At Collect 2024, Lloyd Choi Gallery presents ‘Understatement’, a highly curated presentation of works by nine Korean craft practitioners to mark the 20th anniversary of the international art fair for contemporary craft and design. The presentation explores a distinctive style in Korean craft and design that refined during the Joseon dynasty (14-19c) and how the understated beauty is being reinterpreted today: featuring ceramics, furniture, textile, and woodwork.
Understatement showcases one-of kind works by newly discovered practitioners whom are new to Collect. Cho In-sung who creates nostalgia pieces using broken antique Joseon furniture whilst Shin Sung-hyun, a furniture designer reimagines Joseon scholar’s bookcase for contemporary life and Shin Dong-boem who practices traditional royal porcelain making to recreate the classic Moon Jar. Their unique works will be shown alongside of new works by internationally celebrated artists, Lee So-ra, Park Sung-wook amd Kim Hyun-ju as well as exciting ceramic sculptural works by young talent, Yusun Won and Jo Hee-jin.
Highlight works by Mok-su, a pseudonym name, who hand sculpts hard block of woods as meditating practice. In this new series of work, he has applied multiple layers of colours using various natural pigments with action of beating, scratching and tapping. The figurative work, ‘Torso’ series are made of two wood blocks join in the middle and has hole on top to indicate hollow interior and it’s functionality. For ‘Breath’, the hole has been repositioned to serve no functional purpose but as a metaphor of utilitarian beauty to complement for his pure act of art making.
