CHOU Pang-Ling was born in Changhua, Taiwan in 1958. She graduated from the Department of English, Tamkang University. With a master’s degree in drama (University of Georgia, 1985) to her name, she enrolled in the university’s Lamar Dodd School of Art to study ceramics and learned with Andy Nasisse and Ron Meyers. She received an MFA degree in ceramics in 1987. In the same year, she bagged the Medal Award at the Metro Art International Competition in New York and was admitted to the Arts / Industry Program held by the John Michael Kohler Arts Center. Later she was also resident artist at the Archie Bray Foundation, the most historic and active organization in the ceramics community in the US, Japan’s Atelier Hikosen and Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Center, Colorado College, Korea’s JICA Workshop, University of Hawaii, Canada’s Banff Center for the Arts, etc. and showed her work nationally and internationally.

During a trip back to Taiwan for collecting thesis materials for her drama degree in 1984, Chou became interested in ceramics and took some introductory courses. After she returned to the United States, the head of the ceramics program saw slides of her work by chance and encouraged her to carry on in this new path. Chou likes to hand-build and it is with this approach plus the use of metal and found objects that she develops a unique creative style for herself. Her metaphorical artworks emphasize the juxtaposition and mingling of different mediums. She often combines found objects and handbuilt ceramic elements for a powerful holistic vision. Thus she is able to delve deep into the relationship between mankind and environment, while presenting her thoughts on the diverse world.

His Highness and Her Highness were originally two independent pieces. Then the artist noticed that there could be a hidden emotional tension between the two, and that their shapes are somewhat linked too. Thus she decided to make them a duet.

Being the king and the queen not only means they were born to live in glory but also indicates they have lifelong responsibilities to take. The king’s and the queen’s strong personalities are illustrated through bright colors. While they seem to enjoy their royalty solemnly and peacefully, the scissors and padlocks imply the pain ingrained into their bodies and souls because they are obliged to fulfill tasks. As Chou personally explains, “when metals pierce the clay form, pain arises.”

Chou’s family ran a hardware store when she was little and she spent her childhood surrounded by hardware supplies of different shapes, functions, and materials. Yet only after her regular intuitive use of metal pieces, used or found, in her sculptural work then she realized that her upbringing might have played a role more crucial than imagined. Signaling an emotional bond with her parents as well as memories of her tender age, they found a way into her ceramic expression and this unique combination reflects her profound thoughts on aspects of human condition. Chou takes “people” as the essence of her work. Her artworks may look childlike or whimsical at a glance, but executed with a refined sense of composition they do address universal meanings and offer a broader view. There is a dialectical sentiment in her visual poems, which she infuses her reflections of pain/fun, sorrow/ joy, love/hate and life/death into. From literature, drama to ceramics, Chou’s cross-disciplinary trainings are merged to inspire her outstanding work.

Chou is noted for her “transformation of objects into human figures.” She tends to make anthropomorphic, sentient ceramic bodies and often “talks about the whole by presenting just a part of it.” She hints at big stories by providing subtle details; in this way, the signifiers of the ceramic/mixedmedia work can best manifest the visual possibilities and the background of that certain story. Her work contains a strong theatrical aura, a stage tension, and lots of literary elements. In fact, naming the artworks for her is often like writing condensed poetic lines. The titles always seem to point to an enigma or emotion, and they can be different in Chinese and English. They provide clues for viewers to read into the artworks and feel for aesthetic experiences within themselves. Sometimes they also create suspense and leave plenty of room for imagination.