By Ines Min
Staff reporter
Is it a table? Or is it a fancy cigarette holder, a wine bar or a game board?
It’s art. Furniture is not only a necessity in daily human life, but that integral presence has also transformed it into a premiere outlet for the creative functions of designers and artists alike. This summer, galleries have taken to focusing on specific design movements to expose audiences to the importance of furniture. Starting with the expansive, personal collection of exquisite Bauhaus furniture at the PKM Trinity Gallery in southern Seoul, the seasonal trend has continued to other periods from the past century and beyond.
Kukje Gallery’s second exhibition space now sports a brand new, cream-colored soft carpet. Peering inside, one sees a brightly-lit space not unlike a high-end, vintage furniture store. In perfectly arranged order, 80- to 100-year-old Art Deco pieces stand on display, from ceiling lamps to desks, chairs to vases, bookshelves to tables.
``Art Deco Masterpieces’’ brings together some of the world’s most sought-after furniture in an exhibition that took organizers nearly two years to gather. Loaned from private collectors, museums and galleries, the myriad works include names such as interior designers Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann, Jean-Michel Frank and Eugene Printz.
The Art Deco period grew first in France and saw a return to geometric shapes during the 1910s to the 1930s, moving away from the period of Art Nouveau floridity. A penchant for luxury materials ― including shark skin, lamb leather, ivory and Macassa Ebony wood ― characterized the style. That sense of affluence emanates from every piece in the gallery, most of which are one-of-a-kind originals.
``They say that one item by Ruhlmann was worth four Bugattis and a house,’’ said Bella Jung, assistant director of the gallery. The designer, working predominantly with commissioned pieces as was the trend of the movement, created designs for clients such as the Indian maharajah.
A game table by Dominique features silvered metal ashtrays for the smokers, ebony and Palissander wood and inlaid ivory. A hidden compartment will even hold a bottle of wine including slots for four stemmed glasses. Elegance was a must for Art Deco, which was reacting to the societal and cultural context of the time (most notably, World War I).
``Fashions don't start among the common people,’’ Ruhlmann once said in an interview. ``Along with satisfying a desire for change, fashion's real purpose is to display wealth.’’
Wall decorations had to be of equal value, with impressionism being one favorite pairing with the furniture. At this gallery, original art by Henri Matisse (``Oceanie, Le Ciel,’’ 1946) and Pablo Picasso (``Homme et Femme’’) can be spotted, as well as a variety of works by Lucio Fontana, and Alberto Giacometti.
``Art Deco Masterpieces’’ is on display through Aug. 15 at the Kukje Gallery in central Seoul, located a 10-minute walk away from exit 1 of Anguk Station, subway line 3. For more information, visit www.kukjegallery.com.