Artist Jeong Hyun-sook is presenting her modern interpretation of traditional mother-of-pearl art from April 11-29 at the Korea Economic Daily gallery.

The solo exhibition presents 23 works of the “Before and After” series that the artist has been working on for a decade. The series reinterprets the traditional mother-of-pearl art through contemporary works of art featuring geometric patterns and circles.

Jeong, trained in Western-style painting, has been using mother-of-pearl pieces and powders -- made from abalone shells and conch -- for her work since 2007. She learned about the material while working as a design consultant to a local furniture company that specializes in lacquered furniture with mother-of-pearl inlay.

Considered an outdated, old-fashioned material for contemporary furniture today, mother-of-pearl has been losing its appeal among modern consumers. Yet, it has long been used to decorate lacquered furniture. Traditional lacquered furniture pieces inlaid with mother-of-pearl were once considered among the most valuable wedding gifts that parents could give their daughters.

“I began using mother-of-pearl instead of paint on canvas,” said Jeong. 

She used mother-of-pearl to create abstract patterns on canvases. The mother-of-pearl pieces release a warm glow under lights and Jeong adds crystals to give a glitter effect.

“This is one way to modernize the traditional mother-of-pearl art. People can still enjoy the mother-of-pearl art at home, but in a different way,” she said.

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