Buncheong

Buncheong emerged in 15th-century Korea as celadon traditions loosened their grip. Regional potters, freed from court standards, began to play. They brushed white slip loosely over dark clay, scratched fish and birds with abandon, stamped patterns with cheerful repetition. The results were whimsical, earthy, sophisticated, and utterly Korean. When Japan invaded Korea in the 1590s, hundreds of Korean potters were taken to Japan, where buncheong aesthetics transformed Japanese tea ceremony ware. In Korea, the tradition vanished, replaced by white porcelain. It wasn't until the 20th century that Korean artists rediscovered buncheong—and found in its gestural freedom something that felt startlingly like abstract expressionism.