About Hyungzee Choi
Hyungzee Choi was born and raised in South Korea after its industrialization period. Many of her earlier memories consist of following her father, a mechanical engineer, around the busy alleyways, factories, and warehouses of Cheonggyecheon. She grew to love the smell of machine oil, the whirring and clanging of tools, and the functional aesthetic of machines, learning a lot from watching over her father’s shoulder.
Her sketchbook is full of writings, calculations, and blueprints instead of drawings. She enjoys all of her work being done by her hands and thus her work is delicate. She received her Bachelor’s degree in industrial design and then returned to her first love, metalsmithing, and received a master’s degree in metal craft.
She is captivated by the elegant forms found in industrial machines, where each part serves a specific purpose without the need for decoration. Her work reflects her interest in mechanical movement and manipulation which was influenced by her father. Inspired by Friedrich Becker, a pioneer in kinetic jewelry who also had a background in machining, she aims to express the beauty of industrialism and minimalism through her work in metalcraft. By repurposing machine parts into wearable jewelry and emphasizing simple, geometric, and structural forms, the essence of mechanical aesthetics was demonstrated in the first show “Mutate” in Seoul in 2002.
She moved to New York City to study abroad, but while raising her son, she put her plans for studying on hold and instead opened a jewelry studio ‘BEESHAUS’ in Manhattan in 2011. She continued to create jewelry that is simple, geometric, and structured in a minimalistic form that follows function. However, during her time in business, she wound up archiving many of the ideas she couldn’t pursue.
Now, her passion is to create artistic metal works that had previously eluded her pursuit. She still firmly believes in minimalism’s inherent beauty and avoids artificial embellishments and excess. Her art explores how pure geometric three-dimensional forms can be expressed diversely, based on the wearer’s movements, method of wearing, or the viewing angle. She hopes the wearer experiences the joy of wearing a constantly changing ornament in its pure form, devoid of decoration.
Education
1998-2002 M.F.A.Metalwork and Jewelry/ Kookmin University, Seoul, Korea
1993-1997 B.F.A. Industrial Design/ Konkuk University, Seoul, Korea
Experience
2011-Present BEESHAUS Inc. Owner
2004-2010 Independent artist
2003-2004 Kirabo.co.kr President
2000- 2005 HiPROJECT Freelancer / Project Manager & Designer
1997-1998 Metalwork Studio SAPO
1996-1997 2&5 Design Co., Ltd
Solo Exhibitions
2002 Metalworks by Hyungzee Choi (GanaArt Space, Seoul, Korea)
Juried Exhibitions
2024 “The 42nd Annual Smithsonian Craft Show”, The National Building Museum, Washington D.C., USA
2023 “The 48th Annual Philadelphia Museum of Art Contemporary Craft Show”, Pennsylvania Convention Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
2002 M.F.A. Degree Show – Craft made using Industrial Waste Products to express Structural Beauty (M.F.A. Kookmin Univ., Seoul, Korea)
2000 The 1st Alchemists Exhibition (Dongduk Gallery, Seoul, Korea)
1996 The Diploma Works of Dept. of Industrial Design, College of Art & Design, Konkuk University (KIDP, Seoul, Korea)
1994 The Exhibition of Paper-Art In Korea (Seoul Art Center, Seoul, Korea)
Awards
2018 Selected participant of Red Dot Design Award 2018 ‘Vertices’ (Essen, Germany)
2015 Selected participant of Red Dot Design Award 2015 ‘3456∞Infinity’, ‘Swirl’ (Essen, Germany)
1999 Contemporary Jewelry Competition (Il-min Art Museum, Seoul, Korea)
1999 KDC 28th National University Design Competition (Seoul, Korea)
Thesis
Craft made using Industrial Waste Products to express Structural Beauty (M.F.A. Kookmin Univ. 2002)