Gwangju Design Biennale 2015

Gwangju Design Biennale 2015 Starts With Sharing

Written with images provided by Gwangju Design Biennale

A preview exhibit of the 2015 Gwangju Design Biennale was held this July in Milan, Italy to promote this year’s month long Biennale which begins October 15.

At the opening ceremony in Triennale di Milano, many international designers including famous Italian industrial designers Alessandro Mendini, and Stefano Giovannoni were in attendance.  About 200 people including the Mayor of Gwangju Yoon Jang-hyun, the director of the Triennale Design Andrea Cancellato, design critic Cristina Morozzi and various media outlets also explored the exhibit.

Globalization of Korean Culture and Design

The exhibit was designed to promote Gwangju as a city of culture and art, and establish Korea’s unique presence in the art world. The vivid contemporary Korean celadon pottery of Lee Ga-jin was on display as well as the modern aesthetic and spatial concepts of architect and President of Iroje, Seung Hyo-sang. Seung used the Korean garden Sosaewon and traditional Korean designs as inspiration for his creation. All the furniture in the exhibition was crafted by Yang Suk-jung, a somokjang furniture designer.

Korean and Italian Designers Collaborate

The exhibition, named “Korea’s Phantasma,” was organized to show the convergence of Eastern and Western values through the collaboration of international designers. All art pieces were donated by popular contemporary artists from Italy and Korea. Fifty pieces were made by the contemporary potter, Lee Ga-jin and there were collaborative works by  25 Korean designers and 25 Italian designers.

Many Korean artists and designers actively participated in this exhibit: poets Kim Joon Tae and Kim Yong Taek, former Gwangju Design Biennale General Director Lee Young Hye, photographer Bae Byeong Woo, and artists Huh Dal Jae and Jo Jin Ho. Also, master of Italian industrial design Alessandro Mendini, architects Aldo Cibic and Riccardo Dalisi, the furniture designer Anna Gili and many other famous Western artists took part in this collaboration.

Design sharing

This exhibition will continue in the Gwangju Biennale Exhibition Hall in October. The ceramics will be auctioned off at a charity bazaar at the opening ceremony.

“The Gwangju Design Biennale 2015 is not just an exhibition, but also a venue to share through design,” said Director-in-General, Choi Kyung Ran. “The proceeds from the auction will be used for the educational improvement of children in the third world.”