Saerom Yoon (b.1985) is a Seoul-based designer and artist whose work moves between sculpture, furniture, and installation. Trained in woodworking and furniture design at Hongik University, his practice explores the emotional and sensory qualities of materials, translating fleeting moments in nature into sculptural objects.

Working with materials such as dyed acrylic resin, wood, and metal, Yoon creates luminous compositions inspired by natural phenomena—particularly the colors and atmospheres of sunrise and sunset. His pieces often blur the boundary between functional design and sculpture, emphasizing light, color, and transparency as primary elements of form.

Through series such as Crystal Series and A Piece of One Day, Yoon seeks to capture fragments of memory and emotion, transforming personal experiences of landscape, light, and time into objects that invite contemplation. Based in Seoul, his work has been exhibited internationally and recognized with distinctions including the Wallpaper* Design Awards’ Next Generation Designer of the Year.

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

I was born in Masan, South Korea.

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

One of the most memorable exhibitions I experienced was Spectrum by Tokujin Yoshioka, which I saw in Seoul in 2010.

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

No. My first major was chemistry. Later, I entered an art university and began studying art.

4. What led you to the design creation ?

During my military service, I happened to make a piece of furniture. That experience sparked my fascination with creating things by hand.

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

I am mainly inspired by nature. I reinterpret those inspirations through my own sensibility and transform them into sculptural works.

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

I usually arrive at my studio at 8 a.m. and leave around 4 p.m.

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

I work mainly with acrylic because it allows me to express the colors I pursue in the most natural way.

8. What are the technical particularities of your creations ?

My works maintain transparency while expressing subtle and natural colors through layered pigments inside acrylic.

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

Take the time to deeply explore different materials.

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

Rather than belonging to an existing movement, I hope my work can be seen as the beginning of a new one.

11. What designers and artists have influenced you ?

Tokujin Yoshioka.

12. What contemporary designers do you appreciate ?

Choi Byung Hoon.

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

James Turrell.

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

A quiet moment of comfort.

15. Is there anything you would like to add ?

I hope my work can offer a small moment of comfort in someone’s day.

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?

“Running is the best.”

12. Which talent would you most like to have?

The ability to speak many languages.

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

To worry less.

14. What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Becoming an artist.

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

A whale.

16. Where would you most like to live?

Somewhere quiet near the sea.

17. What is your most treasured possession?

My memories.

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

Loneliness.

19. What is your favorite occupation?

Taking a nap.

20. What is your most marked characteristic?

Calmness.

21. What do you most value in your friends?

Love.

22. Who are your favorite writers?

Han Kang.

23. Who is your hero of fiction?

Bruce Wayne.

24. Which historical figure do you most identify with?

James Turrell.

25. Who are your heroes in real life?

Son Heung-min.

26. What are your favorite names?

My name.

27. What is it that you most dislike?

Fine dust.

28. What is your greatest regret?

Not buying Bitcoin earlier.

29. How would you like to die?

With the person I love.

30. What is your motto?

Do your best and accept the result.