Jae Ko

Born in 1961, Korean artist Jae Ko pursued her artistic education at the Tokyo art school, earning a BA from Wako University in Japan, and later completing her MFA at the Maryland Institute of Art in Baltimore, USA. Currently residing and working in Maryland, USA, Ko has cultivated a distinctive visual language through her elegant spirals and ribbon installations, often reaching monumental proportions.

Drawing inspiration from nature, Ko's creations evoke the essence of organic elements such as tree rings, tornadoes, roots, branches, or seeds. Each of Ko's sculptures is intuitively designed using miles of everyday office, recycled paper, or adding-machine tapes. She unwinds and reshapes them, immerses them in vats of ink, and allows them to dry out over months. The result is a seductive body of work that occupies the space between writing and sculpting, presenting biomorphic forms resembling swollen calligraphic marks.

Jae Ko's artistic achievements include being a recipient of the Pollock-Krasner grant in 2002 and the prestigious 'Anonymous Was A Woman' art award in 2012. The Phillips Collection in Washington, DC showcased Ko's installation titled “Force of Nature.” Her work can be found in esteemed private and public collections, including the Hirschhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, The Phillips Collection in Washington, the Corcoran Museum of Art, the Washington D.C. Convention Center, Wilson Building in Washington, and the ADM in Chicago, among others.