“Translated Vase” (2018), ceramic shards, epoxy, and 24K gold leaf, 102 × 77 × 77 centimeters. All images by Yang Ian, courtesy of Massimo De Carlo, shared with permission
Seoul-based artist () fuses Korean and Japanese craft traditions in her elegant, gilded sculptures. Blending ornately patterned vessels with deities and animals, the delicate assemblages meld shards of discarded ceramic into new forms with bulbous sides, halved figures, and drips of metallic epoxy. Utilizing fragments from previous works references the Korean tradition of discarding porcelain with small irregularities, while the visibly repaired crevices draw on techniques, the Japanese art of highlighting the beauty of broken vessels with thick, gold mendings.
Part of Yee’s ongoing Translated Vase series that has amassed hundreds of works since it began in 2002, the celadon pieces shown here are included in the artist’s solo exhibition titled I am not the only one but many, which is on view through November 21 at in London. In a statement about her latest additions, she describes her fractured sculptures:
To me, a piece of broken ceramic finds another piece, and they come to rely on one another. The usage of gold in the cracks between them is related to the Korean language, for which the pronunciation of the word ‘gold’ and ‘crack’ sounds the same as ‘Geum.’ Indeed, the shapes of the vases present entirely organic forms which exist out of an innate and sensorial élan.
For more of Yee’s exquisite assemblages, visit and .
“Translated vase” (2020), ceramic shards, epoxy, and 24K gold leaf, 70 × 54 × 55 centimeters
“Translated vase” (2020), ceramic shards, epoxy, and 24K gold leaf, 22 × 22 × 20 centimeters
“Translated Vase” (2018), ceramic shards, epoxy, and 24K gold leaf, 102 × 77 × 77 centimeters
“Translated Vase” (2020), ceramic shards, epoxy, and 24K gold leaf, 21 × 16.5 × 19 centimeters
Top left: “Translated Vase” (2020), ceramic shards, epoxy, and 24K gold leaf, 23 × 21 × 24 centimeters. Top right: “Translated Vase” (2020), ceramic shards, epoxy, and 24K gold leaf, 18 × 20 × 21 centimeters. Bottom left: “Translated Vase” (2020), ceramic shards, epoxy, and 24K gold leaf, 18 × 21 × 18 centimeters. Bottom right: “Translated Vase” (2020), ceramic shards, epoxy, and 24K gold leaf, 134 × 26 × 30 centimeters
“Translated vase” (2020), ceramic shards, epoxy, and 24K gold leaf, 41 × 27 × 30 centimeters
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