Saturday University Lecture Series: Color in Asian Art - Material and Meaning

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Dip into dimensions of color and pigment in Asian art with eight in depth talks. From legend and ritual, to trade and cultural exchange, to technical innovation and changing artistic practices—the use of bold colors has been considered alternatively excessive, precious, or brilliant throughout history. What rare pigments and closely guarded techniques produced some artworks, and what artistic innovations and social changes produced others? Join us to enjoy a spectrum of talks on colors produced from the earth, sea, fire, plants, and insects.

Shades of Green and White
Soyoung Lee, Harvard University

Celadon, or green-glazed ceramics, transformed how the elites appreciated and used clay vessels in Medieval Korea. This lecture explores Korean celadons’ technical and visual innovations, and their connections to Chinese counterparts and later Korean wares. She considers how the appeal of their color, ranging from blue-toned to olive and gray-toned greens, led to their place in history and in modern times.

About the Presenter

Soyoung Lee joined the Harvard Art Museums as the Landon and Lavinia Clay Chief Curator in 2018. Her areas of expertise and research interests include Korean and Japanese ceramics from 1400 to 1700 and issues of cross-cultural exchange in East Asia. Before arriving at the museums, Lee served for 15 years as curator of Korean art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where she organized critically acclaimed international loan exhibitions.

OTHER LECTURES IN THIS SERIES

OCT 3

Dragon's Blood and the Blood of Dragons

OCT 10

The Colors of Space and Time

OCT 17

Shades of Green and White

OCT 24

Pigments and Artistic Interventions

OCT 31

Indigo in Two 15th-century Chinese Paintings

NOV 7

Korean Culture in Five Colors

NOV 14

Colors of the Earth, Colors of the Sky

NOV 21

Turquoise, The Sky Blue Stone

QUESTIONS? CONTACT US

gardnercenter@seattleartmuseum.org