Sookkyung Park

Bio

Sookkyung Park established an Arts & Crafts studio in 1982 and maintained the studio for 25 years in South Korea. In 2011, she emigrated in her age 50’s and received a B.A. in Studio Arts from University of Maryland, College Park in 2016. After graduating, she selected in several regional and international juried exhibitions. Her works have been featured in many publications, including The Washington Post, The Korea Times, East City Art, Bmore Art, MAP, WSG news, AA&CC, Maryland State Arts Council and etc. Sookkyung continued to ponder the concept that could do best and was familiar with, she found out that it was a paper. This is because she had been working on paper-related works for 25 years. In 2019, to further develop this concept, she decided to apply to TU MFA Program. Sookkyung continues to have a broader perspective on paper while exploring the harmony between origami and bamboo and traditional paper as well.  

Artist Statement

In my works, I express the inspiration I get from encountering nature, the emotions felt in the field of accidental life, and the old memories kept in my heart. I believe that our society is harmonious because people are different with individual dignities, which is one of the philosophies of life. I was born and raised in the divided country of Korea where I desperately dreamed of a peaceful society. My ideology manifest in my artistic practice through form, color, shape, similarity, difference, harmony and complexity.   

I use paper as the primary medium in my sculptures. Paper was said to be invented in ancient China and introduced into Korea around the 3rd century and has been a familiar material to Koreans for a long time. I spent much of my childhood folding paper, making kites, and flying them in the sky. I lived in a house where the windows and the floors of the rooms were made of paper. As such, paper has rich personal and cultural connections for me. During the pandemic period, I folded nearly 10,000 pieces of paper to relieve anxiety and gain peace of mind. Folding numerous papers naturally made me think of my identity and culture. 

In my current body of works, I explore the topic of connection between people by folding hundreds of small pieces of paper that are bound tightly with thread creating a connected and unified structure. There is a cultural tradition of thinking that threads are a medium that connects people. In order to express this theme, various materials of paper are selected, and the characteristic softness is emphasized to create a single shape. I express the harmony of community through the papers, colors and structural forms. In addition, paper is a material that has both softness and strength. It is my point of view to use these material characteristics of paper to express ideas and philosophies realized beyond nature, people, and culture. 

Follow Sookkyung on Instagram! @sookkyung_arts

Visit Sookkyung's Website

Caroline MacKinnon

Bio

Primarily self-taught Canadian-American artist Caroline MacKinnon creates hand-built ceramic sculptures and gouache paintings that explore humankind’s connection to the natural world.  

In 2011, Caroline moved from Mexico City, where she worked as a journalist and translator, to the Washington D.C. area, shifting her focus to ceramics and painting. She currently teaches art to children and adults.  

In 2019, Caroline had her first exhibition of ceramic sculptures at Rhizome DC. Since then, she has shown her artwork at regional art venues, including a solo exhibition of vivid gouache landscapes in the fall of 2021 at the Montpelier Arts Center in Laurel, MD, and in the spring of 2022 in a group show with other members of the Sparkplug Collective at the District of Columbia Arts Center (DCAC). She recently has been working on ceramic sculptural floor pieces and installed one in a group show at the Luther W. Brady Gallery in the Corcoran Flagg building in downtown Washington, DC and another at the Brentwood Arts Exchange in the Gateway Arts District in Prince George’s County, MD. She is currently a resident artist at Red Dirt Studios in Mt. Rainier, MD.   

Artist Statement

My artwork is inspired by our understanding of the natural world and connection to the cosmos.  

Some of my sculptures evoke flora, fauna and their environs without directly copying specific species or places. My small ceramic sculptures are covered with tiny textured patterns, bulges and appendages that appear like creatures found in the intertidal zones of this planet. Or another planet.  

I use litter and detritus to make impressions reminiscent of ancient fossils. What will it look like when future civilizations uncover our office supplies and building materials committed to the earth? 

Sometimes my work is interactive. Participants are invited to add natural objects like feathers and acorns to an ever-changing sculpture. They elevate the everyday into something meditative. 

I start with the seed of an idea: “a creek bed of colorful ceramic rocks” or  “a sculpture with valves and spines.” The rest falls into place during the process of creation. The seed might sprout suddenly from a dream. Or germinate after collecting stones or pinecones on a walk.  

Follow Caroline on Instagram! @carolinerachel777