| 1997- |
Associate Professor, Northern Illinois
University, DeKalb, IL |
| 1991-1997 |
Assistant Professor, Northern Illinois University,
DeKalb, IL |
| 1990-1991 |
Visiting Assistant Professor, Northern Illinois
University, DeKalb, IL |
| 1988-1990 |
Resident Artist and Instructor, The Cla;y Studio,
Philadelphia, PA |
| 1989-1990 |
Instructor, Cheltenham Center of Arts, Montgomery,
PA |
| 1988-1989 |
Instructor, University City Arts League, Philadelphia,
PA |
| 1982-1985 |
Teacher, Hsin-Chu Senior High School, Hsin-Chu,
Taiwan |
| 1988 |
MFA, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale,
IL |
| 1981 |
BEd, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei,
Taiwan |
| 1998 |
The 10th Panevezys International
Ceramics Symposium in Lithuania |
| 1998 |
The International Ceramic Symposium
in Taiwan |
| 1995 |
Panevezys International Ceramic Symposium
in LITHUANIA |
| 1994 |
NIU Faculty Summmer Research Grant,
travel in CHINA |
| 1994 |
Bechyne International Ceramics Symposium
in CZECH REPUBLIC |
| 1994 |
Traveled and visited the historical
kiln sites of JAPAN |
| 2000 |
A Glimps of the Invisible-NCECA 2000 Invitational
Exhibition; |
| |
Arvada Center of Arts and Humanities,
Arvada, CO |
| 1999 |
Three Person Show, New Harmony Gallery
of Contemporary Art, New Harmony, IN |
| |
Solo Exhibition, Canton Museum of Art,
Canton, OH |
| 1998 |
SOFA Exhibition, show with the Fassbander
Gallery, Navy Pier, Chicago, IL |
| |
The Fletcher Challenge Exhibition, Auckland,
NEW ZEALAND |
| 1997 |
SOLO Exhibition; NIU Chicago Gallery,
Chicago, IL |
| |
SOLO Exhibition; Alexandre Hougue Gallery,
University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK |
| |
Centennial Celebration; University of
Kansa, Lawrence, KS |
| 1996 |
Ceramics and Bronze, NCECA' 96, Rochester,
NY |
| 1995 |
Two persons show, Sybaris Gallery, Royal
Oak, MI |
| |
International Symposium Exhibition, Art
Gallery, Panevezys, LITHUANIA |
| |
Contemporary Taiwanese Ceramics, Taipei
Gallery, New York, NY |
| |
Art De La Ceramique Taipei, Musee d'Art
Contemporain, Chamalieres, FRANCE |
| 1994 |
The Bechyne International Symposium Exhibition,
Louny, CZECH REPUBLIC |
| |
The Uncharted Territory, Taipei Gallery,
New York |
| |
International Ceramics Invitational Exhibition,
Taipei, TAIWAN |
| |
NCECA'94; Emigres: Cultural References ,
New Orleans Museum of Art |
| 1993 |
The 29th Ceramics National, Everson Museum
of Arts, Syracuse, NY |
| |
Material Departures: Tradition and Change,
Illinois Art Gallery, Chicago |
| 1992 |
SOLO Exhibition, Perkinson Gallery, Millikin
University, Decatur, IL |
| |
Diversity in Ceramics, Korean Cultural
Center, Los Angeles, CA |
| |
2-person show, Schneider-Bluhm-Loeb Gallery,
Chicago, IL |
| 1991 |
SOLO Exhibition, McHenry County College,
Crystal Lake, IL |
| |
The Wichita National, Wichita Center for
the Arts, Wichita, KS |
| |
SOLO Exhibition, University Museum, Northern
Illinois University, IL |
| |
Invitational Show-6 Faculty+6 Alumni of
SIU, Bergenz, AUSTRIA |
| |
3-person show, Sybaris Gallery, Royal
Oak, MI |
| 1990 |
The 28th Ceramic National, Everson Museum
of Arts, Syracuse, NY |
| |
NCECA Juried exhibition, Taft Museum,
Cincinnati, OH |
| 1989 |
SOLO Exhibition, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia,
PA |
| |
|
| |
Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, OK |
| |
Panevezys Art Gallery, Panevezys, LITHUANIA |
| |
Taiwan Museum of Art, Taichung, TAIWAN |
| |
Museum of Decorative Arts, Prague, CZECH REPUBLIC |
| |
Wustum Museum of Fine Arts, Racine, WI |
| |
Everson Museum of Arts, Syracuse, New York |
| |
University Museum, Southern Illinois University,
Carbondale, IL |
| |
"Thirty spokes converge upon a hub;
It is on the hole in the center that the use of the car hinges.
We make a vessel from a lump of clay;
It is the empty space within the vessel that makes it useful.
We make doors and windows for a room;
But it is the empty spaces that make the room livable.
Thus while the tangible has advantages;
It is the intangible that makes it useful".
Lao-Tzu (C. 550 BC)
My sculptural work has evolved out of the traditional concept
of the vessel, but my interest is not making functional pots.
I retain the understanding of a vase as a space container. However,
my fascination lies in using the Inside/Outside space as a format
for expression.
It is much more challenging to create new forms of my own,
in response to the personal myths that dwell inside me. I tend
to produce simple, universal forms because they evoke multi-dimensional
meaning. These geometric and minimalistic forms with their mysterious
openings express a sense of the unseen and the unknown.
The idea of building my sculpture is similar to that of constructing
a building. Like an architect, I need to know the basic elements
of architectural form and space, understand how they can be manipulated
in the development of a design concept, and realize their visual
implications in the implementation of a design solution. However,
since I am not an architect I do not build a space where people
can physically live, rather I create a space through which people
can visually sense an atmosphere of authority, timelessness and
monumentality.
In my work, the only passage between the inside and outside
is the small window-like opening; like a peep-hole window of
a medieval castle, it suggests withdrawnness. This window also
gives an indication of how large my "building" is.
If you look for a door to get into the space, you will find no
entrance. The building is encapsulated; it is a space-trap, a
great cavern with all its potential for expressing apartness,
mystery and entombment. It serves as a metaphor for a tomb, retreat,
or the womb, providing a symbolic dwelling for the human spirit.
In order to create more depth of visual space on the surface,
I apply different thicknesses of glaze on my pieces. The glaze
melts and moves spontaneously during the firing due to heat and
gravity. This process creates a surface similar in feeling to
abstract Chinese landscape painting, showing a dreamlike illusion
and the great force of nature.
When talking about his architectural philosophy, Louis Kahn
said:
"A great building must begin with the unmeasurable, go through
measurable means when it is being designed, and in the end must
be unmeasurable. The design is a measurable act....... But what
is unmeasurable is the psychic spirit. The psyche is expressed
by feeling and also thought and I believe will always be unmeasurable."
The process of creation is a translation of the inner spirit
into being. My intention is to express my inner spirit in work
that also achieves this unmeasurable quality that Kahn describes.
It is a challenge I embrace enthusiastically.
Yih-Wen Kuo
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