John Pai

John Pai (; born October 4, 1937) is an American sculptor and Pratt Institute professor emeritus. Pai works primarily with welded metal, often creating freestanding sculptures with grid-like and curved natural shapes. After completing his Bachelor in Industrial Design and Master of Fine Arts in Sculpture at Pratt (1964), Pai began teaching at his alma mater in 1965 as the youngest ever professor appointed by the school. Retiring from teaching in 2000, Pai shifted to focusing on his artistic practice full-time. He now works and lives in Fairfield, Connecticut.

Pai was born in Seoul, South Korea, and spent part of his childhood in Ilsan and Seoul (where he began his training in visual art) before moving to the US in 1949, and spending much of his adolescence in Wheeling, West Virginia. He continued his training at the Oglebay Institute, where he had his first solo show at the age of 15, and with the Famous Artists School's correspondence courses. He received a full scholarship to attend Pratt, and studied industrial design, as well as sculpture later in his MFA program. While in Pratt he expanded his scope of study to include physics, biology, and chemistry, as well as dance and music. As a professor, he encouraged his students to also pursue interdisciplinary research to inform their artistic practices. In New York, Pai became well-acquainted with the Korean diasporic art scene, regularly inviting artists and musicians over to his and his wife's house in Brooklyn.

Pai has regularly exhibited domestically and abroad, and the first monograph of his work titled John Pai: Liquid Steel, and written by critic John Yau, was published in 2023.

Early life Pai's mother was Choi Soonoak. Choi was born in Russia in 1902 after her family fled to the country following the assassination of Empress Myeongseong in 1895 by the Japanese. Choi's family ran a successful tea business and later sent Choi to Korea as a teen to continue her studies. It was there that she met Pai's father. Pai's father Pai Minsoo (배민수) was a well-known reverend and activist who was part of the Korean independence movement during the period of Japanese colonial rule. Pai Minsoo's father was also a famous commander in the resistance movement, and was executed by the Japanese military. When Pai was born, his father was imprisoned by the Japanese for his activist work.

Pai has two siblings, a brother named Pai Young, and sister Pai Youngai (Mary Pai).

While in prison, Pai's father met an American missionary who convinced him to study at the McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, and helped facilitate his release. As a result, Pai's father went to the US in 1938, and Pai was unable to meet his father until he was eight and his father returned in 1945 working with the U.S. Army. Holbert organized a solo exhibition of Pai's work when Pai was only 15 years old in 1952. As an undergraduate, he also participated in the design and production of the Hawaii Pavilion at the World's Fair in 1964 through his teacher William Katavolos. Pai graduated with a Bachelor in Industrial Design (1962) and Master of Fine Arts in Sculpture (1964) at Pratt Institute.

Work

Teaching (1965-2000) Pai began teaching at his alma mater in 1965 as the youngest professor to ever be appointed at the school, and was appointed head of the sculpture department after his professor Calvin Albert recommended him for the position. In 1971, Pai became the director of the Division of Fine Arts at Pratt. Soon after, he introduced courses on phenomenology and bionics into the curriculum. He shifted solely to teaching in 1974, and then left Pratt in 2000 to focus on his sculptural work full-time.

Influences

Artists and movements Pai has cited artists like Theodore Roszak and Roman Vishniac, and scholarly writing on African art as influences.

Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) curator Virginia Moon considers his early work to be influenced by Art Informel, and credits the movement for leading Pai to welding while at Pratt.

In contrast, critic John Yau, argues that Pai was never associated with either a Korean or American artistic style or movement. During the mid-60s, Pai began focusing on modules as the organizing units of his sculptures in reference to the basic components of natural life. In an interview, Pai has stated the need for him to understand both the physics and chemistry of nature, as well as ideas around symbiosis for his work. He began reading Guy Murchie's writing in the 70s when he was making works like Involution (1974) and Covolution (1976).

Sports, dance, and music Pai studied music as a child (playing the piano, saxophone, clarinet, and cello), participated in team sports as a teen, and developed a strong interest in modern dance and ballet while in New York. Pai even tried to take a class with a former Martha Graham student.

Artistic process When discussing his work, Pai places significant emphasis on process in shaping his sculptures rather than a preconceived idea of what a piece should look like. He has outlined the need to be attentive to the natural movements and structures of materials, and role of the artist as less a maker, and more of a participant in its construction. He has described welding as a process to be akin to painting: "Flame makes a droplet of molten metal. The wire makes a line. I can go from point to line to plane to mass. Steel gives structural range while heat gives plasticity."

John Yau praises Pai's sculptures as continually changing despite their solidity and simplicity.

Critic Will Heinrich describes Pai's work in "The Unseen Professors" as "border[ing] between math and craft."

Selected exhibitions

Solo exhibitions

2013

"John Pai: In Memory's Lair," Gallery Hyundai, Seoul

2006

"Convergence and Divergence: A Decade in Line, 1996-2006," Gallery Hyundai, Seoul

2003

"John Pai: Metaphors of Space," Rodin Gallery (Samsung Plateau Art Space), Seoul

1997

Sigma Gallery, New York

1993

"John Pai: Sculpture, 1983-1993," Gallery Hyundai, Seoul

1988

Souyunyi Gallery, New York

1982

Won Gallery, Seoul Whanki Foundation, New York

1964

Pratt Institute, New York

Group exhibitions

2022

"The Space Between: The Modern in Korean Art," Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles

2011

"The Unseen Professors: Leo Amino, Minoru Niizuma, John Pai," Tina Kim Gallery, New York

2010

"Floating Hours: Moon Is the Oldest Clock," National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Deoksugung, Seoul

2009

"The Great Hands," Gallery Hyundai, Seoul

2007

"Poetry in Motion," Gallery Hyundai, Seoul

2003

"Dreams and Reality: Korean American Contemporary Art," Smithsonian, Washington D.C.

2001

"Whanki Museum Retrospective 1975-2001," Whanki Museum, Seoul

1981

"Korean Drawing Now," Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn

1970

"Asian Traditions/Modern Expressions: Asian American Artists and Abstraction, 1945-1970," Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum, New Brunswick

1967

"Made with Paper," Museum of Contemporary Crafts, New York

Awards

Rowena Reed Award, 2021

Collections Pai's worked has been collected by the following institutions:

The Alternative Museum, New York Busan Museum of Art, Busan Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul Pratt Institute, New york Seoul Institute of the Arts, Ansan Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul Shinsegae Gallery, Seoul Walker Hill Art Museum, Seoul Whanki Museum, Seoul Wooyang Museum of Contemporary Art, Gyeongju

Personal life Pai's wife is Eunsook Pai (née Lee). The couple married in the mid-60s and lived in Clinton Hill. They have two children, Liana Pai and Ian Pai. They now live in Connecticut.