Dae sup Kwon
b. 1952
Born in Seoul, Korea, Kwon Dae-sup studied painting at Hongik University but changed his medium to ceramics after a transformative encounter with a moon jar, similar to this one from the Joseon dynasty [https://www.artic.edu/artworks/158472/moon-jar] (1392–1910), in 1978. The moon jar, named after its milky white color and rounded shape, is a distinctively Korean ceramic that was produced between the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Kwon has devoted his 40-year career to making this single type of ceramic, and his traditional skills combined with an artistic sensibility make him one of the modern masters of the moon jar. After switching to ceramics, he traveled to Japan to study under Ogasawara Chōshun IX (born 1932) in Nabeshima, Kyushu, where Joseon potters were captured and relocated during the Japanese invasions of 1592–98. After returning to Korea, he settled in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, where the official kilns of the Joseon dynasty were located. For over a decade, he collected shards from these kilns to study Joseon ceramics. Kwon creates his work using only traditional methods—building the body of the jar with two hemispherical halves using a potter’s wheel and then firing the piece in a wood-burning kiln. He fuels his kiln with only the wood from pine trees, just as Joseon potters did three centuries ago. Today, due to a government regulation to protect pine trees, he uses only scrap pine collected from the forest or construction sites. His limited ability to control his materials in the wood-burning kiln as well as the restricted space of the kiln, which can only accommodate two or three vessels at a time, make his production exceptionally difficult. He typically produces no more than ten moon jars a year. In an interview the artist once said he tries to create works that need no addition or subtraction, with a hope that they will create harmony with their surroundings regardless of place or time. As a result, Kwon produces exceptionally beautiful ceramics with pristine white surfaces that embody the simplicity and evocative nature of this traditional form.
