Ceramic artist Choi Jae-hun is holding his 10th solo exhibition from Wednesday to April 30 at Kyung-In Museum of Fine Art in Seoul.

The exhibition showcases moon jars created by an exclusive method the artist developed over years, which involves collecting and scraping clay, molding it into a moon jar and then plopping the jar in terra alba, a white soil powder.

The final product is white slip ceramic ware, or buncheong, in natural silhouettes with random cracks that are the features of Choi’s products, distinguishing them from other perfectly rounded moon jars. 

“I tried to incorporate tradition and modernity reinterpreted through my style,” said Choi.

“I hope the viewers find some meaning in life by looking at the cracks. The natural cracks look like a complicated web and they remind me of our lives,” he said.

Choi depicts the light of the moon through the subtle colors of the buncheong and represents the shape of the moon reflected on a pond and a full moon with more natural-looking moon jars.

“Sometimes it seems that the moon jar dances in joy just as when the moon is reflected on the waves of a lake,” wrote Choi in his artist note.

Choi runs a clay studio called Gwancheon-yo to produce ceramic wares. He is also a member of the Korean Fine Arts Association and Gyeonggi Ceramic Artists Association.

By Lee Woo-young (wylee@heraldcorp.com)