Currents of Light: the Strands and Spectrum of Ash Glazes
Materiality has become the focus of contemporary art and cultural studies while the boundary between craftsmen and artists is diminishing. Consequently, many artists and professionals in the domain of art devote themselves to ceramics, which require advanced technical expertise and possess a wealth of cultural implications. Museums, on the other hand, examine the characteristics of the materials and their cultural significance to expand art history as a field and explore new avenues. Once more, they become assets that enable the creator of the message or object to develop the materials and elaborate the content.
This exhibition is based on Ash Glazes: The Stories and Applications published by our museum. It covers the cultural evolution and scientific characteristics of these specific materials. It showcases their artistic and expressive forms. It gathers examples from pottery production sites from various eras, with works from the same styles being grouped together. This provides a chance to satisfy intellectual curiosity, but the juxtaposition of works from different eras and styles is also an opportunity for the aesthetic appreciation of these pieces.
Ashes transform into glassy ash glazes on ceramics. The discovery of naturally fallen ashes, resource collection and stylistic innovation are part of millennia of the history of East Asian civilization. This expression of the material is now studied and explored. It also has a socio-psychological aspect, having recently been used as a way of social participation. This exhibition hopes to explore the links between material, properties and the creative processes of ash glazes. It also intends to uncover possibilities for the expressiveness and significance of ash glazes.