Kwangho Lee became a furniture designer by chance. Originally trained in metal art and design at Seoul’s Hongik University, he created a few furniture pieces for his 2007 graduation show, which caught the attention of a number of design galleries, including Montreal’s Commissaires and New York’s Johnson Trading Gallery. Over the past 15 years, the Korean designer’s body of work has expanded to include furniture, installations and interiors, and he is now launching his first collection outside the collectible design circuit, in collaboration with Swedish furniture brand Hem.
The result of fabrication experiments with wood, stone, straw, sculpted styrofoam, knotted nylon cord and enamelled copper, Lee’s heavily process-based work conveys an excitement for materials and craft that has deep roots in his childhood.
‘My grandparents have been a great influence. They were farmers and so naturally that had an effect on the way I think and create with my hands,’ he explains. Observing his grandparents using natural materials to make tools and objects fostered an interest in making things with his hands. Lee would whittle wood to make slingshots and play with handmade water wheels by a stream. ‘The joy of making is central to explaining my work,’ he says.
His designs are a natural progression of his upbringing. Working from two studio spaces (a smaller studio in Seoul’s Seongsudong neighbourhood, as well as a larger workshop in nearby Hanam), Lee knots, cuts, bakes and welds materials to create refined furniture that bears traces of its manufacturing process.
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Denne historien er fra October 2022-utgaven av Wallpaper.
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POLE POSITION
A compact Melbourne house with a small footprint is big on efficiency and experimentation
URBAN OASIS
At an art-filled Mexico City residence, New York designer Giancarlo Valle has put his own spin on the country's traditional craft heritage
WARM FRONT
Designer Clive Lonstein elevates his carefully curated Manhattan home with rich textures and fabrics
BALCONY SCENE
A Brazilian island hotel offers a unique approach to the alfresco experience
ENSEMBLE CAST
How architect Anne Holtrop is leaving his mark on the Middle East
Survival mode
A new show looks at preparing for a post-apocalyptic landscape (and other catastrophes)
FLASK FORCE
A limited-edition perfume collaboration between two Spanish craft masters says it with flowers
BLOOM SERVICE
A flower-shaped brutalist beauty in Geneva gets a refresh
SECOND NATURE
A remodelled museum in Lisbon, by Kengo Kuma & Associates, meshes Japanese and Portuguese influences to create a space that sits in harmony with its surroundings
Guiding light
Designer Joe Armitage follows his grandfather's footsteps in India, reissuing his elegant midcentury lamp and creating a new chandelier for Nilufar Gallery