BETWEEN CLOUDS AND DREAMS: A Conversation With Jing Huang & ChengOu Yu
internationally recognized ceramicists land in the Chippewa Valley, embrace seasonal shifts and inspirations
Iconography. Systems. Memories. Sense of space. Distance and difference. These core themes are illuminated by the respective works of Jing Huang and ChengOu Yu, two new residents of the Chippewa Valley with decades of ceramic artistry.
Their tether to one another – in shared journeys as ceramic artists; their recent move to the Midwest – presents a compelling narrative which seamlessly weaves itself into each new handcrafted sculpture and vessel.
“As I move around to different places, I am drawing inspiration from my surroundings at that moment and trying to find connection between my surroundings from past time and present time,” Huang said.
“Our experiences are fairly similar and come from ceramic-centric places,” Yu said. “Coming to the West and living here for over a decade – in many different cities and locations – is always something that we think about.
“My recent work, and I think Jing’s recent work, reflects a lot of that,” he said.
Huang and Yu met at the Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute in China and have since followed a shared educational – and vocational – path in ceramic arts and design.
Together, they have respectively earned degrees from Sheridan College in Canada and Alfred University in New York. Their journey in the arts has taken them across North America, living and working in places such as Kansas City, Mo. and Charlotte, N.C. – and now on to their next adventure in Eau Claire.
Yu, now a faculty member in the University of Wisconsin-Stout's (UW-Stout) School of Art and Design, came to the Chippewa Valley last year. Prior to this role, Yu pursued his passion for ceramics instruction at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte.
“(Wisconsin) gives us the opportunity to spend more time immersed in nature, providing inspiration and allowing us to connect more closely with the surrounding environment,” the duo agreed.
Yu draws from extensive experience in numerous artist residencies, a strong educational foundation, and presence in various gallery spaces across the world. His work – characterized by design-forward vessels – explores how human experiences and cultural iconography each contribute to the creation of both physical and conceptual meaning.
His numerous ceramic series’ – Enframed Scenery, Triad, Vessel and Void, Inner Space, among others – are also driven by a burgeoning curiosity toward technology and architecture.
“When we think about vessel making, it's about making a space,” Yu said, describing the deep connection he feels toward meaning found in ceramics. “I'm interested in the definition of space and what does that really mean to people.”
“Clay is a material that, when you get to touch it and then you have the opportunity to make your own work, you fall in love with it. This material, I feel, is right for me.”
Jing Huang
Sculptural Ceramic artist
Huang, who journeyed alongside him during these transitions, has also received recognition and continued her education through artist residencies – and the symbolic life experiences gained with each relocation, she said.
Named as an emerging artist by the The National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA) and Ceramics Monthly in 2023, these are but a few of the many accolades Huang has received for her sculptural clay artistry.
In September, Huang's work was featured in the “Dimensions: Contemporary Chinese Studio Crafts” installation at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
Huang’s collective series’ (Loop, Clouds Flow, Abstract Nature, Void Spaces, and others) draw inspiration from the landscapes of her hometown and creative skills developed from traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy.
Her hand-built sculptures, spanning 10 to 50 inches, are formed not by sketches or models but assembled based on intuition and the open embrace of how clay shapes and glazes organically intertwine through the firing process.
A notable facet of Huang’s work includes the absence of a flat in many of her sculptures; she constructs them horizontally from the outset – resulting in an abstract and seemingly natural final form.
“Clay is a material that, when you get to touch it and then you have the opportunity to make your own work, you fall in love with it,” Huang said. “This material, I feel, is right for me.”
Each of their creative processes – the tactile flow of Huang’s direction and Yu’s precise control – intentionally juxtapose one another. These skills are not merely technical; they serve as a powerful metaphor for the interwoven nature of their lives moving forward.
Naturally, the pair continues to champion one another’s work, further driving their individual creative expressions.
"We believe this dynamic community, together with the surrounding landscapes – especially the vibrant colors of autumn and the winter snow we'd missed for a while – will continue to influence our work."
Jing Huang & ChengOu Yu
sculptural ceramic artists
“When ChengOu talks about my work, he always sees something that attracts him; he sees something good,” Huang said. “I really focus on one way to make my work, but ChengOu can do everything: throwing, slipcasting, mold making, handbuilding.
“Only a person who is really good at all methods can develop that technology and way of thinking,” she added.
Huang’s work, in turn, provides Yu with fresh perspectives and new surprises; he views her as an artist who will remain curious toward new inspirations, rooted within the foundations which shape her sculptures – a mirror to her personal journey and the role of one’s past memories.
“What is fascinating about what Jing (does) is she has a lot of thinking into the process that she (does) in the work,” Yu said. “That leads into the (personal) concepts that she also is negotiating with, through the work.”
As Huang maintains her focus on the continual loop imagery – and questioning her sense of place in life – Yu added, “It not only makes the piece more visually interesting, but it almost eliminates this idea of the orientation of the piece.”
Together, the duo will soon orient themselves to a shared exhibition – a first in their artistic careers – at the Northern Clay Center in Minneapolis, Minn., titled “A World Unseen.”
The spring 2026 installation will culminate their previous works and convey interpretations of the landscapes which have shaped them independently and together as life partners.
As the duo settles into life in the Chippewa Valley, they have been welcomed by the local ceramics community, the two shared. While Yu will continue teaching at the area university and Huang plans for new artist residencies and virtual workshops, their future will extend well beyond these ongoing efforts.
The artists are now actively searching for a ceramics studio in Eau Claire to serve as their “home base” and allow them to collaborate more frequently.
“We know Wisconsin in general has a great clay community,” the duo said. “We believe this dynamic community, together with the surrounding landscapes – especially the vibrant colors of autumn and the winter snow we’d missed for a while – will continue to influence our work.”
To learn more about Jing Huang and ChengOu Yu’s ceramic series’, visit their respective webpages online.
