Of French and Chinese heritage, born in London, Chloë lived a large part of her youth in Hong Kong where she received a French education. Her work naturally lives at the crossroads of Asian and Western sensibilities. This cross-cultural dialogue is a constant theme in her life and work; it sits between different aesthetics and philosophies. She plays with juxtaposing opposites —the refined with the raw, the elegant with the natural, the permanent with the impermanent, classical proportions meet wabi-sabi philosophy resulting in pieces that contain subtle tension. Each piece is a result of the play between the refined with the raw, the elegant with the natural. Nature always grounds her work in an aesthetic vocabulary common to all. Deliberate aesthetic choices are always at the forefront of her design process.

Making objects by hand in today’s world is a rewarding and necessary state of being because of the intimacy experienced with each piece, as it is formed. The practice itself forces the demands and the pace of modern life to come to a stand still and dissipate. Her work is a dance and conversation with the earth —a raw, active act of creation. Earth, or clay, is a primordial material.  Most religious traditions believe that the human being was literally formed from the earth: when God created Adam, He “formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Genesis 2:7). In Islam it is also said that the first man was created from a handful of soil containing portions from all its varieties on Earth. Claywork connects Chloë with our shared humanity.

The pieces are often hand-coiled, a technique used since the beginning of human life, examples of which date from prehistoric times. This slow methodical building process lends itself well to moments when the mind disappears and the energy of improvisation can be channeled. This method develops a deep listening to the clay as well as responding to it and activates intuition. Her hands manipulate each molecule rendering them together into volume and shape; line and texture, color, and sometimes, utility. In the process, she discovers the flaws and weaknesses of each pot, she senses their strengths. Taking this information, she builds her response into the next creation; each revision striving to speak with more clarity and mastery.  Many pieces are hand-coiled, a technique used since the beginning of human life, examples of which date from prehistoric times. 

To her, the ceramic sculptures represent timeless anchors in an ever changing life. Chloë is most interested in the impermanence and transience of our lives. The ceramic pots, transformed to the permanence of stone by firing, outlive their creator and become evidence of existence —the thought, culture and identity of a particular time, place and person. Eventually, their allotted time ends and they too return to silence and to the very ground from which they originated. With each piece, she strives to achieve a sense of beauty, responding keenly to the need of the soul to be elevated through art. 

Chloë graduated from Swarthmore College having fallen in love with clay work, thanks to her inspiring professor Syd Carpenter and generous teacher Doug Herren. Over the past 20 years she has kept up a studio practice, showing in local juried exhibitions, selling through galleries, stores and privately while navigating life’s stages and demands. Recently, she enjoyed collaborating on a project with florist Missi Flowers for Altuzarra and she continues to take intensives, especially in France, where traditional techniques and modern design particularly appeal to her sensibilities and help develop her artistic abilities. She has enjoyed her work as a technician and teacher for the Claymobile and her private lessons to children and adults, as well as her early foray and exploration into mud house techniques and sustainable architecture using clay. She is currently Assistant Artistic Director of Gravers Lane Gallery, a Contemporary Studio Craft Gallery in Philadelphia, where she enjoys curating, supporting and interacting with talented Craft artists.