Whimsical, rustic, direct, fresh, audacious, contemporary — these are some of the qualities that have been attributed to the type of Korean ceramics known as buncheong. Buncheong ceramics are characterized by their informal style and their use of white clay as an aesthetic feature. The exhibition Poetry in Clay, opening September 16 and running through January 8, 2012, will fill the museum's Korean art galleries.
It features more than fifty-five masterpieces, including six Korean national treasures, from the Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art in Seoul, Korea. In addition, selected Japanese ceramics from the Asian Art Museum's collections show Japanese connections to Korean ceramics. Finally, contemporary buncheong as well as other forms of contemporary art influenced by Korean ceramics, on loan from Korea, demonstrate the vitality of this vibrant art form today.
