Porcelain Vessels Are Portals Through Time and Space in Paintings by Sun Hwa Kim — Colossal


In the late 17th century, during Korea’s Joseon Dynasty, a particularly rotund, plain white porcelain vessel rose to popularity. Nicknamed “moon jars” for their milky glaze and spherical form, the earliest examples were finished in wood-fired kilns to add character to their minimalist surfaces. Treasured and reproduced by skilled artisans throughout the centuries, the classic style continues to influence contemporary artisans.

For Brooklyn-based artist Sung Hwa Kim, the traditional Korean jar serves as a starting point for an ongoing series of paintings invoking decorative vessels as metaphorical containers for the past. In the context of the still-life, he conjures what he refers to as “visual haikus,” poetic evocations of the passing of time, like changing seasons and the transition from day into night.

a vertical acrylic painting featuring a vase on a table near a window, and the vase contains a landscape painted by Vincent van Gogh, almost as if it is a portal
“Still Life with Jar, Ashtray, and Vincent van Gogh Painting” (2024), acrylic and flashe on canvas, 72 x 60 inches

In Kim’s current solo exhibition, Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring at Harper’s, the artist emphasizes quiet, everyday moments in domestic settings that often overlook brick buildings or the iconic Brooklyn Bridge. Some of his compositions are vibrantly monochrome, setting the scene for a vase on top of a table, containing a scene from a historic painting or faraway landscape.

Kim often incorporates spectral, glowing insects (previously) and situates the vessels on sills or near windows. Vases contain landscapes, trees, and animals, while decor on the walls reference works by famous modernists like Vincent van Gogh, René Magritte, and Sanyu.

Inside the pots, the flora appears ghost-like or faded, rendered in fuzzy gray marks, and objects left nearby, like a pencil and notebook or a drinking glass, suggest that someone was recently present but an unspecified time has passed since they left. The jars serve as portals to other times and places just as the windows provide views of another world. “Ultimately, Kim masterfully inhabits the role of guide, making perceptible the delicate threshold between what fades and what endures,” says a gallery statement.

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring continues in New York through April 5. See more on the artist’s website and Instagram.

a vertical acrylic painting predominantly in shades of red and orange, featuring a vase on a table near a window overlooking a city, and the vase contains a landscape, almost as if it is a portal
“Still Life with Jar, Fruits, and Incense Burner” (2025), acrylic and flashe on canvas, 72 x 60 inches
a vertical acrylic painting predominantly in shades of brown and gray, featuring a vase on a table near a window overlooking the Brooklyn Bridge, and the vase contains a landscape, almost as if it is a portal
“Still Life with Jar and Round Glass Top Table” (2025), acrylic and flashe on canvas, 50 x 40 inches
a vertical acrylic painting predominantly in shades of blue, featuring a vase on a table near a window overlooking a city at night, and the vase contains a landscape with two birds, almost as if it is a portal
“Still Life with Jar, Moon Lamp, and René Magritte Postcard” (2024), acrylic and flashe on canvas, 72 x 60 inches
a vertical acrylic painting predominantly in shades of pink and gray, featuring a vase on a table near a window overlooking a city, and the vase contains a landscape, almost as if it is a portal
“Still Life with Jar, Pencil, and Notebook” (2025), acrylic and flashe on canvas, 60 x 48 inches
a vertical acrylic painting predominantly in shades of green, featuring a vase on a table near a window overlooking a city, and the vase contains a landscape, almost as if it is a portal
“Still Life with Jar” (2024), acrylic and flashe on canvas, 50 x 40 inches
a vertical acrylic painting predominantly in shades of red, featuring a vase on a table near a window overlooking a city, and the vase contains a green-and-yellow painting by Sanyu
“Still Life with Jar and Sanyu Painting” (2025), acrylic and flashe on canvas, 60 x 48 inches
a vertical acrylic painting predominantly in shades of green and yellow, featuring a vase on a table near a window overlooking a city, and the vase contains a landscape with emphasis on a tree, almost as if it is a portal
“Still Life with Jars” (2025), acrylic and flashe on canvas, 60 x 48 inches



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