Emerging and Mid-Career Craft and Design Artists Gather at KCDF Open Call Exhibition

10 Emerging Artists, 6 Mid-Career Artists, and 3 Groups Selected
Solo Exhibition by Seo Junghwa Opens,
Followed by Window Gallery Shows from Jeon Young Eun and Lee Hyungchan

The Korea Craft and Design Foundation announced on April 27 that it will launch the "2026 KCDF Craft and Design Open Call Exhibition," a program designed to discover artists in the craft and design sectors and support exhibition opportunities.

Exhibition view of artist Jeon Young-eun. Korea Craft and Design Cultural Promotion Agency

This year, following a professional review, 10 artists were selected in the emerging artist category, 6 in the mid-career artist category, and 3 teams in the group category. Since 2018, the Foundation has supported a total of 154 exhibitions through this initiative, including 83 by emerging artists, 45 by mid-career artists, and 26 by groups.

This year's exhibition will open with a solo show by mid-career artist Seo Junghwa. From April 29 to May 10, Seo will present a new collection of metal furniture under the theme "Ambiguity" in Exhibition Hall 1 at the KCDF Gallery.

Seo has focused on the characteristics and combinations of materials in her work. In this exhibition, she combines branches with metal materials to explore the blurred boundaries between natural and artificial objects. Through forms that appear metallic yet resemble wood, and function as furniture yet evoke sculpture, she addresses fixed perceptions about the use of objects and the nature of materials.

On the first floor of the KCDF Gallery, the external window gallery will feature exhibitions by emerging artists. Jeon Young Eun is presenting "Showcase of Extinction" from April 15 to May 10, reconstructing plants lost to climate change using porcelain clay sculptures.

From May 13 to June 7, Lee Hyungchan will hold "Supporting [ ]s," an exhibition that explores the forces sustaining the human psyche through works combining wood and metal.

The Foundation plans to sequentially release videos featuring interviews and the creative processes of the selected artists through its official YouTube channel and social networking services (SNS).

Junhee Jeon, Head of the Craft Promotion Department at the Foundation, stated, "The KCDF Open Call Exhibition support project goes beyond simply supporting exhibitions; it serves as a platform that integrates the creative practice of craft into everyday life. We will continue to support the new sculptural language introduced by this year’s selected artists to further expand the horizons of Korean craft."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.