Gallery Korea is pleased to announce its newest
exhibition, "Hues of a Millennium: A Glimpse
of Natural Dyeing in Korea," featuring the
works of Ok Ja Choi. Ms. Choi is a recognized expert
in natural dyeing in South Korea, where she founded
and oversees the Institute of Natural Dyeing in
Andong. "Hues of a Millennium" will
focus on the multihued quilts and finely shaded
fabrics Ms. Choi produces at her Institute of Natural
Dyeing. Delicacy of texture and shading define these
handmade artifacts of Korean tradition. The many
different colors shown in the exhibit share a certain
subtlety of shade, which perhaps can be attributed
to their origin in nature. Never ostentatious or
gauche, each color seems modestly, limpidly reserved;
the contrasting colors, sometimes surprisingly combined,
featured in the quilts appear completely incapable
of clashing with each other, but seem to coexist
in an elegantly refined balance of mutual complementarity.
The delicately tinted fabrics and multicolored quilts
are more than simply exquisite works of art, however;
they are a link to Korea's ancient past and thousand-year-old
tradition of natural dyeing.
The tradition of natural dyeing predates even the
formal unification of Korea itself. From as far
back as the third century, Chinese history books
tell of the intricate beauty of clothes dyed in
the Korean fashion, giving an account of golden
fabric that was gorgeously detailed with colors
of red, purple, and blue. During the Three Kingdom
Period (53 CE - 668 CE), the wearing of magnificently
colored clothing was synonymous with the aristocracy.
Dyeing became more and more regulated by the government,
especially in the Baekje and Silla kingdoms. In
the Baekje Kingdom (18 BCE - 660 CE), for instance,
the wearing of purple was a right reserved exclusively
for kings and high officials. In the Silla Kingdom
(57 BCE - 935 CE), which eventually unified the
southern half of Korea, entire government agencies
were set up to regulate the production of particular
colors.
Later dynasties saw the development of the geumbak
process, in which gold powder and foil were fixed
onto fabric. Also, the traditional Korean color
system, or o-bang-saek, gradually came to be adopted.
This five-color system was made up of red, made
from safflowers; yellow, from gardenias; blue, from
indigo; white, from ash water; and black, from one
of a number of items including maple trees and pomegranate
fruits.
Indigo dyeing, one of the dyeing techniques that
will be featured in "Hues of a Millennium,"
gained a certain mystique that has never worn off.
Indigo dyeing, called jjok (?) in Korean, originated
in India and traveled to Korea through China. This
color, the most desirable and highly prized of all,
became legendary for the laborious, lengthy process
and enormous amount of expertise required to produce
it.
Aside from the aesthetic appeal of natural dyes,
they are also noncarcinogenic and more environmentally
friendly than chemical dyes. Another benefit of
natural dyeing is that the properties of the dye
plant are passed into the dyed fabric. For instance,
since the indigo plant has a special component that
repels moths, moths also stay away from all jjok-dyed
fabric.
An opening reception for the exhibit will be held
Wednesday, September 10, from 6 - 8 pm. As part
of the reception, Ms. Choi will give a special workshop
and demonstration showing some of the techniques
of Korean natural dyeing.
Gallery Korea is located on the sixth floor of 460
Park Avenue, on the corner of Park Avenue and 57th
Street. The exhibit will be on display from September
10 until October 10. Regular gallery hours are from
10 am to 7 pm weekdays and from 10 am to 4 pm on
Saturdays. The gallery will close early, at 5 pm,
on Thursday, September 25.
For more information about "Hues of a Millennium"
or natural dyeing in general, please contact Rachel
Van Kirk, public relations consultant, at (212)
759-9550 or at rachel@koreanculture.org. Gallery
Korea Curator Eunhee Yang is available at (212)
759-9550 or via email at nyarts@koreanculture.org.
