The collaborative work of Gerald and Kelly Hong is the result of a joining of minds, aesthetics, and hearts. Gerald’s work is strong and solid in form, decorated with geometric patterns which are serene and rhythmic. Kelly’s work is more fanciful in design and highly patterned with imagery drawn from nature. Both of them rely heavily on the Asian aesthetic and they both aim to create work which appears both ancient, yet new, at the same time.

Gerald and Kelly’s creative drive: "We were both drawn to create in clay because of the way it feels. It is a very sensuous material and it is a wonderful process. Taking a ball of mud and creating something beautiful and monumental can be a magical experience.”

Key emotion represented in her work: “We are trying to give the viewer an experience, a mystery, of sorts. We try to imbue our pieces with a sense of time and place … ancient, yet at the same time modern, coexisting in one place.”

Thoughts on process: “Gerald’s work is fired in the Raku process and Kelly’s work is multiple-fired porcelain with a final smoky sawdust firing, which gives it a similar patina. While we still create individual work, we enjoy working collaboratively as well. We find the process exciting and feel renewed and liberated by being able to make work which would have never been created by either one of us alone.”

Personal relationship to her work: “Creating art, for us, is a vehicle of communication to others. In a sense, it portrays the passion of our souls.”

Thoughts on sharing art: “Art is our way to create a little more beauty in the world or to give the viewer a sense of calm and peace. These goals, for us, in these troubled times, are very worthy indeed.”

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