Hyungshin Hwang is a Seoul-based designer whose work explores memory, materiality, and structure through furniture and object-making. Rooted in woodworking, his practice articulates everyday experiences and emotional landscapes through a distinctive formal language. He holds both BFA and MFA degrees in Woodworking and Furniture Design from Hongik University.

Hwang’s ongoing Layered Series, first introduced at KIAF in 2007, has become central to his practice. The series investigates modular construction and layered surface treatments, reflecting the accumulation of time, memory, and lived experience.

His work has been presented at major exhibitions and design platforms including Milan Design Week, DMY Berlin Design Festival, Design Days Dubai, Art Beijing, and the National Hangeul Museum’s Hangeul Design Project. He has also participated in Amorepacific’s Sulhwa Cultural Exhibition at Gallery Hakgojae, as well as group exhibitions at La Triennale di Milano, Kumho Museum, and the Korea Craft & Design Foundation.

Alongside his independent practice, Hwang has taught design at Hongik University, Seoul National University, Kaywon University of Art & Design, and Chungnam National University. Through both his studio work and academic engagement, he continues to develop sculptural and functional objects marked by a quiet sensitivity to material and form.

1. Where were you born and where are you from ?

I was born in Seoul. Today I work in my studio in Paju, on the outskirts of the city.

2. What is your first memory connected to the art world ?

Rather than a specific artwork, my first memory is connected to observing structures. Growing up in a dense urban environment, the architectural scenes and structural rhythms that repeatedly surrounded me began to feel like a kind of sculptural language. Those observations naturally became the starting point of my work.

3. Have you always worked in the art/design field ?

I studied furniture design both for my bachelor’s and master’s degrees. I was not initially drawn to furniture itself, but I was always fascinated by the act of making and constructing something. During graduate school, encounters with different people and ideas helped clarify my direction, and I have continued working ever since.

4. What led you to the design creation ?

A turning point came during a school exhibition in my third year of undergraduate studies. After that exhibition, I was contacted by a fine art gallery and was able to participate in a domestic art fair as soon as I entered my fourth year. That experience made the idea of working as an artist feel tangible and real.

5. How would you describe your creative process and it influences ?

My work begins with the act of stacking. Layering and accumulating materials is not simply a fabrication method but a way of thinking. Just as structures emerge through layers, memories and experiences also accumulate to form a shape.

6. Could you describe a typical day of your work ?

My days in the studio follow a fairly consistent rhythm. When I arrive in the morning, I make coffee and share a short conversation with my colleagues. After that, we each return to our work—developing projects, experimenting with new ideas, and gradually refining them through repeated adjustments.

7. Why did you choose the specific materials you work with ?

I mainly work with raw materials such as wood and metal. This choice stems from my interest in architectural structures and details. These materials reveal structure and balance in the most direct way, allowing me to express an architectural sensibility through objects at a smaller scale.

8. What are the technical particularities of your creations ?

My work is often described as “building furniture in an architectural way.” Multiple panels and structural elements come together to form a single object, and each component functions not merely as a part but as an integral element of the whole structure.

9. What advices could you give to beginning artists who would like to create sculptural design works ?

I believe it is important to observe a great deal and to remember what you see. Rather than trying to create something entirely new, the process of reconfiguring existing experiences and images in your own way is often more meaningful.

10. If your works had to belong to a design movement, in which one would you define it ?

If I had to situate my work within a movement, it would probably be collectible design. Like many contemporary creators, I work at the boundary between art and design, where sculptural presence and conceptual ideas often take precedence over pure functionality.

11. What designers and artists have influenced you ?

I have probably been more influenced by architects than by furniture designers. I particularly admire Peter Zumthor, Mario Botta, and Herzog & de Meuron. I am deeply drawn to the way they approach materials and detail within their architecture.

12. What contemporary designers do you appreciate ?

A contemporary designer I deeply admire is my mentor, Byung Hoon Choi. Beyond his work itself, I have immense respect for his attitude toward life, his consistency, and his unwavering passion for creation. He has been an essential source of inspiration and support since the beginning of my career.

13. What contemporary artists (in any kind of art) have you been inspired by ?

I admire the work of Antony Gormley. However, two exhibitions left an especially strong impression on me: Olafur Eliasson’s exhibition at Martin-Gropius-Bau in Berlin, and Damien Hirst’s exhibition Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable in Venice. Even after many years, these experiences remain powerful sources of inspiration.

14. If you had to summarize your creations in one word or sentence, what would it be ?

Sculptural furniture formed through layers of urban structures and accumulated memories.

PROUST QUESTIONNAIRE
(The Proust Questionnaire is a set of questions answered by the French writer Marcel Proust.
Other historical figures who have answered confession albums are Oscar Wilde,
Karl Marx, Arthur Conan Doyle, Stéphane Mallarmé, Paul Cézanne…)

11. Which words or phrases do you most overuse?

“Thank you.”

12. Which talent would you most like to have?

The ability to speak multiple languages.

13. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

Introversion.

14. What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Still being able to do what I love.

15. If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?

The sea.

16. Where would you most like to live?

Here and now.

17. What is your most treasured possession?

Nothing.

18. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?

Self-doubt.

19. What is your favorite occupation?

What I do.

20. What is your most marked characteristic?

Consistency.

21. What do you most value in your friends?

Constancy.

22. Who are your favorite writers?

Han Kang.

23. Who is your hero of fiction?

Yeong-hye.

24. Which historical figure do you most identify with?

No one.

25. Who are your heroes in real life?

My parents.

26. What are your favorite names?

Ji-Hye (wife) and Doyun (son).

27. What is it that you most dislike?

Arrogance.

28. What is your greatest regret?

Hesitation.

29. How would you like to die?

Quietly.

30. What is your motto?

Keep going.