The long-running relay invitational exhibition Functional Ceramics by One Hundred Korean Artists of Gyeonggi Museum of Ceramic Design celebrates its 12th edition this year. This exhibition series introduces both established ceramic artists and promising, up-and-coming talents in the Korean ceramics community who have shown great originality and artistry to pursue discourse on contemporary ceramic art from a wide range of perspectives.
This edition of the exhibition is “Remembering Shape in This Season.” It showcases beautiful ‘vessels’ by contemporary Korean ceramists and focuses on the ‘shape’ of vessels. The exhibition features five ceramists who have expressed formative beauty in contemporary design based on tradition. Viewers will indulge in appreciating Korean beauty now at this time that has stretched out ‘remembrance” in the form of ‘tradition’ through works that show traditional aesthetics to the fullest and works that show each maker’s own philosophy and modern adaptation of tradition. By virtue of featuring artists who truly represent a specific generation, this exhibition gives the viewers a glimpse into one aspect of Korean contemporary ceramics history and allows them to look diverse interpretations by the artists presented. It will also enable them to find harmony created by fusion of the old and the new.
Each gallery is arranged as a space for a solo show, featuring an introduction on each artist written by curators, art historians, and art critics from various angles. In a separate space are interview videos of the five participating artists, through which the viewers can understand their philosophies on art and learn about their lives as ceramic artists. We hope the visitors will think about the lives of these artists, who have strived to develop Korean contemporary ceramics, and come away with greater interest in them and their works.