SOOJIN JEONG JEWELRY HAS ITS OWN ARTFUL, MODERN DESIGN DEDICATED TO CREATE ONE OF A KIND HANDMADE MASTERPIECE.
I am a painter and jewelry designer who lives in Marriottsville, Maryland. I earned a Masters in Fine Arts from Pratt Institute with a major in painting. I have been drawing and painting since I was a little girl. Started making jewelry at a very young age for fun and now I decided to make a career out of it.
My creative fervor centers on the transient beauty of nature's discards: withered seed pods, desiccated flora clinging to barren branches, and the delicate exoskeletons of expired insects. These forgotten objects, once vessels of vibrant life, now whisper tales of impermanence, mirroring the inevitable arc of our own existence.
Just as birth precedes inevitable demise, so too does every living thing succumb to the finality of death. Yet, within this universal truth lies a profound paradox: the demise of one form paves the way for the emergence of another.
My artistic practice is a testament to this cyclical dance of life and death. I breathe new life into these discarded treasures through a meticulous process akin to a solemn yet celebratory ritual. By employing electroforming and casting techniques, I capture the ethereal essence of their bygone vibrancy, transforming them into permanent testaments to their fleeting beauty.
As I extract these electro-formed specimens from their solution bath, a sense of awe washes over me. It's akin to witnessing the miraculous emergence of a newborn babe – a rebirth forged from the remnants of what once was.
This transformative process is not merely artistic expression; it's a deeply personal act of reverence. I view myself as a mortician for the fallen flora and fauna, meticulously attending to each stage: from the restorative arts that enhance their form, to the final act of "cremation" that yields the essence of their departed beauty.
My art serves as a conduit for rediscovering beauty in the unexpected, the overlooked. While traditional art celebrates the vibrancy of life, my purpose is to unveil the exquisite grace present in its inevitable decline. This act of revelation, of prompting viewers to perceive beauty where it might not be readily apparent, is the very essence of my artistic being. It is the air I breathe, the fuel that propels my creative fire.
RESUME
EDUCATION
2014 Metalsmithing, MICA, MD
2007 MFA, Painting, Pratt Institute, NY
2002 MFA, Painting, Sookmyung Women’s University, Seoul
2000 BFA, Painting, Sookmyung Women’s University, Seoul-Final Honor
1994 Diploma, Seoul Art High School, Seoul(Majored in Painting)
SOLO SHOWS
2008 The Bundy Center for Art, VT
2007 Agora Gallery, NY
2002 Gallery AM, Seoul
2001 Kwanhoon Gallery, Seoul
SELECTED GROUP SHOWS
2024 American Craft Council,Baltimore, MD
Academy Art museum Craft Show, Easton,MD
Flower Mart, Baltimore, MD
2023 Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show, PA
Flower Mart, Baltimore, MD
American Craft Council,Baltimore,MD
2022 Academy Art museum Craft Show, Easton,MD
Flower Mart, Baltimore ,MD
American Craft Council,Baltimore,MD
2020 American Craft Council,Baltimore,MD
2019 Pleiades, 33nd annual show at Strasmore, MD
2018 American Craft Council,Baltimore,MD
2017 American Craft Council,Baltimore,MD
Pleiades, 32nd annual show at Strasmore, MD
2016 Made in Baltimore/industrial Arts Collective, MD
Art Market, MICA (Maryland Institute College of Art), MD
Home Maker, BJC (Baltimore Jewelry Center), MD
Art Supermarket, MK Gallery, VA
Ornamenta, Area405, MD
2007 Four Artists Show, The Bundy Center for Art, VT
2nd Year MFA Show, Pratt Manhattan Gallery, NY
Panel Show, Seigal Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2006 MFA Show, Steuben South Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
Annex Show, Annex Gallery, NY,NY
Pratt Hunter Show, Steuben West Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
1st Year MFA Show, Steuben South Gallery, Pratt, NY
40 Young Bloods, Opra Gallery, Seoul
19 Artists Juried Show, Mc Caig Welles Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
The Exhibition for Awarded Artists “Best Emerging Artists”, Opra Gallery
“We-Now” 10th Exhibition, Gallery Al, Seoul
The Special Exhibition for Christmas, Sejong Hotel Gallery, Seoul
Private Viewing, Chungpa Gallery, Sookmyung Women’s Univ.
INTRO, Gallery IHN, Seoul
Women’s Art Festival, Seoul
9th Contemporary Expressions of Korean Young Artist, Seoul
2002 WE NOW, Dukwon Gallery, Seoul
2001 Foundation Memorial Exhibition of MIBANG, Gallery EVE, Seoul
The Exhibition for 95th Anniversary of Korea’s Ancient Art District, Seoul
Container Show, Sookmyung Women’s Univ.
2000 Media-City Seoul 2000, Seoul City Government Art Exhibition, Seoul
Changing Views Exhibition, Woongjeon Gallery, Seoul
Exposition de Tetes Nouvelles, Suhkyung Gallery, Seoul
1999 Kudure Art Field Festival, Buyeu Gallery, Chungnam
Concert Exhibition, Kumho Gallery, Seoul
AWARDS
2003 Best Emerging Artist, 9th Contemporary Expression of Korea
TEACHING EXPERIENCES
2010 Sookmyung Women’s University
1998 Moran Museum