Immersive exhibition highlight "The Jade Hues of Goryeo" ▲ An installation view of celadon gallery. [photo by Rachel Bae]

The National Museum of Korea will open its remodeled celadon gallery on November 23, spotlighting the prized celadon ware of the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392). The gallery includes a space for immersive appreciation of some of the finest specimens of Goryeo celadon. Contemporary music and video art will accompany the exhibit.

Some 250 pieces of celadon will be displayed, including 12 "National Treasures" and 12 "Treasures," demonstrating the widely admired artistry of Goryeo potters. Among the crowning pieces will be an exquisite incense burner with a ball-shaped cover with openwork decoration in seven-treasure design, designated a "National Treasure.“

“We expect the remodeled celadon gallery will pair with the Room of Quiet Contemplation, which showcases two Pensive Bodhisattva images from the late sixth to the early seventh centuries, as its two most popular signature spaces,” said Yoon Sung-yong, director general of the museum. "We hope that visitors will find peace of mind in this gallery while appreciating the divine beauty of the celadons and sharing the Goryeo people's outstanding aesthetic sense and love for nature,” he added.

The remodeling of the celadon gallery is part of the National Museum's project to upgrade its ceramics galleries, completing the Sculpture and Crafts Galleries. The Buncheong Ware and White Porcelain Gallery opened in February last year.

Korean potters started producing high-grade porcelain around the 10th century, bringing innovation to the nation's everyday life and culture. During the ensuing one century and a half, the potters significantly improved their technology to produce elegant celadon ware covered with subtle, jade-colored glazes.

The remodeled celadon gallery accentuates the unique artisanship of the Goryeo potters, along with the significance of their contribution to the development of ceramics. The exhibits, ranging from accomplished works of art to waste shards from kiln sites, shed light on the production techniques and usage of Goryeo celadon from the early stage of porcelain production to its perfection.
 

▲ Kang Kyong-nam, curator of National Museum of Korea, doing curation. [photo by Rachel Bae]
The gallery's remodeling focused on an exclusive space named "The Jade Hues of Goryeo“ (Gorjeo Bisack). It is designed for immersive appreciation of the maximized beauty of Goryeo celadons in their enigmatic jade color.

The Goryeo celadon in serene iade hues with a delicate sheen, admittedly the symbolic height of Korean cultural heritage, drew admiration from the contemporary Chinese. In his travel record, Illustrated Account of the Xuanhe Embassy to Goryeo (Kuanhe fengshi Gaoli tujing), the Song envoy Xu Jing (1091-1153) highly praised Goryeo's jade-colored celadons. He recorded that the people of Goryeo proudly called the color of their celadon bisaek, meaning "jade color," distinguished from feise (secret color) of the celadon of Song.

The immersive space dedicated to "The Jade Hues of Goryeo" exhibits an unprecedented selection of 18 sculpted celadon objects exemplifying the perfect harmony of color and form. They include five "National Treasures" and three "Treasures.“▲ An installation view of "Blue Celadons." [photo by Rachel Bae]
"Blue Celadon," a new composition by Daniel Kapelian, a French media artist and producer, will augment the mystic atmosphere of the space, helping visitors to become fully immersed in the beauty of the great celadon works, the museum explained.▲ The shards of Goryeo celadons. [photo by Rachel Bae]

The celadon shards to be exhibited include one-of-a-kind specimens decorated with toads resting on plantain leaves and herons loitering on waterside, which offer glimpses of the Goryeo people's views of nature. They will be displayed alongside a video entitled "Reveling in Nature," produced by Kim Yeong-jun and Oh Sue.

The shards were retrieved from kiln sites at Yucheon-ri, Buan, North Jeolla Province, where high-grade celadon ware was produced for use in the royal household and central government offices in the capital. The two artists reinterpreted motifs from the decorative designs on the shards with contemporary sensibilities.

▲ People can experience touch of tactile exhibits. [photo by Rachel Bae]
The remodeled celadon gallery is located in 3rd floor of The National Museum of Korea. Also, For visitors who are visually handicapped, the remodeled celadon gallery is equipped with braille maps and tactile exhibits. The gallery will be open around the year with free admission. A dialogue with the curator is scheduled for Wednesday evenings during November and December.

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Rachel Bae sungmin.b.213@gmail.com