Hyunsook Jeong

 

Traditionally, Korea uses inlaid nacre, from the inner shell layer of mother-of-pearl, for lacquer ware and furniture, called Najeon-Chilgi. Depending on the angle of light, inlaid nacre radiates every possible color from nature. Because of the decrease in demand and changing modern tastes, this technique has slowly vanished. Yet, this artist, Hyunsook, brings back this old technique back into her canvases. Her pieces also have images of ancient forms such as Korean white ware, a statue of Buddha, and pagodas. She incorporates 3-mm wide precision cut nacre with crystals to create an optical illusion of abstract three-dimensional geometric shapes through concentric circles.