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Shades of Light: Korean Art from the Collection

This black and white monoprint is composed of a series of 16 separate 3-inch squares assembled in four rows of four squares each with the white background forming a border around the whole assemblage. In a mosaic-like arrangement, the 16 white squares make up one larger square that forms a central image of a circle. Smoky greyish black shadows emanate from each edge of the circle. Most of the individual squares making up the circle are printed with black shapes that almost resemble jigsaw pieces. On the near bottom right side, a full circle appears in one of the squares, in contrast to the jagged forms in the other squares. The black forms are broken up with tiny white polka dots. While some dots appear flat against the dark background, other dots appear as if embossed with raised edges.
Eunice Kim (Korean-American, active United States, born 1971), Tessellation (16-3) #21, 2011, collagraph monoprint on paper, image/sheet: 12 in x 12 in, Museum Purchase: Asian Art Acquisition Fund, © Eunice Kim, 2018.12.1
Jun 4, 2022 - Dec 22, 2022
Portland Art Museum
1219 SW Park Ave, Portland, OR
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Overview

Shades of Light brings together ceramics, photography, printmaking, sculpture, and textiles from the Portland Art Museum’s permanent collection. Linking these objects is the subtle role of light across a broad range of Korean creative practices. A Buddhist sculpture by Jang Jin-ik uses light as its medium, while our appreciation of ceramics and textiles may be determined by how light reflects off the surface of an object, or even travels through it. In other cases the interplay of light and dark is precisely what gives an image form. The exhibition highlights the superlative celadon glazes of the Goryeo period (918–1392) and the later taste for white porcelain in the Joseon period (1392–1897). Alongside historical examples are recent works by contemporary women artists Kim Yikyung and Joo Jiwan, who investigate these ceramic traditions in their own practice. 

Curated by Jeannie Kenmotsu, Ph.D, The Arlene and Harold Schnitzer Curator of Asian Art.

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Accessible exhibition texts and labels