Poster with artwork by Zada. Poster design by Rodeo Studio at Portland State University

Trawling: Yoonhee Choi with Dr. MLK Jr. School

December 4, 2025 - February 27, 2026

Yoonhee Choi creates artwork that explores how everyday materials can tell unique and untold stories that help us look more closely at the world around us. Her projects range from tiny collages and drawings on paper to room-size installations. She develops her visual language through experimentation and improvisation, expressing emotions and memories from her intersecting experiences within Korean and American culture.

During her residency, Choi led workshops on the process of cotton pulp papermaking with pre-k through fifth-grade students. With the support of PSU students, teachers, staff, and volunteers, students collaborated with the artist to create rectangular paper tiles using a process similar to how she produces her pulp paintings. In the first workshop, each class made rectangles of a single color of cotton pulp paper. Color associations play an important role in Choi’s artistic process, and for this project she used the traditional Korean color spectrum, also known as Obangsaek 螃寞儀. In the second workshop she explained “poets use words to create meanings, and musicians compose with sound. For me, color is how I tell stories.” She told students how each color of the paper they made can represent a person, a memory, or an emotion.

Students then chose five colors of the handmade paper to represent a story that was meaningful to them personally. These five colors became the storyboard for each student’s tile. Choi arranged all of the student boards onto four large panels. Placed next to each other the panels form Spring Stroll, a single collaborative artwork that interweaves the students’ experiences through color, memory, and collaboration. After the exhibition, Spring Stroll will be installed in the school library as part of the KSMoCA permanent collection.

Educated as a city planner, architect, and artist, Yoonhee Choi studied art at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, architecture at Yale University, and city planning at Hong-ik University in Seoul. Born and raised in South Korea, Choi has lived in Portland, Oregon since 2005. Her work is in numerous private and public permanent collections, including the Portland Art Museum, the Hallie Ford Museum of Art, the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation Collection, the State Library of Oregon, the Allen Memorial Art Museum, the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, and the Portland International Airport.

Yoonhee Choi, Fall 2025-2026 KSMoCA Visiting Artist

Workshops with Yoonhee Choi

Over 350 students at Dr. MLK Jr. School created Spring Stroll during two workshops with Choi. First, students used rubber molds and cotton pulp to make their own paper tiles. Each grade worked with a different color. When the tiles were dry, students came back to choose five colors that meant something to them—like a favorite place, a special memory, or someone they love. Then they glued their tiles onto a small board. Yoonhee arranged all of the student boards onto four large panels. Placed next to each other the panels form a single artwork that interweaves the students’ experiences through color, memory, and collaboration.

Artist Talk with Yoonhee Choi and Exhibition Opening

To celebrate the opening of the exhibition, Choi gave an artist talk for over 200 students, teachers, community members, and family in the Cafetorium. She spoke about her experience working on the project and thanked the many people who helped make it possible, including PSU faculty and students, volunteers, and art teacher, Ms. Sarah. Every attendee received a copy of a magazine about Choi’s life and work that Portland State University wrote and designed.

Students eagerly raised their hands, asking about her childhood, early art experiences, and what continues to inspire her today. With questions such as, “How long have you been doing art?” “What kind of art did you make when you were seventeen?” and “What made you want to be an artist?” One student asked, “Since you love drawing so much, do you draw in your car?”

Choi answered every question with care and shared personal stories about her life and art practice, from childhood growing up in South Korea to moving to Portland. When asked about the materials she uses, Choi explained her process of “trawling,” which involves collecting found objects that interest her because of the stories they hold. “I believe any material you see every day can be used to make art. In the exhibition, there is a piece made with bread bag tags. I enjoy working with all kinds of things.”

During the exhibition opening, students selected as docents stood near Spring Stroll and answered questions about how the pieces were made. Visitors asked students about the meaning behind their color choices and what they enjoyed most about the workshops. One student explained, “Orange is for basketball and pink is my aunt.” Another said, “The red one is a dog.” Students tried to find their individual tiles within the larger artworks and were amazed by how their pieces came together to form a bright, connected display of personal stories. A selection of Choi’s artwork is also on view throughout the museum.