ARTIST PROFILE: KWIRAK CHOUNG, WOOD-FIRE POTTER – TAASA Review December 2021

John Freeland K wirak Choung provides a different perspective for exploring the intersection of Korean and Australian environmental and cultural influences on the art of Korean Australian artists.

Unlike other East Asian master artist potters who have made their home and practice in Australia, such as Won-Seok Kim of Korea and Shoji Mitsuo of Japan, Kwirak Choung discovered ceramics and undertook his ceramics education and training in Australia, not in his native Korea. Kwirak was born in 1962, in the historic south eastern Korean city of Gyeongju, the capital of the ancient kingdom of Silla (57 BC – 935 AD) and the site of the famed Silla dome-form royal tombs (tumuli), with their renowned lacquer, gold and ceramic artefacts.

However, it was Korean literature, particularly poetry, which became the focus of his creative efforts...