Vogue Korea Interview

In a world filled with dramatic light and shadows, shimmering silver faces appear suddenly. The spiritual universe of artist Junghyun Lee—where mythical and religious figures are bound in jewelry form—was radiating through Gallery Space 55 in his solo exhibition, The Art of Grasping.

Through a magnifying glass, one can observe 17 jewelry pieces imbued with Lee’s personal reflections on mythology and religion, bringing forth a sense of peace and heightened sensitivity rarely felt in everyday life.

Although wearable, Lee’s jewelry feels distinctly different from the necklaces and bracelets I typically wear. People of the distant past might have found my response peculiar. In ancient times, jewelry was much more than an accessory; it bore the marks of those who wore it and served far more varied purposes than it does today.

For centuries, jewelry held a ritualistic role, meant to ward off evil spirits and attract good fortune. As history progressed into the Middle Ages, it became a symbol of social status, reflecting the hierarchical nature of society. By the Renaissance, people began to view jewelry as an object of craftsmanship and desire.

In the late 19th to early 20th century, the Art Nouveau movement elevated craft to the level of fine art, bringing about master craftsmen, like René Lalique. His Dragonfly Woman Corsage Ornament (1897–1898)—a figure that combines a woman’s bust with a dragonfly, crafted from gold, chrysoprase, moonstone, and enamel glass—is one of his representative works.

Lalique wove together elements from nature, like plants, birds, and insects, to create delicate objects rich with mystique. As both a jeweler and glass artist, Lalique expanded the boundaries of jewelry design, showcasing the allure of semi-precious stones.

Moving into the 1920s and 30s, the Art Deco era brought a consistent pursuit of elegance, bold colors, geometric patterns, and exotic designs, leading to jewelry that was glamorous yet refined.

Jewelry transcends luxury and becomes celebrated as an artwork when it embodies a story or philosophy. In these moments, jewelry designers evolve from artisans to artists who imbue their creations with meaning.

At last year's "Magnificent Jewels" auction at Sotheby’s and Christie’s, one of the most sought-after designers, alongside Cartier, Harry Winston, and Van Cleef & Arpels, was American jewelry designer Joel Arthur Rosenthal, known as "JAR."

Rosenthal, who once dreamed of being a painter, was the first to use titanium in high jewelry and is renowned for pieces that combine oxidized metal with colored stones. His work—marked by flowing curves, painterly color combinations, and bold cuts and settings—was celebrated at his 2013 retrospective at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the first for a living artist, underscoring the moment jewelry was embraced as cultural heritage.

Another contemporary jewelry artist captivating collectors is Viren Bhagat, from India. Drawing inspiration from the architecture and art of the Mughal Empire—a fusion of Islamic and Hindu culture in the 16th and 17th centuries—Bhagat creates vintage jewelry using natural stones.

Wallace Chan, from Hong Kong, spent 20 years as a sculptor before traveling to Europe to learn carving techniques, which led him into jewelry craft. In an interview with Magnifissance, Chan spoke of his work with a certain spirituality:

“I work with the same devotion as religious practice. I pour love into each stone, hoping the jewelry brings happiness. To embrace a range of emotions—joy, pain, and sorrow—is essential for wisdom.”

Perhaps that’s why Wallace’s meticulously crafted pieces exude an endless vitality. Like van Gogh, Goya, and Egon Schiele, who persisted in their craft despite life’s pain, jewelry artists, through years of refinement, have their works recognized as full-fledged art, cherished over time.

In an age where technology gladly takes over human roles, it is the artist’s personal narrative that endures through the arduous process of selecting, cutting, and setting gemstones. It is this very story that grants longevity to their work.

At his latest exhibition, Junghyun Lee—who has spent years crafting sculptures and artifacts in leather—presents his metal jewelry under his brand, Ape Object, crafted using wax carving and precision casting techniques.

“The back of my pendants, shaped as mythological or Buddha heads, reveals skulls, brains, and skeletal cross-sections. These opposing images reflect my belief that nothing is absolute. Each symbol doesn’t have a single meaning—it evolves, creating new significance when connected with someone’s life.”

It’s the story that gives a piece its value. “I want to create jewelry that can be cherished and admired. I see my pieces not just as accessories, but as objects or small sculptures meant to rest on someone’s skin. The boundary between craft and sculpture feels increasingly blurred.”

His studio in Seoul, South Korea, resembles a training ground for an ascetic, where time seems to pass slowly as he delicately molds materials with a fine needle. Through this process, jewelry becomes a work of art that moves the heart.

As Junghyun Lee states, the unique appeal of jewelry lies in how it gains new meaning and context when worn by someone. People find their own story in his pieces: a bone cancer survivor treasures a thighbone bracelet, a feminist buys herself a Medusa necklace, and a couple commissions an unusual set of rings as a pledge of lifelong love.

At the end of each year, Lee performs his own ritual, creating a skull object to reflect on life’s impermanence. “It usually takes over a month to carve each object. There’s a limit to how many pieces I can make in my lifetime, which serves as a reminder of life’s finitude,” he shares.

Junghyun Lee finds fulfillment in the slow creation of handcrafted jewelry amid an age of technological influx. The meticulous aspirations and beliefs of contemporary jewelry artists encourage us to appreciate jewelry once more, to pause and touch each piece as if it held a hidden wish, like the people of old who cherished their adornments as art. <VK>

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