Hyungzee
Hyungzee Choi is not someone who has a great talent for drawing. Her drawing book is full of writings, calculations, and blueprints. She enjoys all of her work being done by her hands and thus her work is delicate.
Born and raised in South Korea, Hyungzee's interest in machines began from an early age. Growing up, she learned a lot from watching over the shoulder of her engineer father. She received her Bachelor's degree in industrial design and started metal craft designs as she switched her major and decided to pursue a graduate degree in metal craft.
Her work reflects her interest in mechanical movement and manipulation which was influenced by her father. Later she got a lot of inspiration from Friedrich Becker's work and opened her first show called “mutate” in Seoul in 2002. She turned various electronic components into uniquely intriguing accessories. Her show was featured in Monthly Craft Magazine which described her work as “restrained beauty of machinery”. Most of her work is seen as simple, geometric, and structured with minimum form that is following its function.
In 2011, she opened her jewelry studio “BEESHAUS”. Her studio and showroom has been located in Manhattan. Please, feel free to email her at beeshaus@gmail.com to visit her showroom.
Also, check her jewelry at beeshaus.com
Education
1998-2002 M.F.A.Metalwork and Jewelry/ Kookmin University, Seoul, Korea
1993-1997 B.F.A. Industrial Design/ Konkuk University, Seoul, Korea
Experience
2011-Present BEESHAUS Inc. Owner
2004-2010 Independent artist
2003-2004 Kirabo.co.kr President
2000- 2005 HiPROJECT Freelancer / Project manager & Designer
1997-1998 Metalwork Studio SAPO
1996-1997 2&5 Design Co., Itd
Solo Exhibitions
2002 Metalworks by Hyungzee Choi (GanaArt Space)
Exhibitions
2002 M.F.A. Degree Show – Craft made using Industrial Waste Products to express Structural Beauty (M.F.A. Kookmin Univ.)
2000 The 1st Achemists Exhibition (Dongduk gallery)
1996 The Diploma Works of Dept. of Industrial Design, College of Art & Design, Konkuk University (KIDP)
1994 The Exhibition of Paper-Art In Korea (Seoul Art Center)
Awards
1999 Contemporary Jewelry Competition (Il-min Art Museum)
1999 KDC 28th National University Design Competition
Thesis
Craft made using Industrial Waste Products to express Structural Beauty (M.F.A. Kookmin Univ. 2002)
Craft made using Industrial Waste Products to express Structural Beauty.
Hyungzee Choi
Major in Metal Craft Dept. of Crafts
Graduate School, Kookmin University
Directed by Prof. Jeon, Yongil
Promoting industrialization and mechanization, the Industrial Revolution occurred by the end of 18th century, established the so-called an industrial society of machinery through an increase of industrial products and a change to mechanization in the production system. Backed by such an industrial development, the Modernism Movement arose. This movement closely combined art and industry applying the modernism idea – which pursued functional, structural, geometrical and pure mechanical beauty – to all industrial products, and made a result of mass consumption diversely inducing the taste of consumers together with a mass production followed by mechanization and industrialization. Nonetheless, mass production and mass consumption resulted in side effects, amassing huge volumes of waste products together with rapid demand and a revolutionary supply. Therefore, a political method of recycling was prepared in order to reduce waste products and activate recycling, and a new movement called 'Design for Disassembly (DFD)' rose in the field of industrial design. Furthermore, this various industrial wastes were sublimated into art by many artists, and this recycling art can be found in Dadaism, Surrealism and neo-Dadaism, which was widely known to the public with works by Robert Rauschenberg, Kurt Schwitters, John Chamberlin and Heab Tinguely.
The works studied here are those made using industrial waste products, semiconductor products, chips and wire bonding capillary tubes required for semiconductor production as a major material. In general, as a regular and systematic form, these waste products have a moderate beauty containing a simple, geometrical and implicit function. For the common work pattern, simple, geometrical, functional and structural form were pursued for a maximum expression of mechanical aesthetics by developing formative and functional aspect for waste products; and practicality and functional expression of form were strongly expressed.
These works are largely divided by accessories and objects; where accessories like necklace, ring, bracelet and brooch, produced focusing on a moderate formative structure with a mechanical beauty brought about by waste products, mainly semiconductor products and chips. Also, the structural aspect not simply limited to practicality was considered, and by an indirect light using LED, the objects were developed as a formative composition method focusing on the shape of mechanical beauty produced by light rather than a direct role of light.
As a major material, sterling silver (92.5% of purity) was used, and another formative possibility was induced trying a combination with the waste products so as to activate mechanical look. By reinforcing shape according to the material color and comparison, and trying various formative changes related to mechanical beauty, it was attempted to present to viewers its possibility as another element of art work together with a new recognition for waste products through a new discovery on mechanical beauty.