Design Anthology - Asia Pacific Edition
Material Experiments
Korean designer Jeongseob Kim gained wide recognition in 2016 with his Time for Universe collection, for which he worked with lacquer artisan Namgwon Lyu to experiment with applying a traditional urushi lacquer over basalt. Combining this material with simple geometric shapes, the resulting stools and benches reveal the possibilities of this new technique, which involves lacquering slabs of the stone and then sanding them to reveal mesmerising patterns.
In Compositional Copper, Kim’s most recent collection, he pairs the lacquered basalt — he has since learnt to produce it himself — with the collection’s namesake material. ‘I was attracted to copper’s cold and warm characteristics,’ he says. Compositional Copper launched in 2020; Kim’s network in Seoul includes technicians and craftspeople he frequently calls on, so even during the pandemic he was able to produce 17 new pieces and exhibit them in a solo show hosted by the Korea Craft & Design Foundation.
The precision of each piece in the collection embodies Kim’s belief that ‘The most important tool when creating your work is your hands.’ As he explains, his work is largely an antidote to mass production. ‘Many designs have poured out of machines in the last century. So, as an independent designer, I ask how I can make design more humane.’ The answer, he says, is in the handmade nature of his work. As with Time for Universe, Kim attributes the success of the collection to the local craftspeople with whom he collaborates.
Interestingly, the realisation of this design philosophy has not been direct. Kim’s eclectic portfolio ranges from the earlier glossy and polished Bubble series of 2009 to the playful, tactile Cake series in 2011 and the organic, crafted Emergence series of 2013. The variation and experimentation in his earlier output is likely thanks to the diversity of his studies. He first majored in woodworking and furniture design at Seoul’s Hongik University before moving to London to study for a master’s in design at Goldsmiths, and then finally completing a PhD at Seoul National University’s College of Fine Arts.
At first, Kim’s studies led to a fusion of Western and Eastern sensibilities, but when he realised it wasn’t working as well as he’d hoped, he set out to find his own design language. ‘I am Korean and have an Asian mindset. So, no matter how much I try to do a Western style, I can never imitate them,’ he says. ‘But I’ve learnt to think holistically about craft, design and art, so the process from imagining to creating isn’t difficult. The hardest part? Creating good work.’
For now, Kim is content working with his material choices and design expressions. By identifying as a designer-artist-craftsman, he demonstrates what contemporary Korean design is and can be. ‘Doing what we can do well, in our own country, is the best thing for us,’ he says. ‘I believe that the next generation of Korean designers may not need to go to Europe, like I did, to study design anymore.’