Jolie Ngo (B.1996; Philadelphia, Pa), is a mixed media ceramic artist who splits her time between the east and west coast. Ngo received a BFA in ceramics from Rhode Island School of Design in 2020 and an MFA in ceramic art from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University in 2022. She is working with tools that are digitally forward, mostly utilizing clay 3d printers and other modes of rapid prototyping. With those tools, she is creating table top pottery objects/Sculpture-adjacent Vessels that acknowledge early ceramic traditions while smiling towards the future.
“I am investigating the synergy between handmade arts and technology. I want to make work that challenges our perception of what it means to craft an object. Working with a craft-based material like clay, there is always this emphasis on the relationship between your hands and the material. It's all about tactility, making the presence of your hand evident . Your hands are directly imparting an “aura” onto your work that embodies the emotive content of your touch. So what happens when you remove your hand from working directly with the material, and replace it with a 3d printer? Are those objects doomed to being cold and “hyper perfect” because they are lacking the warmth from the makers hands? Or is it possible to create a sense of tactility? Can you 3d print a ceramic object that embodies sensitivity and intimacy? Can a digitally fabricated object feel sensual or vulnerable? These are some of the questions that motivate my practice and my body of work has developed by challenging these ideas around the handmade and digital craft. “
“I am investigating the synergy between handmade arts and technology. I want to make work that challenges our perception of what it means to craft an object. Working with a craft-based material like clay, there is always this emphasis on the relationship between your hands and the material. It's all about tactility, making the presence of your hand evident . Your hands are directly imparting an “aura” onto your work that embodies the emotive content of your touch. So what happens when you remove your hand from working directly with the material, and replace it with a 3d printer? Are those objects doomed to being cold and “hyper perfect” because they are lacking the warmth from the makers hands? Or is it possible to create a sense of tactility? Can you 3d print a ceramic object that embodies sensitivity and intimacy? Can a digitally fabricated object feel sensual or vulnerable? These are some of the questions that motivate my practice and my body of work has developed by challenging these ideas around the handmade and digital craft. “