Moon jar exhibition opens at Denver Art Museum

Joseon, contemporary moon jars on show through June 8

An exhibition view of “Lunar Phases: Korean Moon Jars” at the Denver Art Museum, Colorado (National Museum of Korea)

An exhibition of Korean moon jars is running at the Denver Art Museum through June 8, in collaboration with the National Museum of Korea.

“Lunar Phases: Korean Moon Jars” features 21 objects including moon jars dating back to 18th century Joseon, as well as five paintings, two photographs, a video and an installation work. Also on show is an interactive mindfulness zone with a touchable moon jar from master ceramicist Lee Dong-sik.

The highlight of the show is an installation featuring six Joseon-era (1392-1910) moon jars and six moon jars by contemporary artists that, each representing a month of the lunar calendar, demonstrate the continuity of time, according to the US museum.

The show explores how the moon jar “has evolved into a national artistic icon of Korea and how contemporary artists, both within and beyond Korea, reflect on the moon jar,” the Denver Art Museum said, describing the ceramic as “elegantly white.”

The exhibition is curated by Kim Hyon-jeong; Joseph de Heer, curator of Arts of Asia at the Denver Art Museum; and Park Ji-Young, National Museum of Korea fellow of Korean art at the Denver Art Museum.

“The simplicity of their shapes, as well as the ceramic’s unique hue in each of them, have been esteemed and respected in Korea and across the world,” the museum said.

The latest exhibition is a second show of Korean ceramics at the museum, following “Perfectly Imperfect: Korean Buncheong Ceramics,” co-organized with the National Museum of Korea, which opened in Dec. 3, 2023 and runs through Dec. 7, 2025.

The NMK began supporting the Denver Art Museum’s Korea exhibitions in 2023.

The US museum’s recent purchase of four works by Korean contemporary artists Youngjune P. Lew and Steven Young Lee testify to its commitment to focusing on Korean art, a NMK official said, adding the museum’s efforts to advance Korean artworks overseas are making strides.

“Expanding exchange and outreach is the first of our priorities and we plan to use our existing museum network to promote the diversity of Korean culture,” said Kim Jae-hong, the NMK director general.