Philsoo Heo: Selected works, 2022-2024
My central theme is the way people perceive their lives. In relation to interpersonal relationships and conflicts in today’s society, I often seek inspiration from nature to find answers. I pursue an ecological approach that goes beyond a purely human-centered perspective, opening up diverse viewpoints.
In this context, trees serve as an easily understandable element that allows me to draw parallels. In my ceramic artworks, I depict wood filled with wounds to express feelings of unrest and emptiness. I firmly believe that a constant act arising from infinitely positive attitudes without aim or purpose can bring even more confusion and emptiness. Therefore, it is more important for me to recognize and heal one’s own weaknesses and wounds rather than to continue this senseless accumulation. It is a conscious act of healing that builds trust and influences the direction of life. My goal is for my works to serve as a small source of comfort in life.
When I engage with the destruction and exhaustion of life, I can explore the essence of my own being more deeply. I believe that in moments of deep fatigue, we recognize what we overlook in the familiarity of daily life. At the end of this exhaustion, we can enter a phase of meditation or insight. Unfortunately, I observe that many people in our society criticize and destroy themselves in a life full of hard, endless competition.
My artworks are the result of my efforts to find myself in a life filled with deep exhaustion, depression, and wounds. They illustrate the stories of my personal experiences through nature and attempt to reflect my inner and outer state. Through ceramics, I strive to harmonize the relationship between sculpture and painting. The process of working with clay feels like a form of meditation for me, and my works are characterized by the naturalness of the material as well as my feelings and experiences.
SSFWT – 5 Seasons, 2024
In SSFWT – 5 Seasons, I explore the complexity of time and emotions. Each season reveals its own world, yet within these familiar cycles lies an unexplored dimension a darkness devoid of joy and hope.
Each space symbolizes a multifaceted life and personal emotions. In the past, people migrated to survive; today, we actively fight to preserve our living spaces. The change lies less in the physical spaces and more in our attitudes. Therefore, these spaces bear traces of fatigue rather than comfort.
Wood, Bones & White Gold, 2023
Meissen porcelain objects by Helena Sekot, Philsoo Heo and David Torres
Helena Sekot, Philsoo Heo and David Torres realized unusual projects in the studios of the traditional Meissen porcelain manufactory. However, working with ceramic materials was not new territory for the young artists. They had already demonstrated their skills in specialized courses and independent work. As winners of the Richard-Bampi Competition 2022, they explored the working methods of the Meissen manufactory during the subsequent studio residency and made use of its capabilities.
The Aimless Dream, 2022
Life can exist without a soul until the very last breath, as long as physical function does not disappear.
Life has dreamed beyond the blue sky and now lives with unclear hopes, influenced by the uncontrolled ego and a routine existence. These unclear hopes conceal inner destruction and blunt themselves. They only accept the magnificent surroundings and reflect the better sides of others rather than themselves.
The challenges and preparations for these hopes are merely physical activities without spiritual will. There have already been many spiritual and physical deficiencies, yet there is no pause from them.
Preparing for hopes is like stacked firewood, burned and piled up, making the hopes remain threatened and unstable. We will all exhibit a similar life to that of firewood, which eventually turns to ash.
The ash may not show any visible differences, but an invisible difference can be observed, based on the life that was lived before and exhibiting a different life force. Therefore, one’s life force should be built on clear hopes of the spirit and body.
Captions
- Inner Universe, 2024, Stoneware, Slab construction, free-handbuilding, and imprint technique, multi-layered glaze, oxidation firing at 1240 °C, 77.5 x 55 x 33 cm
Struggle in Fatigue, 2024, Chamotte stoneware, Free-handbuilding, multi-layered glaze, oxidation fired at 1240 °C, 51.5 x 52 x 55 cm
The Monument, 2022, Chamotte stoneware, Free-handbuilding, multi-layered glaze, reduction fired at 1240 °C, 110 x 70 x 70 cm. Selected for the 15th Westerwald Prize 2024 - S #1, 2024, Stoneware, Slab construction, free-handbuilding, and imprint technique, multi-layered glaze, oxidation firing at 1240 °C, 52.5 x 27 x 32 cm
S #2, 2024, Stoneware, Slab construction, free-handbuilding, and imprint technique, multi-layered glaze, oxidation firing at 1240 °C, 53.5 x 27 x 27 cm
F, 2024, Stoneware, Slab construction, free-handbuilding, and imprint technique, multi-layered glaze, oxidation firing at 1240 °C, 48 x 28 x 27cm
W, 2024, Stoneware, Slab construction, free-handbuilding, and imprint technique, multi-layered glaze, oxidation firing at 1240 °C, 43 x 31 x 30.5 cm
T, 2024, Stoneware, Slab construction, free-handbuilding, and imprint technique, multi-layered glaze, oxidation firing at 1240 °C, 41.5 x 27 x 27 cm - The power of change, 2023, Meissen porcelain, Free-handbuilding, partially biscuit, cobalt blue underglaze painting, Luster, 12 x 13 x 12 cm
Hibernation, 2023, Meissen porcelain, Free-handbuilding, partially biscuit, cobalt blue underglaze painting, Luster, 15 x 43 x 33 cm
Wound, 2023, Meissen porcelain, Free-handbuilding, partially biscuit, cobalt blue underglaze painting, 11 x 39 x 12 cm
False sky, 2023, Meissen porcelain, Free-handbuilding, partially biscuit, cobalt blue underglaze painting, Luster, 22 x 22 x 5 cm
Unite, 2023, Meissen porcelain, Free-handbuilding, glazed, 35 x 67 x 38 cm
Regeneration, 2023, Meissen porcelain, Free-handbuilding, partially biscuit, cobalt blue underglaze painting, 60 x 22 x 27 cm
Over the mountain pass, 2023, Meissen porcelain, Free-handbuilding, partially biscuit, cobalt blue underglaze painting, 43 x 28 x 29 cm
The indescribable vitality, 2023, Meissen porcelain, Free-handbuilding, partially biscuit, cobalt blue underglaze painting, Luster, 26 x 45 x 27 cm - Installation: The Aimless Dream, 2022, stoneware, Black Clay, free-handbuilding, imprint technique, oxidizing firing at 1240 °C, multi-layered glaze, variable dimensions. Frechen Ceramic Prize 2022 at the Keramion Museum
