Spring in a Moon Jar

The Silva Gallery x Latela Curatorial is pleased to present Spring in a Moon Jar, a solo exhibition of eight paintings by artist Julia Chon. The exhibition will be on view at The Silva DC at 1630 Columbia Rd NW, Washington, DC 20009 from March 4 through June 30, 2024. A public reception will be held for the artist on Thursday, March 28th from 6-8 pm.

Inspired by the limited spaces in which many were required to exist during the pandemic, Spring in a Moon Jar explores what it means to find peace in solitude. Through a combination of intimate portraiture and still life artworks, Chon reminds viewers how surrender to isolation can be restorative and that nature is everywhere.

Women are depicted engaging in acts of self-care while seated in front of painted folding screens. The folding screens, adorned with traditional Korean motifs of cranes and lotus, transform the confines of the scene contained within the edges of the canvas into an otherworldly environment, marrying the beauty of nature with the often-quiet struggle of isolation.

Still lifes of ‘cocoji’, Korean floral arrangements, are displayed in moon jars, encapsulating the charm of spring in a timeless vessel. The moon jar, in its simplicity, embodies the gentle and enduring qualities of womanhood, reflecting the calm strength of the portraits surrounding them.

One of the larger paintings on exhibit, At the Edge of the Lotus Pond, which depicts a woman washing her hair in a bin with a beautiful floral screen in the background, was created in 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic. Four years later, Chon reveals a series of artworks representing our collective experience with isolation, as well as an ode to the season of Spring which symbolizes awakening, growth and blossoming.

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Spring in a Moon Jar by Julia Chon is on display at The Silva Gallery x Latela Curatorial March 4 – June 30, 2024. Located at The Silva DC: 1630 Columbia Rd NW, Washington, DC 20009. Open Mon-Sat 10am-5pm and Sun noon-5pm. A public reception will be held for the artist on Thursday, March 28th from 6-8pm.