Seven Korean ‘Rising Talents’ at Maison & Objet 2025 – All photos by ©Anne-Emmanuelle Thion.
Design. Through the Rising Talents programme and exhibition, Maison & Objet highlights a country’s creative landscape, showcasing emerging designers who have recently set up their studios. For the January 2025 edition, an esteemed international focused on Korea and selected Dahye Jeong, Kuo Duo, Minjae Kim, Niceworkshop, Sisan Lee, Woojai Lee, and In Yeonghye.
- RELATED STORIES: Read more about Paris 2025 on Archipanic.
Niceworkshop at the Rising Talents exhibition.
“The languages of these Korean rising talents weave are marked by assertive futurism, refined originality and a reinvention of sculptural techniques,” explains Dereen O’Sullivan, head of the Rising Talents Awards programme. “Moreover, our daily lives are fuelled by this giant of industrial and technological innovation. Finally, even if the country’s creative scene is recognised today, we still have much to discover.”
- RELATED STORIES: Discover more Korean architecture and design on Archipanic.
In Yeonghye at the Rising Talents exhibition.
In Yeonghye harnesses hand-sewing techniques, moving away from the confines of functional structure to achieve a freedom of expression that is both liberating and comforting. Whether finely woven or roughly cut, velvet, cotton or terry, soft and thick, her work highlights a soothing, intimate comfort that invites you to touch, enfold and lean against, taking in its always positive vibrations.
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Based in Seoul, Niceworkshop was established in 2021 by Hyunseog Oh and Sangmyeong Yoo. Nature-inspired crafts and furniture embody a ‘Neo-naturalism’ that examines the physical characteristics of industrial materials. The Bolt series draws inspiration from fully threaded bolts. “We aimed to change an industrial material into sculptural art. What started as a basic assembly of nuts and bolts has become a creative journey, highlighting the pursuit of a balance between structural beauty.”
Niceworkshop at the Rising Talents exhibition.
Dahye Jeong intricately weaves horsehair onto wooden moulds, drawing inspiration from ancient antiques and traditional Korean ceramics. Her exquisite lightweight designs stand out for the intricate pattern details and hued transparency. “The sun shines through the transparent manes. It was as if my shapes created their own light.”
Dahye Jeong at the Rising Talents exhibition.
“Seoul is a highly-developed industrial city, but its ancient cultural heritage, nature, mountains and rivers live alongside its industrial aspects.” Explains Sisan Lee, who presents a furniture and lighting design collection that combines raw stones he collected in riverbeds with steel plates or glass. The series fulfils the desire for balance between nature and artefacts.
Sisan Lee at the Rising Talents exhibition.
Woojai Lee draws inspiration from the small, even ignored, details of our everyday environment to make solid benches, pedestals, bricks and partitions. The works presented in Paris are made from recycled newspapers, an underestimated material with great potential, according to the designer. “To invite the viewer to slow down and recognise the beauty in the seemingly insignificant, I take advantage of the unpredictability of materials and the irregularities inherent in handmade work.”
Woojai Lee at the Rising Talents exhibition.
Hwachan Lee and Yoomin Maeng founded Kuo Duo studio in 2021. Their work ranges from industrial design to limited editions and spatial installations. In Paris, they present a playful aluminium wall hanger as well as a table and chairs crafted through a combination of CNC machining and handcrafting.
Kuo Duo at the Rising Talents exhibition.
Minjae Kim is an architect-turned-designer who crafts furniture made of quilted fibreglass, bamboo and wood. At Maison & Objet, he presents chairs made of wood or translucent leaves and a lamp balanced by wooden weights. One of these lights up when two brass rods touch. “I concentrate my efforts on the indefinite,” the results are purposely imperfect.
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All photos are by Anne Emmanuelle Thion, courtesy of Maison & Objet.
Seven Korean ‘Rising Talents’ at Maison & Objet 2025.
