Golden Veins
The Art of Kintsugi and Transformation
Group Show at Alison Bradley Project
Chelsea, New York
“The diverse artworks in this exhibition explore the profound beauty of repair and resilience, inspired by the Japanese art of kintsugi. This time-honored practice mends broken pottery using natural materials like rice, flour, stone powder, and wood powder. Once repaired, metal powders such as gold, silver, or platinum are applied to the seams, transforming fractures into exquisite golden veins. The philosophy of kintsugi teaches us to honor imperfections, valuing the history and scars that shape us.
At its heart, this exhibition celebrates the universal experience of brokenness and renewal. Like kintsugi pottery, there exists beauty and strength in our scars, whether personal or collective. The concept resonates deeply with the Jewish tradition of tikkun olam—repairing the world—and the natural formation of keloids, scars that become stronger than the original skin, symbolizing transformation through healing.
Featured artists include Louise Bourgeois, Mark Bradford, Theaster Gates, Naoko Fukumaru, Yuko Gunji, Yoona Hur, Tosh Matsumoto, Miwa Neishi, Yoko Ono, Jorge Otero-Pailos, Sami Qaq, Toonoo Sharky, Rachel Sussman, Motohiro Takeda, Bouke de Vries, Edmund de Waal, and Enatnesh Yallow.”
Curated by Deborah Goodman Davis
“In Night Drawing - 4 (moonjar), Hur borrows her form directly from Korean ceramic tradition. The Moon Jar, a vessel dating back to the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) and first appearing in the late 17th century, is often thought to attempt perfection in their symmetrical rounded form, smooth surface treatment and milky white glazes. However, their imperfections stand in stark contrast to these qualities, and are exactly what these vessels have come to be celebrated for.
Hur builds upon this, choosing a dark stoneware that breaks from the traditional white moon jar and further highlights the undulations in tone and texture that are inherent to the ceramic process. By adopting the Kintsugi technique, as well, she aestheticizes imperfection. It becomes like a drawing rooted in abstract minimalism, upending another ceramic tradition of figurative or purely decorative surface ornamentation. “
Night Garden – 1, 2024
Taking inspiration from nature, Night Garden - 1 deviates from traditional form and moves into pure abstraction. Working in a similar material language as Night Drawing - 4 (moonjar), Hur leaves the vessel behind in favor of a totem-like structure. She highlights the variations in surface treatment with a similarly organic form nearly sacred in both its simplicity and mystique. Night Garden - 1 feels at once ancient and contemporary, questioning function while begging reverence in its tender construction. Evading any particular signifier, the piece straddles individuality and universality as a sculpture.
Moonflower - 6 synthesizes the concepts introduced in both Night Drawing - 4 (moonjar) and Night Garden - 1. Hur allows for both sculptural and functional form to coexist in this piece. The irregularities of the floral form are juxtaposed against a more traditional rounded vessel, unified by the texture and movement of the surface. In this piece, the Kintsugi is more subtle, nearly blending into the glazework surrounding it. This mirrors the way Kintsugi fits neatly into Hur’s own conceptual groundwork where imperfection is not avoided, but used as a formal device in its own right.