Yeesookyung's Artworks reimagine Chinese and East Asian contemporary beauty and culture
- Charmaine Swasey
- Jul 4
- 2 min read
Yeesookyung, a Korean visual artist, is one of several Asian artists showcased in the Met Museum's new contemporary Asian porcelain art exhibition series, "Monstrous Beauty: A Feminist Revision of Chinoiserie." This exhibition offers a feminist viewpoint on the rise of Chinoiserie, an ornate style from China and East Asia known for its complex motifs and exotic garden designs on porcelain, which have embellished many rooms across Europe and later in America.
In addition, Yeesookyung reflects the traditional power of Chinese fine craftsmanship in her sculpture collection of translated vases she entitled, “Nine Dragons in Wonderland.” In her perspective, Yeesookyung compares the idea that broken cups and bowls are scarcely given a second glance to women in Asian culture once they have lost their dignity. With this in mind, Yee renewed these ceramic shards into monstrous, captivating structures to artfully tie porcelain to a woman’s body. What’s more, Yee’s delivery of restoring these remains highlights instead of concealing the imperfections and scars to evoke “a life fully lived.” This may also provide the message of balance in brokenness in which lies the possibility for an individual’s flaws and suffering, no matter how vast, to be transformed into stability and beauty, hence the exhibition’s theme, “monstrous beauty.”
Furthermore, from an aerial view, one may see bulging, glossy pieces the colors of white with blue specks, gold, and brown stacked atop one another alike the chemical bonds of molecules. Whereas up close, Yeesookyung’s sculpture appears massive, or monstrous according to the exhibition description, where chipped tea cups and curvy shards of blue chinoiserie on white porcelain are easily noted, This, clashed with curvy shards of dark brown ceramic, and 24k melted gold meandering and overlapping each shard, presents an alluring overflowing effect.
Yeesookyung’s “Nine Dragons In Wonderland” (2017), is made of ceramic shards, stainless steel, aluminum, epoxy, 24k gold leaf, and armature. Furthermore, the dimensions of this object include a height of 16 ft., 1 11/16 in., is 2645.5 lb., with a width of 78 ¾ x 74 13/16 in. (200 x 190 cm).
