The allure of Blue (brochure)

For his second show at Ivorypress, The Allure of Blue, Bohnchang Koo presents a selection of his latest work series, delicate photographs of porcelain pieces from the Joseon Dynasty.

Fourteen years ago, captivated by its elegant yet simple charm, Koo began studying and working on traditional Korean white porcelain ceramics through photography. The artist visited more than sixteen museums inside and outside Korea to get a closer look at their respective collections of ceramicware. One of those trips was to a major exhibition entitled In Blue and White: Porcelains of the Joseon Dynasty, held at the National Museum of Korea in 2014. That visit made him appreciate the tremendous variety of blue-and-white porcelain produced in the Joseon Dynasty and the bringing together of so many ceramic pieces that displayed such magnificent and pure colours.

This publication comprises the selection of works included in the exhibition at Ivorypress, which highlights the simplistic beauty of Korea’s cultural heritage and reveals the lifestyle of that time and culture.

Bohnchang Koo (Seoul, 1953) currently lives and works in Seoul, Korea. His work has been shown individually on more than forty occasions and is included in several public collections such as the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco; the Museum of Modern Art in San Francisco; the Museum of Fine Art, Houston; and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Korea. He was the artistic director of the Daegu Photo Biennale in South Korea, one of the curators collaborating with Photoquai Paris in 2013, and a nominator of the Discovery Award 2014 at Les Rencontres d’Arles. He currently teaches at Kyungil University in Korea.