Korean Pottery Yesterday and Today

.The Three Kingdoms of Korea (57 BC-668 AD), namely Silla, Goguryeo, and Baekie, provided the beginning of Korean ceramic history. Rough domestic wares for the people were produced from numerous kilns. Likewise a number of sophisticated statues of royal figures, guardians, and horses, equivalent to Chinese Han Dynasty figures, used for domestic and imperial votive shrines, as well as for escorts of the dead in tombs of the nobles and kings, were turned on potter’s wheels, while others were formed using the traditional hammered clay and coil method.

During the nearly five centuries of the Koryô dynasty (918--1392), celadon was the main type of ceramics produced on the Korean peninsula. This exquisite ware was typically covered with clear and highly-vitrified glazes of gray-green color.

Lee Kang Hyo Korean artist, Lee Kang Hyo (1961) creates masterful works combining ancient traditions with earthly red and white clay materials from his homeland. “A true potter only speaks through vessel,” he says. He attempts to show the right working attitude in modernizing the artistic sense and lifestyle inherited by his forefathers to the people’s tastes of today. The works of  Lee Kang-Hyo  infuses ancient tradition with whimsical and contemporary interpretation.

Ceramic artist Dong Won Shin lives in Seoul, Korea Ceramic artist Dong Won Shin lives in Seoul, Korea. Her ceramic installations are inspired by the domestic objects of traditional women's work. Shin seeks to create a narrative between fine objects, craftsmanship and raw space. Shin holds a BFA and an MFA from Hong Ik University in South Korea and an MFA in ceramics from Cranbrook University. She is currently a lecturer at the Korean National University of Arts. She has exhibited internationally.