Kwon Dae-Sup
, Daejeon
“Creating soul of pottery begins with the fire.”
Moon Jar is a type of traditional, plain-white Korean porcelain which was originally made during the late 17th through 18th centuries, the late period of the Choson Dynasty (1392-1910). The name comes from its shape and the milky colour of the glaze which is reminiscent of the full moon. At the time, they represented the epitome of the austere Confucian virtues of purity, honesty and modesty. Because of their form they were also thought to represent the embracing, gentle qualities of femininity and fertility. It requires difficult and exact skills in throwing the two halves that make up the completed jar. Furthermore a careful firing schedule is needed at high temperatures to fuse them successfully. This simple form revered by the Korean people for hundreds of years still resonates today.
Kwon Dae-Sup is a contemporary Korean pottery master known for his series of Moon Jars. Originally trained as a painter in Hongik University, Kwon was introduced to Moon Jars in the 1970s and became so fascinated that he changed the course of his life to pottery. While keeping the traditions of Korean pottery, he attempts to communicate the aesthetics of Moon Jars to audiences of the contemporary world by transferring essential traits of simplicity and a sense of modesty. He breaks all of the works that do not satisfy him. He throws away everything that does not move his soul.
“It’s very difficult to explain what a good Moon Jar is—it goes beyond verbal expression. When I take the works out from the kiln, it comes right away—‘this is good’ or ‘this is appropriate.’ From my experience, if I like it, everyone likes it.”
His work has been exhibited in the Kojima Gallery in Tokyo and the Seomi Gallery in Seoul, and acquired by the National Folk Museums of Korea, National Museum of Mexico and Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, including many others.