Volume Gallery is pleased to announce Given, an exhibition of new designed objects by Sung Jang opening Saturday, November 6, 2021, from 11AM-6PM. In his second solo exhibition at Volume Gallery, Sung Jang presents symbiotic combinations of found stones buttressed by constructed bases.
In these works a base supports the stone, helping the natural form to find balance. The found stones are equivalent to the given, as in an equation, and the supporting structure acts like a variable, signifying human intervention. The deliberate combinations are analogous to humanity’s relationship with nature—rock and the base representing nature meeting human reasoning. With their light touch, the pieces reflect a traditional Korean dynamic with nature, one of appreciation and respect.
Jang is interested in honoring the condition and history of the stones just as they are when he finds them. He sourced some of the stones in South Korea and some in Illinois. Some of the stones are marble, some limestone, and some a naturally deep black granite. Others are recovered foundation stones with a history of being handled, altered, and utilized. Jang’s adjustments are minimal, he has given some stones washes of ink to enhance their darkness and he has marked all of them inconspicuously with the latitude, longitude, and time of the moment he found them, codifying them with the details of their origin and appropriation by the designer.
“My inquiry started from the question of the role of the maker. Taking on the Korean design mindset, my work was limited to finding the object from nature or within the daily environment and merely situating it for human use by discovering their talent. A found stone is supported by a fabricated structure to offer function as seating or table surface, allowing the user an interaction with unprocessed nature.” Sung Jang
Each object is used as either a chair, stool, or small table. The pieces propose that the found stones have inherent value and embody a delight in finding use and significance in natural objects and states.
The exhibition will be on view through Saturday, December 18, 2021.
Sung Jang is a graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago with a fine arts degree and Domus Academy in Milano with a Master in Design. Sung began his design career in Milano at Samsung Design Milano before taking on a teaching career as a faculty at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Designed Objects program. Since 2013, Sung has served at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s School of Design Industrial Design program, now as Associate Professor and Chair. Sung has worked with international brands such as Louis Vuitton, Guzzini, and Roche Bobois and has been represented internationally at Venice Biennale, Design Miami, Victoria and Albert Museum, Volume Gallery, Armory Show, Chamber NYC among others.
A designer and artist, Sung Jang’s work explores the interplay between the two disciplines, resulting in creations that blur boundaries and fit seamlessly into both. Through his design and research practice, Sung Jang Laboratory, Sung strives to compose works that carry significance beyond functional extent which display and initiate dialogues regarding design’s roles and capabilities in social, cultural, emotional, artistic realms. One of Sung’s research interests is to understand and articulate qualitative attributes such as beauty, elegance, and extravagance in a clear set of insights as methodology for design. In parallel to his independent practice, Sung serves as a partner in Article, LLC, a design consultancy based in Chicago.
