Choi Byung Hoon

signed in English, dated 2007 and numbered 14/15

Korea, Seoul, COEX Convention & Exhibition Center, Seoul Living Design Fair, March, 2007

Korea, Busan, Busan Museum of Art, 2006 New Acquisitions, March - July, 2007

Korea, Seoul, National Museum of Contemporary Art, New Acquisitions 2006, February 23, 2007 - April 1, 2007

Korea, Seoul, Hangaram Design Museum at Seoul Arts Center, Design Pot: Korea Best Design Culture Section, December, 2007 - March, 2008

France, Paris, Galerie DOWNTOWN françois laffanour, choi byung hoon, May - July, 2008

Korea, Paju, Gallery Hangil, choi, byung hoon: art · furniture, October - November, 2008, flyleaf, pp. 37-38, 41

 

This work is in very good condition overall. There are no apparent condition issues with this work.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Alternate editions of this work have been accessioned into the permanent collections of respectively, the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Seoul, Korea, the Busan Museum of Art in Busan, Korea and the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein, Germany.

 

Sculpture? Or furniture? Seamlessly marrying lyricism with utilitarianism, Choi Byung Hoon has constructed an extensive oeuvre of objects that seem lifted right out of nature. A revered figure in the Korean art world and beyond, Choi straddles the increasingly indistinguishable realms of design, art and craft. Part and parcel of Seoul's flourishing enterprise of transforming itself into a design
capital of Asia, Choi has become something of a creative ambassador. Well-positioned to achieve these ambitions as his work has graced numerous fairs, museums and galleries all over the world, Choi is a willing diplomat who wields his influence local and abroad. While enjoying critical acclaim for his work on the international stage, Choi has devoted a tantamount energy to the dominion of art education in his native country. Director of the Institute of Art & Design at Hongik University, President of the Korea Furniture Society, Director of the
Hongik University Museum, Specialist of the Cultural Heritage Committee and currently, Dean and Professor at the College of Fine Arts at Hongik University, Choi fully understands the importance of steering future generations and heartily embraces his mission of cultivating young minds.

AfterImage 07-244 (Lot 975) constitutes one of the artist's most famed works-- other editions are permanently collected by the Busan Museum of Art and National Museum of Contemporary Art in Korea as well as the Vitra Design Museum in Germany. Silhouettes, materials, contours and forms from negligible aspects of daily phenomena are appropriated then subsequently reimagined into an assemblage that boasts a dual quality of both the aesthetic and the functional. There is often a playful spontaneity that peeks out from Choi's designs. It is as if a smooth, pristine block of polished granite happened to be resting on just the right coordinates on the lowest level of a stepped plank, laminated and varnished to immaculate splendour, resulting ultimately in a perfect ergonomic and expressive balance. A sculptural conversation between wood and stone is struck, in hopes of reaching a harmonious coexistence though delightfully interrupted by mischievous tensions rising between straight lines and curved, lightness and weight or positive and negative space. Choi Byung Hoon began creating for AfterImage in 1994 and emblematic of his full artistic maturation, the series has swiftly become his most celebrated over the years.