KATARINA WONG 
 Selected Ceramic Work September 2014
katarinawongstudio@gmail.com www.katarinawong.com
KATARINA WONG katarinawongstudio@gmail.com www.katarinawong.com
ABOUT THE WORK: My work reflects my wide-range of interests – from my cultural heritage as the daughter of a Cuban mother and Chinese father to my studies in Classics and Buddhism, along with my experiences traveling in Cuba and Asia. I draw on the natural world (monkeys, pigs and lotus pods) and am also inspired by Chinese bronzes and blue and white export porcelain. The monkey heads reference both the internal mental noise we experience (what Buddhists call “monkey mind”), as well as the external cacophony we create as we compete to be heard. Pigs are prevalent in Chinese and Cuban cultures; in Buddhist thought, the pig is also a symbol of ignorance. Since I always seem to begin from a place of unknowing in my studio, the idea of ignorance as the starting point of creativity makes sense. Similarly, throughout Asia, lotus flowers represent the potential of satori or enlightenment blossoming out of the muck of daily existence (i.e., samsara) – another metaphor that rings true for me about the creative experience. I originally learned to paint with watercolor by using traditional Chinese brush and ink technique; however, the ceramic shapes are now my canvas. On them I use glazes to paint the orchids, lotus flowers, and mountainous landscapes that were part of my studies and continue to be ways for me to experience the expansiveness of the “beginner’s mind.”
KATARINA WONG katarinawongstudio@gmail.com www.katarinawong.com
ABOUT THE ARTIST: Katarina Wong is visual artist and curator based in NYC. Â Her work has been shown nationally and internationally, including at (but not limited to) El Museo Del Barrio and the Bronx Museum in New York, NY; The The San Antonio Art Museum; the Fowler Museum, Los Angeles, CA; the Nobel Museum, Stockholm, Sweden and Fundacion Canal in Madrid, Spain. Katarina has received numerous awards including the Cintas Fellowship for Cuban and Cuban-American artists and a PollockKrasner grant, as well as residencies at Skowhegan; Ucross Foundation; Ragdale Foundation, the Kunstlerhaus in Salzberg, Austria; and the Open Art Residency in Eretria, Greece. Her work is in numerous collections including the Scottsdale Museum of Art and the Frost Art Museum in Miami, FL. Katarina has a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Maryland at College Park and a Master in Theological Studies from the Harvard Divinity School, focusing on Buddhist Studies. She studied classics at St. John's College, splitting her undergraduate years between both campuses in Santa Fe, NM and Annapolis, MD. An intrepid traveler, Katarina has co-authored two Let's Go! guidebooks (Nepal/India and Washington, DC).
Monkey Mind/Monkey Mound (Drip Buddha). Ceramic (glazed cast clay slip), 7.75"H x 5.5"x 9", 2014
Monkey Mind/Monkey Mound (Drip Buddha), detail of front and back view
Monkey Mind/Monkey Mound (White & Blue Buddha). Ceramic (glazed cast clay slip), 7.75"H x 5.5"x 9", 2014
Monkey Mind/Monkey Mound (White & Blue Buddha), back and detail
Ignorance (Pig with Landscape). Ceramic (glazed cast clay slip), 11"Hx10"x15"; 2014
Ignorance (Pig with Landscape). Ceramic (glazed cast clay slip), 11"Hx10"x15�, 2014
Ignorance (Pig with Lotus Field). Ceramic (glazed cast clay slip), 7"Hx13.5"x11�, 2014
Ignorance (Pig with Lotus Field), detail
Ignorance III (Dripped). Ceramic (glazed cast clay slip), 9.25"Hx15"x13", 2014
Ignorance III (Dripped), side view and detail
Ignorance IV (Dripped). Ceramic (glazed cast clay slip), 10.5"Hx13"x13", 2014
Ignorance IV (Dripped), side views
Knot (Lotus Pods) with detail.Ceramic (glazed cast clay slip), 2.5"Hx9"x6", 2014
Knot (Lotus Pods) with detail.Ceramic (glazed cast clay slip), 2.5"Hx9"x6", 2014
Monkey Mind/Monkey Mound (B/W/R): Porcelain (glazed cast clay slip), 17"H x 15" x 14"; 2014
Monkey Mind/Monkey Mound: Ceramic (glazed cast clay slip), 9.5"H x 12" x 15"; 2014
Army of Me (Monkey Mind): Ceramic (glazed cast clay slip), each 3.75" x 5.75" x 3.75"; 2013-14
Monkey Mind (Talismans): Ceramic (glazed cast clay slip), except for gold piece (2nd row, right): porcelain. Each apprx. 2”H x 3.5”x2.5”; 2014