Korean Tradition Through a Modern Lens, with a Hint of Luxury
Geometric Munsal-Door by Oneseo Choi at Arumjigi’s Room, As It Is exhibition
While Korea International Art Fair (Kiaf) and Frieze Seoul were the center of attention of the Seoul Art Week, there was also an enormous amount of amazing satelite events taking place and today I would like to introduce those centered around traditional Korean culture and crafts.
The Seoul Art Week has become a community event – the whole city is celebrating art and all of the cultural institutions – and luxury brands – joined the event in one way or another. In my previous posts I often talked about Arumjigi Culture Keepeers and the YÉOL Korean Heritage Preservation Society. Both of these institutions are dedicated to the preservation of Korean craftsmanship and traditional culture. Both have also been collaborating with luxury brands for many years, and in case of the exhibitions coinciding with the Seoul Art Week – Arumjigi joined hands with Cartier (the foundation also previously collaborated with Chanel and Hermès) and YÉOL with Chanel. But more on that below!
Room, As It Is Exhibition at Arumjigi, in Partnership with Cartier
The exhibition, as it is introduced, “creates spaces where Korean tradition and modernity meet,” and I think this is probably why I love Arumjigi so much. I’ve beein seeing more and more attempts at achieving that perfect blend, but few do it as well – and with such sophistication – as this small foundation located just next to the Gyeongbokkung Palace.
Space designed by Yoonsung Choi from the Arumjigi Foundation
“The exhibition offers a vision of a contemporary residential culture that integrates style and tradition.” And so on the ground floor we can see two complete spaces, one, designed by Youngsoon Choi, which brings traditional elements to the modern apartment building, giving new functionality to very well known textiles and furniture. The other one, designed by TaeHee lim, is a love letter to the artist’s grandmother’s house, recreated in Hanji – Korean mullberry paper, with a few modern twists like the resin-covered stepping stone in front of the entrances.
Space designed by TaeHee Lim of LimTaeHee Design Studio using Hanji, Korean mullberry paper
Space designed by TaeHee Lim, detail
Sheets of Hanji connected with a thread
Small cabinet designed by TaeHee Lim with Hanji
Space designed by TaeHee Lim
On the second floor of the modern building, the foundation basically built a Hanok – traditional Korean house. There’s the Madang – the traditional courtyard in the center of the house, and on both sides of it two separate spaces that hosted different parts of the exhibition. On the left there were two rooms with furniture recreated based on traditional paintings, a wooden screen and a small pavilion-shaped structure that could be used as a resting space. This is where we could once again meet the traditional Ra fabric, meticulously recreated by Onjium – Arumjigi’s research institute – in partnership with Cartier, who founded the research in 2015. I first saw the unique textile at the Cartier, Crystallization of Time exhibition in April this year, where the curators incorporated it into the space design. The second time was at the Hanbok Expo 2024 in August, where Onjium showcased modern clothing made with Ra, designed by the Korean artist OMA from OMA Space. I’ve heard from the institute that there are plans to commercialize it, which means that other fashion designers will be able to use it for their projects. Sign me up!
Space designed by the ONJIUM Housing Studio, with the Ra textile wrapped around the pavilion-like structure.
A view of Chwiryeom, a blind woven from strips of blue bamboo, and Byeokbyeong , a wall flding screen, with a crescent moon pattern
The space on the right side showcased furniture created by young Korean designers, Chanhyeok Kim, Oneseo Choi, and Minjae Kim, Yesl Lee, and Jiwon Park. I I I attended the Artist Talk with two of the designers, Oneseo Choi and Mijae Kim, and learned that they actually collaborated when planning out the room that their works shared. Both of them reinterpret Korean tradition in their own way. Minjae Kim’s works are easily recognizeable through the use of resin as a medium and beautifully ireggular shapes for his wooden furniture. Oneso Choi discovered that the cross-sectional patterns of aluminium profiles, an industrial material, resonate with the designs of Dancheong, traditional Korean decorative coloring.
Nature Being Things by Jiwon Park
CHim by artist Chanhyeok Kim – a novel Korean table design originating from the armrests of sitting cushions
Furniture designed by Minjae Kim (wooden, in the back) and Oneseo Choi (aluminum forms)
Geometric Boaji by Oneseo Choi (the element supporting the wooden beams, reinterpreted by the artist in aluminum)
The third floor held Heechan Park’s work, a traditional Korean wooden core wall made of clay, bamboo, and reeds, reenvisioning it for modern interiors. The scent of clay filled the room and the docent invited me to feel the texture of the wall – a wonderful, grounding experience that made me wish to once live in a space that incorporates more natural materials.
A table showcasing materials used by artist Heechan Park to build the clay wall
The back of the mobile wall
A closeup of the front wall
The front of the wall
Hand with Temperature and Sound: Delivering to Four Seasons (four 季節) Exhibition at YÉOL, in Partnership with Chanel
Video intoducing the two awarded artists at the 2024 YÉOL x Chanel exhibition
In 2022, Chanel partnered with YÉOL Korean Heritage Preservation Society to support the Artisan of the Year and Young Craftsperson of the Year project, launched by the foundation in 2014. Same as last year, this year’s exhibition was directed by Teo Yang, a young Korean art director and interior designer known for his love for traditional crafts. In an interview, Klaus Henrik Vestergaard, CEO of Chanel Korea said “I hope the collaboration between YÉOL and Chanel Korea will serve as a shining light for young Korean artists." Of course, not only the young, as the projects also highlights well-established craftsmen who more often than not have learned directly from old masters – as is the case with Choon Mo Jung , awarded in 2020, who was appointed as a holder of the National Intangible Cultural Heritage No. 4, Gannil (Traditional Hat Making) in 1991.
As I entered the foundation, located in the Bukcheon Hanok Village in Seoul, I was met with the works of Jiemin Park, the receiver of the eleventh Young Craftsperson of the Year award. As introduced, the artists creations shed their original form and transform into ashes contained within solid glass panels, evoking the imagery of a flowing in painting. Through her collaboration with YÉOL, Jiemin Park showcased for the first time handcrafted objects designed for everyday use, the vessels bringing to mind the traditional form of moon jars.
Works by Jiemin Park, the Young Craftsperson of the Year 2024
In the next space, Park’s works meet with the works of Hyeong Goo Jeong, selected as the Artisan of the Year 2024. Not only does it feel symbolical, to have the two generations of artisans meet, the artists work in what could be considered opposite media – metal and glass, and so the contrasting forms are an intriguing combination, fused together by the dark marks of ash on Park’s glass works.
The works of Jiemin Park and Hyeong Goo Jeong arranged together
The remaining space is dedicated to the works of Hyeong Goo Jeong, blacksmith, who learned the art from his father- and mother-in-law. After the passing of his father-in-law, to ensure he was able to meet the high standards of the mastery customers became accustomed to, he traveled across the country to visit renowned blacksmith shops and learn their techniques. As he continued working and adjusting to the changes in market needs, in 2008 he was asked to recreate traditional metalwork for the resotration process of the Namdaemun Gate, which burned down in an arson attack. Working with cultural heritage metalwork inspired him to enroll in the traditional metalwork program at the Korean national university of Cultural Heritage and afterwords became certified as a Cultural heritage repair Technician for metalwork. Now, on top of creating beautiful forms such as those showcased at the exhibition, he also serves as Visiting Professor of Metal Crafts in the Cultural Heritage Repair Technician training program.
Hyeong goo Jeong’s works at YÉOL
Hyeong goo Jeong’s work at YÉOL
Hyeong goo Jeong’s works at YÉOL
Artisan Hyeong Goo Jeong at work
Walking through the gallery, I heard a woman mention to her companion that the exhibition was sponsored by Chanel. I think this is exactly why I appreciate luxury brands extending their patronage to such niche projects, because it helps reignite the wider public’s interest in those aspects of Korean culture that survived thanks to a few passionate artists and artisans – and institutions such as Arumjigi and YÉOL, who never gave up on tradition despite the lack of funding or interest for the many decades when Korea was focused on rebuilding itself from ruin.
