Ara Koh South Korean, b. 1995

Ara Koh approaches clay as a vehicle for memory, honesty, and reflection. In her practice, Koh translates the invisible and the amorphous into solid forms, bringing raw depth to ageless themes of the body, landscape, and architecture-shelter. Her process is repetitive and labor-intensive, grounded in a constant exploration of clay’s singular material properties. She sources her own clay by digging into the earth, meaning the particular shades and textures of her finished works are informed by their place of origin. By choosing to emphasize rather than conceal signs of wear in her work, she activates clay as a vessel evoking constant metamorphosis. These fissures, cracks, and visible impressions are intentionally left as evidence of her presence, gesturing viewers to dissect and relive visceral formative experiences. Grounded in a phenomenology-driven introspection, her work explores convergences between identity, place, and being. Koh’s interventions strike a delicate balance between ephemeral and concrete, fundamentally questioning the nature of the self in relation to space.

Ara Koh (b. 1995, Seoul, South Korea) received her BFA in ceramics and glass at Hongik University, KR. She completed her MFA in ceramic art at the New York State College of Art at Alfred University in 2020. Koh has exhibited extensively, most recently serving as the subject of a solo exhibition, Transported, at Hamiltonian Gallery in Washington, D.C. She has additionally been showcased at Betty Mae Kramer Gallery in Silver Spring, MD, the Kreeger Museum in Washington, D.C., Alfred Ceramic Arts Museum in Alfred, NY, Il y a Gallery, Daejeon, KR, and the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. In 2024, she was featured in Beyond Surface at Pazo Fine Art. 

Her works are in the permanent collections of numerous private and public institutions, including the Alfred Ceramic Art Museum, Alfred, NY; S&R Evermay Foundation, Washington, D.C.; Daekyo Culture Foundation, Seoul, KR; the GLB Art Collection in Washington, D.C., and the Hongik University Department of Ceramic and Glass, Seoul, KR. In addition, Koh is the recipient of several awards and grants, including a Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art Resident Artist Fellowship (2023), Vermont Studio Center Full Fellowship (2025), and a Hamiltonian Artists Fellowship (2021). Alongside her studio practice, she is an adjunct faculty member at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA). She currently lives and works in Northern Virginia.