Young Korean designer attracts attention at Milan Furniture Fair

Milan Furniture Design is one of the most important design events, attracting the most innovative designs from around the world.

It is also a great opportunity for young designers to introduce their work on a global stage and to test themselves out in the market.

Korean designer Park Bomi and five other Korean designers were selected by the organizers to showcase their works at Salone Satellite, which gathers promising international designers under age 35. 

A separate Korean group exhibition features work by 16 traditional handicraft artists.

Park said Wednesday he had received a good response from buyers and press at the Milan Furniture Fair, which runs through April 14.

“I got an unexpected response from visitors, press and buyers here. They said it’s something they haven’t seen before. I get a lot of questions from buyers about the price,” Park told The Korea Herald by phone.

“An Italian manufacturer, which produces furniture in China, approached me and suggested working with them. I got some good reviews from Marie Claire magazine,” she said.

Park’s collection of furniture pieces titled “Afterimage” was first shown at DMY Berlin, an international design festival, in 2012 and introduced to more people as it was posted on the online design magazine “DesignBoom.”

Her furniture, including tables, consoles and a chandelier, are made with multiple layers of metal wire mesh that create optical illusions. Her sculptural experimentation with industrial materials explores the area between art and furniture.

“I would like to interpret furniture as an art that people can communicate with and elicit creative change, beyond furniture as simple props situated in space,” Park said in the press release.

The Milan Furniture Fair, established in 1961, attracts more than 300,000 visitors from 160 different countries and features more than 1,440 exhibitors. This year’s Salone Satellite brings together 700 young designers under the theme of “Design and Craftsmanship: Together for Industry.”

By Lee Woo-young  (wylee@heraldcorp.com)