Today I spent the day with another jeweller and lecturer, Kim, Jung Hoo, who took me to several galleries, starting with a jewellery gallery called Space Duru south of Seoul. We saw an exhibition there entitled Fifth Season, by Kim Heejoo, who was also on hand to talk about her works with us. Heejoo was a past student of Kim Jung Hoo.
In the main the works were executed in electroformed copper and silver, with leather and under-fired vitreous enamel, as well as subtle patinas, especially noticeable on the copper sections. For her neckpieces she wound layers of a distinctive thick thread, which she told me was hand-dyed by a friend. She would use several tones (or maybe the thread changed tone along its length) so that there were gradations of colour throughout the length of the neckpiece.
The works, she said, were inspired by the natural world, and especially the living potential of root systems and tubers and the like, from the moment just before life springs forth. Not surprisingly some of her works echoed these influences in their actual forms, yet the colours and the mix of materials made them look quite other-worldly, as if they were a species she had herself somehow induced. This was at least in part because of their heightened sense of beauty.
After lunching nearby with the artist, Kim Jung Hoo and I went to Leeum: the Samsung Museum of Art. There were two parts to the building which houses Leeum, the side which houses the collection of traditional art and that which houses the collection of modern and contemporary art. I was equally impressed with architecture as the works, which changes dramatically between the two section, echoing the change between the the types of works being exhibited.
Next we went back towards Insa-Dong where we saw the Hyundai art gallery and a furniture gallery. Finally we went to another jewellery gallery, called Hidden Space, located in a building that was a converted traditional home. The entrance was found after scurrying down several small alleyways, which opened up immediately to a central courtyard. To the right was a small space dedicated to solo exhibitions, which was showing an exhibition by Miho Noka. All of her works were composed of (drinking) straw segments, melted to fuse them into large, flat disk shapes, which were then joined into neckpieces and the like.
In another section of the house was an area with drawers and displays of other artists, as well as a cafe space, which served tea, or to me, shaved ice. Here we sat with the owner, an ex jewellery lecturer and jeweller, who discussed the artists and upcoming shows. We also discussed the difference in jewellery practice between Korea and Australia, and of arts funding.While the arts does get some corporate support in South Korea, I was told that artists do not receive government support.
I was also here that from one of the drawers I bought a long thin brooch, made from leather and steel.
