Inner beauty of the green and white celadon porcelain

Jiang Shaoqing’s Inner Beauty of the Green and White Celadon Porcelain is white porcelain with celadon glaze. The artist highlights the beautiful effects of shades of celadon by varying the thickness of the glaze applied to the work. The white color revealed through careful control of the glaze maximizes its effects. He accentuates the contrast between the bright and clear color of the celadon glaze itself and the depth of celadon glaze thickly applied on the surface. To bring out this effect, he studied celadon glaze, the clarity and color of which is not affected by extreme temperatures and that does not melt and run at high temperatures. He completed the pieces by giving them a surface treatment, which leaves an even and special texture. “I have been working on a series of pieces that focus on the theme of Inner Beauty of the Green and White Celadon Porcelain over the past few years, as I could not give up any one of the allures of Goryeo celadon or Joseon and Ming Dynasty white porcelain. In other words, the deep yet brilliant glaze of the inlaid celadon of the Goryeo Dynasty, in which the soaring cranes and clouds shine brightly; the mellow depth of the heavy glaze that resembles Song Dynasty jade; and the clarity and softness of Joseon and Ming Dynasty white porcelain that is as bright as the white clouds and soft as human skin—I could not give up any of these. “A profound love for celadon glaze that contains iron applied to white porcelain is commonly found throughout the history of East Asian ceramics. I was fascinated by the historical examples of the clear celadon glaze applied onto the bright base of the white porcelain, which led to my endeavors to create depth on the surface by applying various colors of celadon glaze. “I hope that the efforts that I have made on the surfaces and the glaze applied to them, and the decorative effects of the architectural landscape, could be an accomplishment, no matter how small, of modernizing the spirit and the work of our ancestors from the history of the East Asian ceramics that I have analyzed.”