BIO

Misuk P. Weaver observes and investigates the strategies of being, in herself and in the materials, and translates them into three-dimensional multi-media artworks. A first-generation Korean immigrant laboring to remove the ingrained restraints of cultural gender roles and informed by the experience of poverty during her formative years, the artworks gravitate towards materials that have been discarded. The material’s transformation is inspired by the surrounding environment, and the results are often temporal with underlying contradictions. 


Elevating the essence of found materials as an opportunity for conversation, the artist integrates formal techniques to transform and generate new vernacular and perceptions. Through the metamorphosis Misuk endeavors to validate the object’s existence and narrate the journey of the found material. 


Misuk earned a B.A. and M.B.A and is a licensed art educator who champions the power of education and mentorship.

STATEMENT

As a child I was always instructed to stay quiet in the background and have “nunchi” (roughly translates from Korean to "eye-measure"), constantly searching for context and evaluating the overall atmosphere, placing little value on my own existence. This honed my observational skills, noticing every detail and mood, setting the foundation for expression through visual storytelling. 


My artwork, primarily made from found materials, gravitates towards three-dimensional multi-media temporal works that contain some level of contradiction. I still carry the residual conflict from childhood in reconciling the emotions of existing while obeying the cultural expectation of being unseen. I explore the contradictory ideas that exist in a single entity that prompt reflection on the complexity of being. Through the act of creating visual artworks, I exercise my voice and work to generate dialogue.   


EXHIBITIONS

2023 Watermark Art Center, 18th Annual "It's Only Clay" National Competition and Exhibit (Bemidji, MN) - To the Point, Whole Fruit, Emerge

2022 Old Stone House Museum (Brownington, VT) - Assembly Quilt, Large-scale Earthwork Installation 

2021 Catamount Arts Juried Show (Saint Johnsbury, VT) - Temp Control, Honorable Mention

AWARDS

2022 Diane Gabriel Visual Artist Award (Burlington City Arts, Burlington, VT)

GRANT AWARDS

2023 Vermont Arts Council Development Grant  to support attending a Gee's Bend quilting technique workshop with fifth generation quilters in Alabama

2022 Vermont Arts Council Development Grant to support the costs of a large-scale earthwork titled "The Assembly Quilt" 

HONORS

2023 Vermont Arts Council Artist Development Grant Review Team

2023 BTV Market Juror (Burlington, VT)

TEACHING ARTIST RESIDENCIES / WORKSHOPS

2023 Essex High School, Essex, VT (April)

2022 Lake Region Union High School, Orleans, VT (April)

2022 Brownington Central School, Brownington, VT (April)

EDUCATION, LICENSES, AND CERTIFICATIONS

2018 Vermont Agency of Education Professional Educator License, Endorsement 9 -02 (Art, Grades 5-12)

2008 Felician University, M.B.A. Entrepreneurship and Innovation 

2004 Rutgers University (Honors College), B.A. Psychology and Graphic Design