A prolific ceramic artist with an established career, Kang-hyo Lee here successfully combines two important Korean pottery traditions: onggi and buncheong.

The bowl’s coarse clay and coil-built body reference onggi wares, believed to have been produced since ancient times. Onggi are primarily functional items, used as tableware and for food storage.

In the decoration Lee looks to another, later time period. Like the buncheong potters of the Joseon dynasty (1392–1910), he uses white slip (liquid clay) to embellish the vessel with exuberant designs. He often splashes or rubs the slip to make quick finger drawings, as seen in this work.