup all life. Each piece contributes to long and painful process to create a beautiful and unusual art forms.

So Young Park