Nestled within the winding corridors of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts’ senior studios is a curious space, one in which cultures, colors and clothes collide. It is the space in which artist Ian Choi, a fourth-year BFA student, works on her latest piece.
Originally from South Korea, Choi brought her artistic prowess to the United States after moving to Oklahoma when she was 13. The oil painter specializes in topics of identity and multiculturalism, devoting special attention to her Korean-American heritage. She locates her pieces in conversation with fabrics and textiles — an endeavor that was most substantially embodied in her Summer Scholars project. In the summer of 2023, she flew to South Korea to explore topics of female power and agency through the traditional Korean garment, the hanbok.
Her work, a sprawling amalgam of hyperrealistic patterns and figures, has drawn deserved acclaim. After the program ended, the resulting body of work was accepted into a juried exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts. “Fragments of Self,” which features three SMFA students’ work, explores identity as a malleable, fluid tool of self-reflection and experience. Choi’s paintings, which represent her Korean-American and female identities, fit right in. At only 22, her work occupies wall space at one of the most popular museums in the U.S.
Ian Choi’s artwork is displayed at the Edward H. Linde Gallery at the Museum of Fine Arts.
“It’s been so surreal. It’s already been three months and it still doesn’t feel real to me,” she said. “I think the first stop my mom and I had when we visited Boston for the first time was the MFA. It’s a full circle moment where [the MFA] is what inspired me to come here and now I’m showing my own pieces.”
Choi’s perception of identity has continued to blossom, subsequently opening up different avenues of exploration in her work.
“I started to look [more broadly] into my identity, not just being Korean, but being Korean-American, an American living in Oklahoma, an American living in Boston,” she said.
This new perspective is currently manifesting itself in Choi’s latest project: her senior thesis. Hanging on the back wall of her studio, the four-by-five foot canvas promises an exciting product. In contrast to her past smaller and medium sized pieces, Choi has decided to take on something bigger for this project — both in scale and content.
“I do very up close, right in your face paintings where there’s no depth. There’s no space you can enter,” she said. “And I wanted that depth and more space for the viewers to play around. That’s why I wanted to do the interior space of my [living] room where I can show a different range of fabrics, my clothes and even my objects.”
Her magnum opus is a space in which she can explore all facets of her identity, from her Korean origins to her Oklahoma youth to her Boston present. Both through composition and style, Choi is conducting a masterful exposition of the fluid and transient nature of identity.
“The cowboy hat, American bag and things like boots and jeans are going to be about my Oklahoma identity. … The most upfront piece is who I am right now,” she said. “I’m going to leave some of the objects and clothing from Oklahoma a little less rendered to show how my memory is faint.”
The finished work will be displayed at SMFA’s annual senior thesis exhibition, which will take place at the end of the semester.
Following her graduation from Tufts this spring, Choi is going to be bolstering her skills in art education through the Tufts master’s program. Choi cites her mother’s teaching background as a grounding inspiration for this choice.
“I always saw how my mom changed a lot of kids when I was little and I watched her teach … seeing those changes you can make as a teacher is super exciting,” she said. “I think art can be very limited when it’s taught at a very young age, so I think I want to do a senior high school [class] when they try to prepare their portfolios.”
Choi’s passion for art is marked by clear intention and purpose, something that will follow her into her future as she guides others in their journey. For now, Choi is constantly growing and evolving as an artist, reflecting her capacity for change and fluidity. After reviewing her work and process, one thing is clear: Whatever Choi puts her mind to, she can do.
