American

Chunghi Choo

U.S. b. 1938
Tea Service 97.0004

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Chunghi Choo's flowing, organic shapes belie the rigidity of their silver-plated copper base, fusing American craftsmanship with traditional Asian calligraphy. "I believe that the sweeping movements of the brush in calligraphy have influenced my work," she has said. This explains the graceful upward swing of the handles, which are airily dismissive of function. It also helps to explain the delicacy of the vessels' bodies, which settle under the handles like silken pouches. Chunghi Choo is best known for developing and refining an industrial electroforming process for use in the studio when traditional metalworking tools and techniques proved inadequate for achieving the fluidity she envisioned. Choo models her vessels in wax, applies metallic-conductive silver lacquer by brush, and then immerses the painted model in an electrically-charged solution of copper. When the copper deposit reaches the desired thickness the wax model is "melted out." After refining the surface by filing, sanding, and polishing, Choo heavily plates it with sterling silver.

 

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