Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/32301
Contemporary Craft Gallery Seomi may showcase contemporary Korean design, but its latest offerings are dedicated to a technique that’s decidedly traditional: the ancient art of lacquer. BY KRISTI CAMERON Korea has a rich history of design, but in the ’40s and ’50s, when much of the world embraced Modernism, the East Asian country was embroiled in civil war. Because the contemporary design market there has only recently begun to catch up, PJ Park sees the role of his seven-year-old Gallery Seomi, in Seoul, as being “a window” be- tween what’s happening in South Korea and in other nations. He frequently displays pieces from Europe, America and Brazil in the gallery. “But when we go to fairs, we mostly bring Korean design- ers,” he says. “I think it’s very important to show the rest of the world how many exciting designers there are here.” Toward that end, Park has participated in Design Miami/ Basel since it launched in 2005, and this June he brings to Basel works by six designers that feature lacquer, a technique dating to the Bronze Age in Korea. “Lacquer is not something that’s easy to do,” he says. “It has to be applied over and over again to get the right color, which is interesting for contemporary design and art.” Traditionally, artisans use as many as 30 coats of pig- mented resin, with drying time required after each layer. The idea to explore lacquer came from designer Kang Myungsun, who’s known for using mother-of-pearl inlay, another ancient Korean art, on organic furniture. Last year, her “From Glit- ter” series paired the abalone material with a black urethane fin- ish. “This time she’s using mother of pearl with a red-lacquer base,” Park says, explaining, “Her color choices are based on ones that were used in traditional Korean clothing, or hanbok.” Designer Bahk Jongsun is famous for rigorously minimalist wood pieces that recall the pared-back shapes of the Joseon dy- nasty. “He believes the quality, smell and shape of the wood should express the beauty of the furniture,” Park says. “It’s so clean that it’s almost empty, but even what is basically a simple, square table has something unexpected, like a hidden drawer. These surprises bring a smile to people’s faces.” The work he’s showing in Basel—a cabinet with a concealed ashtray and a desk with a pencil drawer—may seem signature, but black lac- quer lends them a fresh twist. Kang and Bahk’s work perfectly expresses the Gallery Seomi take on contemporary design, which favors the handcrafted over the manufactured. “Designers from Korea and all over the world started out making furniture by hand before there was mass pro- duction,” Parks says. “It’s sad to let that culture go. Technology is important, but we also need to continue to develop what we had in the past. Let’s not forget what was good.” 72 CULTURED