Edmund de Waal

Making

rain diary
Gana Art, Seoul
29 August–4 October 2026

rain diary extends de Waal's long-standing preoccupation with the history and memory held in objects, taking in home and sanctuary, people, the migration of objects, and poetry. The title work, rain diary, comprises 118 celadon-glazed vessels together with 14 small porcelain boxes holding fragments of porcelain and silver. Arranged on long, narrow shelves stacked in tiers within a white vitrine, vessels in white and blue-grey vary in size and form, each finding its own rhythm. The exhibition also features works in black porcelain, including a dramatic new series titled Coptic Light, where black marble from Kilkenny in Ireland is set alongside pieces of silver, and precious beyond measure, where Wedgwood black basalt shards are arranged next to shards of Song Dynasty (960–1279) porcelain. The latter takes its title from the writings of the Joseon literatus Yi Ha-gon (1677–1724) on his 1709 visit to the Bunwon kilns, suggesting something of de Waal's long-held interest in Korea.

For de Waal, who has spoken of migration, return, and loss, this exhibition is itself a homecoming to Korea. He recalls the postcard of a white Korean tea bowl that hung above the potter's wheel in his very first studio. Its whiteness was plural, he says — not a single colour but one hue turning into another — and to come near it he had to reach for poetry. "My making and my writing is one thing," as he puts it. "Pots turn into words, and words turn into pots." Language, then, is not a way of describing porcelain but a form of it: porcelain is his language of migration and return. That postcard was the beginning of a long journey through the memory and history of porcelain, and de Waal now returns to Korea, bringing porcelain and poetry with him. The exhibition is an invitation to walk his journey with him, and to reflect together on the migrations and returns he has passed through.

rain diary
Gana Art, Seoul
29 August–4 October 2026

rain diary extends de Waal's long-standing preoccupation with the history and memory held in objects, taking in home and sanctuary, people, the migration of objects, and poetry. The title work, rain diary, comprises 118 celadon-glazed vessels together with 14 small porcelain boxes holding fragments of porcelain and silver. Arranged on long, narrow shelves stacked in tiers within a white vitrine, vessels in white and blue-grey vary in size and form, each finding its own rhythm. The exhibition also features works in black porcelain, including a dramatic new series titled Coptic Light, where black marble from Kilkenny in Ireland is set alongside pieces of silver, and precious beyond measure, where Wedgwood black basalt shards are arranged next to shards of Song Dynasty (960–1279) porcelain. The latter takes its title from the writings of the Joseon literatus Yi Ha-gon (1677–1724) on his 1709 visit to the Bunwon kilns, suggesting something of de Waal's long-held interest in Korea.

For de Waal, who has spoken of migration, return, and loss, this exhibition is itself a homecoming to Korea. He recalls the postcard of a white Korean tea bowl that hung above the potter's wheel in his very first studio. Its whiteness was plural, he says — not a single colour but one hue turning into another — and to come near it he had to reach for poetry. "My making and my writing is one thing," as he puts it. "Pots turn into words, and words turn into pots." Language, then, is not a way of describing porcelain but a form of it: porcelain is his language of migration and return. That postcard was the beginning of a long journey through the memory and history of porcelain, and de Waal now returns to Korea, bringing porcelain and poetry with him. The exhibition is an invitation to walk his journey with him, and to reflect together on the migrations and returns he has passed through.

rain diary
Gana Art, Seoul
29 August–4 October 2026

rain diary extends de Waal's long-standing preoccupation with the history and memory held in objects, taking in home and sanctuary, people, the migration of objects, and poetry. The title work, rain diary, comprises 118 celadon-glazed vessels together with 14 small porcelain boxes holding fragments of porcelain and silver. Arranged on long, narrow shelves stacked in tiers within a white vitrine, vessels in white and blue-grey vary in size and form, each finding its own rhythm. The exhibition also features works in black porcelain, including a dramatic new series titled Coptic Light, where black marble from Kilkenny in Ireland is set alongside pieces of silver, and precious beyond measure, where Wedgwood black basalt shards are arranged next to shards of Song Dynasty (960–1279) porcelain. The latter takes its title from the writings of the Joseon literatus Yi Ha-gon (1677–1724) on his 1709 visit to the Bunwon kilns, suggesting something of de Waal's long-held interest in Korea.

For de Waal, who has spoken of migration, return, and loss, this exhibition is itself a homecoming to Korea. He recalls the postcard of a white Korean tea bowl that hung above the potter's wheel in his very first studio. Its whiteness was plural, he says — not a single colour but one hue turning into another — and to come near it he had to reach for poetry. "My making and my writing is one thing," as he puts it. "Pots turn into words, and words turn into pots." Language, then, is not a way of describing porcelain but a form of it: porcelain is his language of migration and return. That postcard was the beginning of a long journey through the memory and history of porcelain, and de Waal now returns to Korea, bringing porcelain and poetry with him. The exhibition is an invitation to walk his journey with him, and to reflect together on the migrations and returns he has passed through.

rain diary
Gana Art, Seoul
29 August–4 October 2026

rain diary extends de Waal's long-standing preoccupation with the history and memory held in objects, taking in home and sanctuary, people, the migration of objects, and poetry. The title work, rain diary, comprises 118 celadon-glazed vessels together with 14 small porcelain boxes holding fragments of porcelain and silver. Arranged on long, narrow shelves stacked in tiers within a white vitrine, vessels in white and blue-grey vary in size and form, each finding its own rhythm. The exhibition also features works in black porcelain, including a dramatic new series titled Coptic Light, where black marble from Kilkenny in Ireland is set alongside pieces of silver, and precious beyond measure, where Wedgwood black basalt shards are arranged next to shards of Song Dynasty (960–1279) porcelain. The latter takes its title from the writings of the Joseon literatus Yi Ha-gon (1677–1724) on his 1709 visit to the Bunwon kilns, suggesting something of de Waal's long-held interest in Korea.

For de Waal, who has spoken of migration, return, and loss, this exhibition is itself a homecoming to Korea. He recalls the postcard of a white Korean tea bowl that hung above the potter's wheel in his very first studio. Its whiteness was plural, he says — not a single colour but one hue turning into another — and to come near it he had to reach for poetry. "My making and my writing is one thing," as he puts it. "Pots turn into words, and words turn into pots." Language, then, is not a way of describing porcelain but a form of it: porcelain is his language of migration and return. That postcard was the beginning of a long journey through the memory and history of porcelain, and de Waal now returns to Korea, bringing porcelain and poetry with him. The exhibition is an invitation to walk his journey with him, and to reflect together on the migrations and returns he has passed through.

rain diary
Gana Art, Seoul
29 August–4 October 2026

rain diary extends de Waal's long-standing preoccupation with the history and memory held in objects, taking in home and sanctuary, people, the migration of objects, and poetry. The title work, rain diary, comprises 118 celadon-glazed vessels together with 14 small porcelain boxes holding fragments of porcelain and silver. Arranged on long, narrow shelves stacked in tiers within a white vitrine, vessels in white and blue-grey vary in size and form, each finding its own rhythm. The exhibition also features works in black porcelain, including a dramatic new series titled Coptic Light, where black marble from Kilkenny in Ireland is set alongside pieces of silver, and precious beyond measure, where Wedgwood black basalt shards are arranged next to shards of Song Dynasty (960–1279) porcelain. The latter takes its title from the writings of the Joseon literatus Yi Ha-gon (1677–1724) on his 1709 visit to the Bunwon kilns, suggesting something of de Waal's long-held interest in Korea.

For de Waal, who has spoken of migration, return, and loss, this exhibition is itself a homecoming to Korea. He recalls the postcard of a white Korean tea bowl that hung above the potter's wheel in his very first studio. Its whiteness was plural, he says — not a single colour but one hue turning into another — and to come near it he had to reach for poetry. "My making and my writing is one thing," as he puts it. "Pots turn into words, and words turn into pots." Language, then, is not a way of describing porcelain but a form of it: porcelain is his language of migration and return. That postcard was the beginning of a long journey through the memory and history of porcelain, and de Waal now returns to Korea, bringing porcelain and poetry with him. The exhibition is an invitation to walk his journey with him, and to reflect together on the migrations and returns he has passed through.

rain diary
Gana Art, Seoul
29 August–4 October 2026

rain diary extends de Waal's long-standing preoccupation with the history and memory held in objects, taking in home and sanctuary, people, the migration of objects, and poetry. The title work, rain diary, comprises 118 celadon-glazed vessels together with 14 small porcelain boxes holding fragments of porcelain and silver. Arranged on long, narrow shelves stacked in tiers within a white vitrine, vessels in white and blue-grey vary in size and form, each finding its own rhythm. The exhibition also features works in black porcelain, including a dramatic new series titled Coptic Light, where black marble from Kilkenny in Ireland is set alongside pieces of silver, and precious beyond measure, where Wedgwood black basalt shards are arranged next to shards of Song Dynasty (960–1279) porcelain. The latter takes its title from the writings of the Joseon literatus Yi Ha-gon (1677–1724) on his 1709 visit to the Bunwon kilns, suggesting something of de Waal's long-held interest in Korea.

For de Waal, who has spoken of migration, return, and loss, this exhibition is itself a homecoming to Korea. He recalls the postcard of a white Korean tea bowl that hung above the potter's wheel in his very first studio. Its whiteness was plural, he says — not a single colour but one hue turning into another — and to come near it he had to reach for poetry. "My making and my writing is one thing," as he puts it. "Pots turn into words, and words turn into pots." Language, then, is not a way of describing porcelain but a form of it: porcelain is his language of migration and return. That postcard was the beginning of a long journey through the memory and history of porcelain, and de Waal now returns to Korea, bringing porcelain and poetry with him. The exhibition is an invitation to walk his journey with him, and to reflect together on the migrations and returns he has passed through.

rain diary
Gana Art, Seoul
29 August–4 October 2026

rain diary extends de Waal's long-standing preoccupation with the history and memory held in objects, taking in home and sanctuary, people, the migration of objects, and poetry. The title work, rain diary, comprises 118 celadon-glazed vessels together with 14 small porcelain boxes holding fragments of porcelain and silver. Arranged on long, narrow shelves stacked in tiers within a white vitrine, vessels in white and blue-grey vary in size and form, each finding its own rhythm. The exhibition also features works in black porcelain, including a dramatic new series titled Coptic Light, where black marble from Kilkenny in Ireland is set alongside pieces of silver, and precious beyond measure, where Wedgwood black basalt shards are arranged next to shards of Song Dynasty (960–1279) porcelain. The latter takes its title from the writings of the Joseon literatus Yi Ha-gon (1677–1724) on his 1709 visit to the Bunwon kilns, suggesting something of de Waal's long-held interest in Korea.

For de Waal, who has spoken of migration, return, and loss, this exhibition is itself a homecoming to Korea. He recalls the postcard of a white Korean tea bowl that hung above the potter's wheel in his very first studio. Its whiteness was plural, he says — not a single colour but one hue turning into another — and to come near it he had to reach for poetry. "My making and my writing is one thing," as he puts it. "Pots turn into words, and words turn into pots." Language, then, is not a way of describing porcelain but a form of it: porcelain is his language of migration and return. That postcard was the beginning of a long journey through the memory and history of porcelain, and de Waal now returns to Korea, bringing porcelain and poetry with him. The exhibition is an invitation to walk his journey with him, and to reflect together on the migrations and returns he has passed through.

rain diary
Gana Art, Seoul
29 August–4 October 2026

rain diary extends de Waal's long-standing preoccupation with the history and memory held in objects, taking in home and sanctuary, people, the migration of objects, and poetry. The title work, rain diary, comprises 118 celadon-glazed vessels together with 14 small porcelain boxes holding fragments of porcelain and silver. Arranged on long, narrow shelves stacked in tiers within a white vitrine, vessels in white and blue-grey vary in size and form, each finding its own rhythm. The exhibition also features works in black porcelain, including a dramatic new series titled Coptic Light, where black marble from Kilkenny in Ireland is set alongside pieces of silver, and precious beyond measure, where Wedgwood black basalt shards are arranged next to shards of Song Dynasty (960–1279) porcelain. The latter takes its title from the writings of the Joseon literatus Yi Ha-gon (1677–1724) on his 1709 visit to the Bunwon kilns, suggesting something of de Waal's long-held interest in Korea.

For de Waal, who has spoken of migration, return, and loss, this exhibition is itself a homecoming to Korea. He recalls the postcard of a white Korean tea bowl that hung above the potter's wheel in his very first studio. Its whiteness was plural, he says — not a single colour but one hue turning into another — and to come near it he had to reach for poetry. "My making and my writing is one thing," as he puts it. "Pots turn into words, and words turn into pots." Language, then, is not a way of describing porcelain but a form of it: porcelain is his language of migration and return. That postcard was the beginning of a long journey through the memory and history of porcelain, and de Waal now returns to Korea, bringing porcelain and poetry with him. The exhibition is an invitation to walk his journey with him, and to reflect together on the migrations and returns he has passed through.

rain diary
Gana Art, Seoul
29 August–4 October 2026

rain diary extends de Waal's long-standing preoccupation with the history and memory held in objects, taking in home and sanctuary, people, the migration of objects, and poetry. The title work, rain diary, comprises 118 celadon-glazed vessels together with 14 small porcelain boxes holding fragments of porcelain and silver. Arranged on long, narrow shelves stacked in tiers within a white vitrine, vessels in white and blue-grey vary in size and form, each finding its own rhythm. The exhibition also features works in black porcelain, including a dramatic new series titled Coptic Light, where black marble from Kilkenny in Ireland is set alongside pieces of silver, and precious beyond measure, where Wedgwood black basalt shards are arranged next to shards of Song Dynasty (960–1279) porcelain. The latter takes its title from the writings of the Joseon literatus Yi Ha-gon (1677–1724) on his 1709 visit to the Bunwon kilns, suggesting something of de Waal's long-held interest in Korea.

For de Waal, who has spoken of migration, return, and loss, this exhibition is itself a homecoming to Korea. He recalls the postcard of a white Korean tea bowl that hung above the potter's wheel in his very first studio. Its whiteness was plural, he says — not a single colour but one hue turning into another — and to come near it he had to reach for poetry. "My making and my writing is one thing," as he puts it. "Pots turn into words, and words turn into pots." Language, then, is not a way of describing porcelain but a form of it: porcelain is his language of migration and return. That postcard was the beginning of a long journey through the memory and history of porcelain, and de Waal now returns to Korea, bringing porcelain and poetry with him. The exhibition is an invitation to walk his journey with him, and to reflect together on the migrations and returns he has passed through.

rain diary
Gana Art, Seoul
29 August–4 October 2026

rain diary extends de Waal's long-standing preoccupation with the history and memory held in objects, taking in home and sanctuary, people, the migration of objects, and poetry. The title work, rain diary, comprises 118 celadon-glazed vessels together with 14 small porcelain boxes holding fragments of porcelain and silver. Arranged on long, narrow shelves stacked in tiers within a white vitrine, vessels in white and blue-grey vary in size and form, each finding its own rhythm. The exhibition also features works in black porcelain, including a dramatic new series titled Coptic Light, where black marble from Kilkenny in Ireland is set alongside pieces of silver, and precious beyond measure, where Wedgwood black basalt shards are arranged next to shards of Song Dynasty (960–1279) porcelain. The latter takes its title from the writings of the Joseon literatus Yi Ha-gon (1677–1724) on his 1709 visit to the Bunwon kilns, suggesting something of de Waal's long-held interest in Korea.

For de Waal, who has spoken of migration, return, and loss, this exhibition is itself a homecoming to Korea. He recalls the postcard of a white Korean tea bowl that hung above the potter's wheel in his very first studio. Its whiteness was plural, he says — not a single colour but one hue turning into another — and to come near it he had to reach for poetry. "My making and my writing is one thing," as he puts it. "Pots turn into words, and words turn into pots." Language, then, is not a way of describing porcelain but a form of it: porcelain is his language of migration and return. That postcard was the beginning of a long journey through the memory and history of porcelain, and de Waal now returns to Korea, bringing porcelain and poetry with him. The exhibition is an invitation to walk his journey with him, and to reflect together on the migrations and returns he has passed through.

rain diary
Gana Art, Seoul
29 August–4 October 2026

rain diary extends de Waal's long-standing preoccupation with the history and memory held in objects, taking in home and sanctuary, people, the migration of objects, and poetry. The title work, rain diary, comprises 118 celadon-glazed vessels together with 14 small porcelain boxes holding fragments of porcelain and silver. Arranged on long, narrow shelves stacked in tiers within a white vitrine, vessels in white and blue-grey vary in size and form, each finding its own rhythm. The exhibition also features works in black porcelain, including a dramatic new series titled Coptic Light, where black marble from Kilkenny in Ireland is set alongside pieces of silver, and precious beyond measure, where Wedgwood black basalt shards are arranged next to shards of Song Dynasty (960–1279) porcelain. The latter takes its title from the writings of the Joseon literatus Yi Ha-gon (1677–1724) on his 1709 visit to the Bunwon kilns, suggesting something of de Waal's long-held interest in Korea.

For de Waal, who has spoken of migration, return, and loss, this exhibition is itself a homecoming to Korea. He recalls the postcard of a white Korean tea bowl that hung above the potter's wheel in his very first studio. Its whiteness was plural, he says — not a single colour but one hue turning into another — and to come near it he had to reach for poetry. "My making and my writing is one thing," as he puts it. "Pots turn into words, and words turn into pots." Language, then, is not a way of describing porcelain but a form of it: porcelain is his language of migration and return. That postcard was the beginning of a long journey through the memory and history of porcelain, and de Waal now returns to Korea, bringing porcelain and poetry with him. The exhibition is an invitation to walk his journey with him, and to reflect together on the migrations and returns he has passed through.

rain diary
Gana Art, Seoul
29 August–4 October 2026

rain diary extends de Waal's long-standing preoccupation with the history and memory held in objects, taking in home and sanctuary, people, the migration of objects, and poetry. The title work, rain diary, comprises 118 celadon-glazed vessels together with 14 small porcelain boxes holding fragments of porcelain and silver. Arranged on long, narrow shelves stacked in tiers within a white vitrine, vessels in white and blue-grey vary in size and form, each finding its own rhythm. The exhibition also features works in black porcelain, including a dramatic new series titled Coptic Light, where black marble from Kilkenny in Ireland is set alongside pieces of silver, and precious beyond measure, where Wedgwood black basalt shards are arranged next to shards of Song Dynasty (960–1279) porcelain. The latter takes its title from the writings of the Joseon literatus Yi Ha-gon (1677–1724) on his 1709 visit to the Bunwon kilns, suggesting something of de Waal's long-held interest in Korea.

For de Waal, who has spoken of migration, return, and loss, this exhibition is itself a homecoming to Korea. He recalls the postcard of a white Korean tea bowl that hung above the potter's wheel in his very first studio. Its whiteness was plural, he says — not a single colour but one hue turning into another — and to come near it he had to reach for poetry. "My making and my writing is one thing," as he puts it. "Pots turn into words, and words turn into pots." Language, then, is not a way of describing porcelain but a form of it: porcelain is his language of migration and return. That postcard was the beginning of a long journey through the memory and history of porcelain, and de Waal now returns to Korea, bringing porcelain and poetry with him. The exhibition is an invitation to walk his journey with him, and to reflect together on the migrations and returns he has passed through.