Combination of materials expands horizon of crafts

“Half Half” a collection created by combinations of marble and metal by Kim Jin-sik is on display at the gallery of the Korea Craft & Design Foundation in Insa-dong. / Courtesy of Korea Craft & Design Foundation

By Chung Ah-young

A chair created by designer Roh Il-hoon looks like a unique piece made of woven twigs. But it’s the result of Roh’s artistic innovation of hand-weaving carbon fiber.

The armchair called “Luno,” which means curve in Latin, is made of carbon fiber strings suspended at different positions by hand.

The carbon fiber is a modern high-performance material, but Roh turns it into a natural-looking product through handcrafting.

From carbon fiber to natural materials such as wood and stone, various creations by nine artists are on display at the gallery of the Korea Craft & Design Foundation (KCDF) in Insa-dong, central Seoul, through July 20.

“Material container series,” a collection of stools made from a contrasting mixture of different materials by Seo Jeong-hwa

Mixing and matching artificial composites and natural materials, the exhibition gives a unique interpretation on experimental works crossing the barriers of handcrafts and industrial productions to show diversity and possibility of the materials.

Nine prestigious artists and design studios, such as Design Methods, Lee Kwang-ho, Seo Jeong-hwa, Roh Il-hoon and Kim Jin-sik, present their innovative artworks, which were created by diverse techniques to highlight the unique qualities and textures of the materials.

Titled “Hap (Combination),” the first section of the exhibition shows different material qualities by contrasting soft/coarse and heavy/light materials, for example. In this section, Seo’s “Material Container Series” is on display ― a collection of stools feature a contrasting mixture of 12 different materials such as basalt, rosewood, cherry and copper and aluminum in their seats. The stools represent their contrasting characteristics in texture and tactility, which go well with one another.

Kim’s tables as part of his “Half Half” collection are created through a combination of marble and metal. Kim reinterprets the materials by using the shapes of circles and squares. The tables and stools make good use of the stark contrast between light and heavy materials by reflecting the pattern and color of the marble on the surface of stainless steel.

Park Hong-gu’s “Blackwood”

At the second part, Park Hong-gu’s “Blackwood” series produces soot smells and visual aesthetics with unique tactility from the burned surface of wood. The furniture designer creates geometrical patterns on the sooty surface of the wooden works to elicit the hidden nature of wood.

Particularly in this section, 50 pieces of disc-shaped wooden plates created by Im Jeong-ju tailored for 50 different users’ hands express subtly crafted curves of the containers.

The third section highlights the fusion of handcrafted production adopting industrial designs. This section presents 50 pieces of works from a ceramic tea pot set to brass kitchen utensils combining native materials from diverse regions created by traditional masters both designated by the state and the provincial and municipal governments using various production techniques.

“The theme of the exhibition is ‘Hap’ which means a combination to show harmony through experimenting using various materials, production methods, handcraft and industry, tradition and modernity, and giving new inspiration for visitors and artists,” Koo Byung-joon, curator of the exhibition, said. “We hope people can find the infinite possibility in crafts,” he said.

Admission is free. For more information, call (02) 733-9041 or visit www.kcdf.kr.