Shades of Light: Korean Art from the Collection

2022

Shades of Light brings together ceramics, photography, printmaking, sculpture, and textiles from the Portland Art Museum’s permanent collection. Linking these objects is the subtle role of light across a broad range of Korean creative practices. A Buddhist sculpture by Jang Jin-ik uses light as its medium, while our appreciation of ceramics and textiles may be determined by how light reflects off the surface of an object, or even travels through it. In other cases the interplay of light and dark is precisely what gives an image form. The exhibition highlights the superlative celadon glazes of the Goryeo period (918–1392) and the later taste for white porcelain in the Joseon period (1392–1897). Alongside historical examples are recent works by contemporary women artists Kim Yikyung and Joo Jiwan, who investigate these ceramic traditions in their own practice.

Curated by Jeannie Kenmotsu, Ph.D, The Arlene and Harold Schnitzer Curator of Asian Art.

Curated by Jeannie Kenmotsu