How lacquer artist Park Sung-youl is breaking the mold

Tradition can give rise to innovation: the way things are (or used to be) has often inspired makers to rethink craft techniques. One trailblazer in the field of lacquer art is Korean artist Park Sung-youl, who will be showcasing his Bonyeon series virtually at Collect art fair this year with Lloyd Choi Gallery.

Lacquerware craft typically involves varnishing an existing form (in wood or steel, for example) with lacquer. Instead, Park has developed a unique process that involves stretching lacquer to become the artwork itself. ‘Lacquer has so many different characteristics,’ says Park, a 2020 Loewe Craft Prize finalist. ‘It is adhesive and malleable. I focused on the flexibility and elasticity of lacquer and stretched it like a long string.’

Atop a clay mold, he applies over one hundred layers of coloured lacquer ‘strings’. Only three layers (using three different colours) are applied per day to prevent them from getting tangled. These are left to dry for a few days before the next layers are applied. When the final layers have set, Park removes the clay mold leaving the lacquer form intact. This meticulous process takes between two or three months.

‘Despite the complicated procedure involved in painting lacquer, people fail to appreciate the work of lacquer artist in the final product because they only see the form – the object itself,’ Park explains. ‘I thought it was a pity that those efforts are overlooked and lost beneath the final glaze. So I wondered if this was the only way to use ottchil (lacquer). I wanted to do something different and found a way to create forms solely with ottchil.’

The Korean word bonyeon translates to ‘natural state’ in English and reflects Park’s interest in drawing out the material properties of lacquer, fully utilising its flexible qualities. ‘The most difficult steps of this process are stretching the lacquer and removing it from the mold,’ adds Park. ‘Although lacquer has elasticity, it’s not as stretchy as gum. How to stretch it as thinly as possible without snapping it is my secret.’

This method has never been attempted by any other artist in this medium. For traditional lacquer artists, Park is, literally, breaking the mold.

Collect 2021 will take place online on Artsy.net from 26 February, with works on view and commissions available until 24 March. Over the coming weeks, we’re meeting the makers making their debut at the fair – follow the pre-fair action online and on Instagram at @collectartfair and #collect2021.