Contemporary Ceramic Buncheong Moon Flask by Kang Hyo Lee

A contemporary ceramic stone ware vessel in the form of a flat moon flask by Korean artist Kang Hyo Lee (South Korean, b. 1961). The work is inspired by traditional Korean Buncheong ware. It is a new interpretation of the white slip glaze with free-spirited surface decoration that is abstract and spontaneous. It comes with its original wood storage box which bears the name and seal of the artist.
Provenance: Exhibited and purchased from Pucker Gallery, Boston, 2008.
Biography (courtesy of Artsy)
Considered one of the finest contemporary Korean ceramicists, Lee Kang-hyo draws on the country’s rich ceramic heritage, creating both large-scale vases and smaller items, such as bottles, jars, and teapots. His work frequently references onggi vessels: the oldest form of Korean ceramics, used to make large earthenware jars typically used for storing condiments. Much of Lee’s work is decorated in a style influenced by Buncheong ware of the 15th and 16th centuries, a form of ceramic unique to Korea. The surface of Buncheong pottery is decorated with white slip (liquid clay) and painted with a powdery, semi-transparent green glaze. Lee originally aspired to be a painter, and he often treats the surfaces of his ceramics as canvases, decorating them with clay slip patterns. Compared to Korean landscape paintings, these works reflect the beauty of the changing seasons in Korea.