Review by Mitchell Oldham.
In a long pocket of space between the Art Institute’s Japanese and Chinese galleries, a brand-new exquisite new addition opened last fall. Supported by the National Museum of Korea, the new Korea gallery encompasses 2000 years of art and art evolution in one of northeast Asia’s most complex countries. And although its footprint within the museum may be tiny, its aesthetic contributions are immeasurable. The new gallery heightens the peninsula’s interest and appeal by examining its long historical timeline through the prism of magnificently crafted art. You will leave with a sense of how unique Korean art is when compared to other countries in the region; you’ll also gain valuable insights into the spiritual and moral underpinnings that guide and sustain the roughly 51 million people living there today.
The gallery includes ceramics, metalworks, paintings, statuary and much more. The work unfolds as a chronological timeline of artistic blossoming. Broken up into six parts, beginning with the country’s Three Kingdoms period (approximately 57 BCE to 676 CE), the space chronicles how innovation and outside influences impacted what was created, the materials used to render it and the messages the art is intended to transmit. Contemporary pieces that intentionally reflect influences of the past are also included to highlight how aesthetic continuity can be maintained across vast stretches of time. Through the materials used and the way they’re presented, these same pieces also proudly revel in their own idiosyncratic present-day identities.
Each of the gallery’s display cases holds beautiful objects whose appeal is enhanced either by their understated simplicity, the materials and techniques used to create them, or all in combination.
Korean artisans began working with Celadon pottery in the 12th century and by the 13th were creating stunning objects featuring the firing technique’s distinctive gray-green glaze. Many of the pieces represent some of the finest workmanship of the period and include everyday objects like cosmetic boxes, tea services and vessels for carrying wine and other beverages. Their deep tones and graceful elegance make them appear stately and serene despite their fulfilling quite mundane purposes. The work fills everyday life with measures of refinement and an open appreciation for beauty; through their ornamentation, they also carry subliminal messages that promoted good outcomes for those who possessed them.
Decoration is a key element in the design and execution of items people, most commonly the elite, would routinely use and enjoy for their visual beauty. Many of these works carry symbols representing wishes for good outcomes; many also functioned as subdued talismans advancing the hopes and dreams of the people who owned them. Whether it be for long life, happy marriages, fertility or prosperity, there was a corresponding symbol that could be depicted to telegraph each of those desires. What’s striking is the delicacy, grace and unstinting visual attractiveness employed to make them.
How sweeping and dramatic artistic change can manifest is one of the more resounding themes within the gallery. Korea was once a shamanistic culture whose spiritual beliefs focused on a designated individual’s ability to interact with the next world; both Buddhism and Confucianism would eventually make significant inroads into the country and dramatically influence the art that would later be produced. Moon jars, named for their close resemblance to a full moon, were made exclusively in Korea during the 17th and 18th centuries. Large, devoid of any decoration and displaying colors and shading that only occur naturally through firing and cooling in a kiln, like the one in the exhibition, they are enigmatic and infinitely absorbing. They reflect the prevailing religious beliefs of the age and embody the ideals of austerity and humility, virtues prized during the Joseon period.
Although considered primarily a Confucian country today, with Christianity steadily gaining ground, Buddhism is still a major religious force in Korea. Its influence in art can be seen in the splendid statue of Buddha crafted in the 18th century. Capturing an essence rarely experienced in statuary depicting the religious teacher and ascetic, its composed intensity grows the longer you view it. His hand gestures or mudha, here symbolizing one of the ranks of rebirth in the Western paradise, are so perfectly sculpted you feel you can easily intuit the profundity of their meaning. With his elongated ears, head protuberance and urna or forehead mark, he radiates the wonder and spiritual splendor of deity.
One of the gallery’s contemporary pieces holds its own impressive wonder. Chun Kwang Young’s Aggregation 21-JUO73 is intended to “explore human connection” and the artist’s Korean heritage. Chun first diligently and painstakingly wrapped triangular polystyrene forms with pages from old books and other documents written on hanji or traditional mulberry paper. He then applied them to a large circular disk measuring six feet across. Up close, the effect is chaotic and visually dissonant. Despite that, you’re enthralled with the intricacy he pours into the piece and the richness of hanji’s texture. From a distance it’s even more captivating and resembles a yet unnamed planet pulsing with magnetic intrigue and begging to be explored. Or perhaps a timeless face of unfathomable history or origin.
Across from Chun’s beautiful artistic mystery, massive gold earrings worn by both upper-class men and women during the Three Kingdoms period hang majestically on display posts. In keeping with the belief system of the times, they often followed their owners to the grave to be used in the next or afterlife. They are imposing in size and their sophistication is even more startling. They illustrate that the degrees of separation between generations and artistic capabilities are much less than we imagine.
The new gallery is still very much in its fledgling stages. Of the approximately 300 pieces the museum has available, only about 60 are currently on display. The collection will rotate and curators are very much interested in growing its representation of contemporary Korean art. Due to political and diplomatic realities, only art and artifacts from South Korea fill the exhibit. Watching the Korean gallery grow and develop will no doubt be as gratifying as discovering it in the first place.
The Korea Gallery is located on the first floor of the Art Institute of Chicago, 111 S. Michigan Ave. The museum is open Friday-Monday and Wednesday 11am-5pm, and Thursday 11-8pm. Closed Tuesdays. For more information, see the website.
Mitchell Oldham, a self-acknowledged culture vulture, has been enjoying writing about Chicago's dynamic arts scene for over a decade.
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