Marie Woo

Marie Woo (April 3, 1928 – February 4, 2026) was a Chinese-American ceramicist and educator.

Career

Early years Woo was born in Seattle, Washington to Southern Chinese parents. She obtained her Bachelor's degree in fine art from the University of Washington in 1954, and in 1956, her Master's from Cranbrook Academy of Art.

Research in Asia Following what she called a "transformative" graduate program, Woo spent part of the 1960s in Southeast Asia; this would mark the beginning of a lifetime commitment to the traditions of Asian ceramics.

Woo's interests in folk pottery were reignited in 1995 after a visit to Beijing, China. According to Woo, she was alarmed by how rapidly modernization was eclipsing interest in traditional ceramic practices.

Later career Woo's extensive research in China culminated in her 2013 exhibition, "Chinese Folk Pottery: Art of the Everyday." Hosted by the University of Michigan Museum of Art, the collection continued to be shown for six years after it left the museum in Ann Arbor.

In early 2020, Woo was awarded the Kresge Eminent Artist prize, an honor worth $50,000. In doing so, she was the first ceramicist to win since the award was established in 2008.

Themes Considered a "potter's potter," Woo's work is notable for its technical imperfection and its interplay between form and function.

Woo died in February 2026, at the age of 97.

Awards Kresge Eminent Artist Award, 2020 Syracuse National Ceramic Exhibition Purchase Award, 1956

Exhibitions Marie Woo: Clay Quest, The Scarab Club, Detroit, MI, 2020

Collections Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, NY Mills College Art Museum, Oakland, CA