[Gallery Walk] Potter Kwon Daeseop Who Captivated RM, Now Exhibiting Bowls

A bowl by ceramic artist Kwon Dae-seop exhibited at Park Yeosuk Gallery

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] Kwon Dae-seop (68), a ceramic artist, exhibited moon jars at Park Yeo-sook Gallery in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, from October to November last year. During the exhibition, RM, the leader of BTS, visited the gallery. RM purchased one of the moon jars and also visited Kwon Dae-seop’s home in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province. RM even posted a photo on social media holding the moon jar he bought at the time.

On the 23rd, Kwon Dae-seop, whom we met at Park Yeo-sook Gallery, said, "After talking with him, I felt that RM has a great interest in art and studies it a lot."

This time, Kwon Dae-seop is exhibiting bowls. At Park Yeo-sook Gallery, he is showcasing about 100 bowls that he has carefully crafted over many years until the 22nd of next month.

Kwon Dae-seop’s original major was painting. He majored in Western painting at Hongik University’s College of Fine Arts. He was captivated by the beauty of Joseon white porcelain moon jars in Insadong and embarked on the path of a ceramic artist. Since the late 1970s, he has been making moon jars and bowls for over 40 years.

His moon jar was auctioned for ?52,500 (about 77 million KRW) at Christie’s auction in London, UK, in 2018. Including fees, the amount nearly reached 100 million KRW.

The price range of the bowls on display this time is between 1 million and 3 million KRW. However, Kwon Dae-seop said that making bowls is more difficult than making moon jars. "Bowls must be made in one stroke, like when painting a picture. Corrections are impossible. You can tell an artist’s skill by looking at how they make bowls."

Kwon Daeseop, Ceramic Artist

Kwon Dae-seop expressed regret that, unlike in Japan where bowls are highly valued, bowls are neglected in Korea. He pointed out, "Young ceramic artists are only interested in teacups."

Japanese people enjoy the tea ceremony (chado). They call Korean bowls "chawan" (茶碗) and hold them in high regard. Kwon Dae-seop said, "There are many people in Japan who say their lifelong dream is to own one good bowl."

Japanese bowls were greatly influenced by Joseon. During the Imjin War, Japanese forces kidnapped Joseon potters and looted Joseon white porcelain, bowls, and tea cups. Sen no Rikyu, Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s tea master, was fascinated by the simple and natural beauty of Joseon bowls. He also perfected the unique Japanese tea culture called wabi-cha (侘び茶). The Imjin War is sometimes called the "ceramics war."

Kwon Dae-seop said that the bowls our ancestors used casually in daily life were taken to Japan and are now highly valued there, and that we should revive the unique culture by using bowls more frequently in our daily lives today. He said, "Bowls need to be used a lot in everyday life. Then, people will be able to feel why bowls are so good."