Ufan Lee & Young Sook Park

Y-S-P is pleased to announce our inaugural exhibition New Works | Art + Form featuring the work of two modern masters: Ufan Lee and Young Sook Park.

New Works | Art + Form includes pieces never before seen in the United States, most notably recent works of ambitious scale completed by Park and Lee in collaboration (2017). The vessels and plates, of uncanny size, are produced using Park’s newest porcelain clays; the glazes layering both iron and cobalt together for the very first time.

Using Park’s pristine white porcelain as canvas, Lee applies cobalt and iron glaze the effect of which is uniquely stunning-- these collaborations interpret traditional artistic media through innovative, contemporary processes; the beauty and symbolism illustrated through Lee’s expressive brush stroke on the stark whiteness of Park's porcelain persists as truly captivating to the viewer. Grand-in-scale and glaze, these stunning porcelain sculptures demonstrate skill unmatched by any other living ceramicists.

Also included in this exhibition are two of Park’s iconic Moon Jars, both of which surpass past iterations of the form in size, scope, clay and glaze. Moon Jars are traditional Korean white porcelain wares made during the 17th and 18th centuries, the late period of the Chosun Dynasty (1392–1910). This form was named so because of its full round shape and milky colored glaze, creating the appearance of the earth’s full moon. Renowned for their exquisite proportional harmony between mouth, body, and base, the Moon Jar persists as the epitome of perfection for many ceramic artists. Jars of this kind are constructed by throwing top and bottom sections separately before joining them at the center. As a result, these two sections may vary slightly in size and thickness, creating surface contours. This asymmetry is viewed not as a deformity, but rather as a part of the works creative destiny. Balancing precariously on a rather high base, and featuring an upper section fuller than the lower section, both sections must be put together seamlessly, with stress points holding together the pieces in order to prevent collapse during firing.

Some three decades ago, Young Sook Park began the long journey towards recreating the Moon Jar. After twenty years of dedication and practice, the artist finally mastered the mythical “Moon Jar,” initiating a new chapter in the history of this once-lost art form. She continues to push technical boundaries through use of both glaze and clay, and is widely recognized as the premier artist in the world able to create these majestic forms.

Y-S-P gallery is dedicated to exhibiting the work of Young Sook Park in concert with leading contemporary artists, reviving the art and philosophy of traditional Korean ceramic through a contemporary lens.