HUH SANGWOOK
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Biography 



Huh Sangwook허상욱 is a ceramic artist based in Seoul, South Korea. He mainly practises Buncheong, a unique type of Korean ceramics, and is known for the animated motifs and the bakji sgraffito technique that has been central to his work.
The distinctive style of Huh’s Buncheong has been  favored by ceramic amateurs both domestically and internationally. His work has been presented in numerous exhibitions and  biennales including World Ceramic Biennale Korea and Cheongju Craft Biennale and is housed by Victoria & Albert Museum, National Ethnographic Museum in Warsaw, Musée Ariana in Geneva, Gyeonggi Ceramic Museum among others. 


What is Buncheong ?

Buncheong is a type of Korean ceramics which had been invented in the transition period from Goryeo dynasty to Joseon dynasty. The word ‘Buncheong’ is short for bunjang-hoecheong*, which is the Korean word for ‘decorated celadon’. Art historian Ko Yuseop** coined this term referring to the type of Korean ceramics characterized by grayish-green color on the body with white-clay slip overlay. Various decorations of applying w hite slip make buncheong style unique. Buncheong is basically a continuation of celadon considering the type of clay and glaze used, but the clay body for Buncheong has a lower iron content than celadon clay, making Buncheong ware brighter in color. Variations of decorating methods and different content of clay from region to region contribute to the diversity of Buncheong. READ MORE >>


*Bunjang means to decorate and hoecheong means grayish celadon. Each word’s meanings are as follows : bun 紛-powder, face powder(cosmetics), pigment, coloring, to apply make-up, white; jang -to decorate, to apply make-up, to dress up, to disguise; hoe - ash, lime, dust, grey(color), grayish; cheong - blue, green. 
** Ko Yuseop (1905-1944), also known by his pen name Uhyeon, was the first Korean to establish a modern academic framework for Korean art and aesthetics during the Japanese colonial occupation.


Qu’est ce que le Buncheong ?
© HUHSANGWOOK