Metal craftsperson and designer Lee Juhyun will hold a first solo exhibition in Europe at Milan Design Week 2026 from the 20th to the 26th of this month.
The exhibition will be held in the Boudoir, a space once used as a reception room within the historic Palazzo Litta in central Milan, Italy. Invited as part of the official program of the international design platform MoscaPartners, the artist will present a series titled Balance Object that aesthetically unravels gravity and tension.
The core keyword running through the artist's body of work is "balance." After 12 years studying abroad, sublimating the anxiety of being on the margins into art, the artist induces visual tension through objects that stand precariously on narrow points of contact, while allowing users to find emotional stability in the act of placing and using them.
The exhibited works aim to be "usable artworks" that break down the boundary between "product" and "artwork." Visitors do more than appreciate the pieces; by directly using or arranging them, they complete a sensory experience. This exhibition will also feature the artist's signature Caltrop series and Yeom series, crafted from diverse materials such as metal, wood, and natural stone.
The Caltrop series is a shoehorn inspired by the "caltrop," one of the oldest weapons of war. Even within a long, slender structure with a narrow point of contact, its self-supporting form visually realizes the concept of "balance." It showcases a high degree of craftsmanship achieved through 20 steps of handwork over about 40 hours.
The Yeom series takes its name from the pure Korean word "yeom," meaning "an island made of small rocks." It combines a tabletop in the cross-sectional shape of a rock with a rock object cast in metal from a natural stone, capturing the image of an island rising from a rock. It explores a state of balance through the tension between the texture of natural objects and an artificial structure.
The artist said, "I want to share the tension of works standing against gravity in a space touched by history," and added, "Through my work, I hope to communicate broadly the balance of a life that has been precarious yet lived with utmost effort over the past four years."