Heart Sutra

Description

This elaborate piece was inspired by buncheong ware, the blue-grayish stoneware with white-slip decoration made during the early Joseon dynasty (1392–1910). Recently, some artists have revisited buncheong to revive and reinterpret this traditional form and technique in a modern way. In creating this work, Yoon Kwang-cho abandoned a potter’s wheel and instead built the form by hand to create an unusual sculptural form. The Heart Sutra, a short Buddhist text, is inscribed on the surface of this work, as a manifestation of the artist’s meditation. The act of writing out Buddhist texts is itself a meditative act, as it requires utmost concentration and dedication.

Provenance

Yoon Kwang-cho, 2007; consigned to Gana Foundation for Arts and Culture, Sept. 1, 2017; sold through Gana Art Gallery to the Art Institute of Chicago, 2018.

Heart Sutra

Kwang-cho Yoon

2007

Accession Number

244180

Medium

Stoneware with white slip

Dimensions

55 × 57 × 35 cm (21 11/16 × 22 7/16 × 13 3/4 in.)

Classification

ceramics

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Asian Art Council Acquisition Fund