Kuo Yu-ping
Kuo Yu-ping, who was born in Nantou, Taiwan. She holds a B.A. from the Department of Sculpture at the National Taiwan University of Arts and an M.A. from the Graduate Institute of Trans-disciplinary Art at the Taipei National University of the Arts. Kuo’s works often take the form of painting, video, installation, and performance art, connecting her personal life experiences and actions to history and collective memory through rational critique and a focus on modernization and political issues.
- Location Netherlands / Oisterwijk
- Year of the Grant 2021
- Residency Sunday Morning, European Ceramic Work Centre (EKWC)
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Work
Little Figure
Embryonic Tree
Ant Nest - Personal Website Kuo Yu-ping's Personal Website
The staff at the European Ceramic Work Centre (EKWC) are highly supportive. They always encourage resident artists to pursue their creative visions, and consistently go above and beyond to help artists bring their dream projects to life. During my residency, I was deeply inspired by this support, which fueled a strong motivation to push myself further.
The strength of clay lies in its fragility, sensitivity, and delicacy. At first, I felt I was exploring this medium in ignorance. However, my time spent with clay became a journey of continuous enlightenment and understanding, as if these insights were subtle currents etched within. Finally, I created 3 sculptures that I never imagined I could realize in Taiwan:
1. Little Figure: Drawing inspiration from the characters in my own paintings, I created this sculpture of a small human with a book resting on its head, transformed into a chair. Measuring 20×24×50 centimeters, the figurative sculpture is finished with Terra Sigillata for color.
2. Embryonic Tree: Using custom-blended white clay and the ancient "clay coil" technique, I crafted this anthropomorphic embryonic tree measuring 75×75×185 centimeters. The sculpture is colored with the historic Terra Sigillata method, all completed in a single firing.
3. Ant Nest: This artwork takes the form of a ring, giving rise to an organic shape filled with countless holes and interwoven branches, as if an insect nest. Made from red clay, this work is finished with the naked firing technique.
I believe that there is a strong narrative quality among the 3 objects. Their simple yet heterogeneous appearances seem to have emerged from a humid, fertile, and fantastical land, where reality and mythology are transported through fantasy. In the future, I plan to create more diverse sculptures based on this imagery and seek additional opportunities for displaying my work abroad.
Author: Kuo Yu-ping
Edited: Brix