Seoul's Craft Trend Fair finds extraordinary in the ordinary

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Seoul's Craft Trend Fair finds extraordinary in the ordinary

Published: 12 Dec. 2024, 15:51

SHIN MIN-HEE
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Installation view of the Korea Heritage Service and Korea Heritage Agency's booth at Craft Trend Fair 2024 [SHIN MIN-HEE]

The annual Craft Trend Fair, in its 19th edition, returned with some tweaks following a slight hiatus from its usual sequence last year.

The nation’s largest craft fair, hosted and organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Craft and Design Foundation (KCDF), kicked off Thursday at Coex in Gangnam District, southern Seoul. It continues until Sunday.

Crafts by Lee Eun-bum on view at Craft Trend Fair 2024 [SHIN MIN-HEE]

This year's theme, “Extraordinary Objects,” aims to highlight the value of craft items used in everyday life, such as ceramics, clothing, leather goods, furniture, accessories and kitchenware.

“You may think that an object’s value is determined according to its price or brand, but true value is found in objects that we feel personally attached to,” Kang Jae-young, artistic director for this year’s fair, said during a news conference on Thursday.

Last year's fair lacked an artistic director altogether, opting instead to offer an archival exhibition reflecting on the event's history. This year, however, the artistic director is back — with an expanded role. Where previous holders of the post have curated only the fair's main exhibition, Kang is now organizing the entire thing.

Crafts made in collaboration with Meego Craft, Lee Soon-jae and bamboo craft masters based in Damyang County, South Jeolla, on view at Craft Trend Fair 2024 [SHIN MIN-HEE]

Crafts by Kim Yeon-jin, Lee Tae-hoon and Studio Chacha on view at Craft Trend Fair 2024 [SHIN MIN-HEE]

The main exhibition explores the “lines” in crafts from an aesthetic point of view. From the curves of the traditional moon jar to the intricate patterns in najeon chilgi (lacquerware inlaid with mother-of-pearl) boxes, such lines were inspired by nature and represent the essence of Korean crafts.

Kang's team selected the roster of 280 participants — which includes craftspeople, studios, galleries and businesses — through a “highly competitive” evaluation, the director said.

Among these booths is a new section highlighting emerging craftspeople, debuting with 93 participants who tend to be more “experimental” in their work, Kang said. On display are Baek Jae-won’s stainless steel body chains, Leeyoungjoo ceramic’s pottery with surfaces reminiscent of human muscles and No Su-yeon’s distorted hanji (traditional Korean mulberry paper) accessories.

Crafts by Kwak Chul-an on view at Craft Trend Fair 2024 [SHIN MIN-HEE]

The fair also saw a comeback of an old section, the International Guest Pavilion, which was last featured before the pandemic and includes booths from overseas craft studios and organizations with the aim of fostering cultural exchange. Six organizations from Italy, Japan, Myanmar and Taiwan have set up booths, including the Homo Faber online crafts guide managed by the Geneva-based Michelangelo Foundation, Marunuma Art Park in Saitama, Japan, and the National Taiwan Craft Research and Development Institute.

The Craft Trend Fair 2024 is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and until 6 p.m. on Sunday. For more information, visit the official website.

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [[email protected]]