Jenny Min is a ceramicist based in New York City. She utilizes a perspective of discovery and symphonic tension that mirrors her experiences. In 2009, Jenny graduated from New York University and studied at Steinhardt School of Art for ceramics. After graduation, Jenny moved to Florence, Italy to learn under the tutelage of master potter Romano Pampaloni. For the better part of a decade she would develop a precision based throwing technique that appreciates the pressure of perfection and the discovery in surprise — a philosophy that values the contextual balance of imposing upon and reacting to the medium.
Jenny returned to New York City in 2016 and in that same year started her own practice working out of Greenwich House Studio. She would go on to do residencies back in Italy at Capoldio in 2018 and at Rights of Passage, a Barnard College sponsored residency in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
Infused in Jenny Min’s work is an openness to discovery and a continual re-discovery of the effective ratio between creative chaos and control. Undergirding this whole approach is an innate assumption that “Everything is Good.” So with each vessel, sculpture, and plate Jenny wrestles with subject, materials, and herself. This intimate introspection and raw celebration are portrayed in the texture of her work as each object is appreciated for its “is-ness” rather than its societal role.
Jenny Min engages the naturalistic tension within each interaction. She imposes a technical power of will that allows each piece to be a dialectic offering to Form and Function. Her work challenges how we define “purpose” as it highlights texture, context, utility, and relationship, but still allows the viewer to have their own point of appreciation. So may we oscillate from the rational details to the intuitive larger enterprise - and back again - celebrating the delicate dance of shaping and letting go.
