Born in 1958 in Singapore, Chua Soo Kim trained in the family’s pottery business (est. 1936). From 1984-2001 Chua was a member of Studio 106, headed by sculptor Ng Eng Teng. A master potter and lecturer, whose speciality is glazing, Chua’s pottery is represented in various public and private collections.Unlike Chua’s ‘Blue Pig’ teapot of the same year, this teapot is about understatement. Chua has created a more traditional or rustic teapot; one whose form and size speaks of solidness and utility, not of frivolity. The earth-hued unadorned slip glaze complements this perception, as does the entwined double cane handle strung between four load-bearing points. Nevertheless, by creating a disproportionately small opening at the end of the spout, thereby forcibly slowing down the flow of the contents, Chua acknowledges the tradition of tea drinking and the importance of occasionally slowing down in a fast-paced world.
