The Korean Biennale (GICB) is probably the most prestigious of all ceramic competitions.
I was fortunate to be invited for a second time to jury the 10th which took place in 2019. I had previously juried the 2nd in 2005 and have consulted to the organization over the years.
The sheer magnitude of its spacious exhibition halls, the quality of the programing during the months it is open, the invitations to world-famous artists to lecture and demonstrate, the scholarly documentation of the catalogs, the ability to attract millions of visitors who flock to support the artists, and the memorable awards ceremonies to honor the artists, are just a few of the reasons for my enthusiasm.
This Gyeonggi region in Korea, where the royal kilns produced ceramics for the royal household for five hundred years (during the Joseon period) was not well known to the international community, and to remedy this, the first biennale was created to bring exposure to the region. It is well worth visiting not only to see the museums but also to visit the newly developed Ye ceramic community of galleries and artists’ studios with living working environments.
The jurors were asked to write a brief critical perspective for one of the winners and this was my writing for the grand prize winner, Tip Toland:
“Tip Toland’s figurative sculptures are stunningly realistic and exquisite. She uses wax to express real human skin and applies natural or artificial human hair. Her works bring to mind photorealism and hyperrealism, through which the artist intends to communicate the psychology deep inside humans. These three pieces are self-portraits. The first piece, “Tantrum”, describes the artist’s sane response to an insane world. The second piece, “Beauty Parlor”, is about parents willingly being made the fools out of love for their children. The third piece, “Fool”, is a portrait of the artist herself as a contemporary fool. Tip Toland often creates sculptures of the elderly and children because they are too often weak and neglected. The feelings imparted by her sculptures make the viewer feel the same feelings in his or her life and elicit an emotional and empathetic response.”
