Choongmok Yoo

The Beauty of Glass Droplets

Yoo Choongmok is a renowned glass artist who has showcased his work in exhibitions across Germany, the U.S., and the U.K., earning global recognition early in his career. In 2003, he was named one of the world’s top 100 emerging glass artists by the Corning Museum of Glass and received a scholarship to attend a workshop at the Pilchuck Glass School, founded by Dale Chihuly. He later worked as the lead glass designer at Carlson Glass Works in New York for nine years and has since held numerous solo and group exhibitions. His works are part of collections in Korea, the Czech Republic, and the U.S.

Yoo’s time abroad inspired him to explore Korean art history and his own identity through his work. He uses rough Hwangmok canvas and glass, a material that resembles real water droplets, to express the delicate balance between strength and fragility. The droplets in his works appear timeless yet change as light shifts, adding a dynamic quality. For Yoo, the canvas represents the past, while the glass and colors reflect his emotions in the present and hopes for the future. His art blends traditional Korean elements like Dancheong patterns with abstract compositions of lines, shapes, and harmony.