An Sung Gyu
Layers of Time
Lacquerware artist An Sung Gyu works in a small Seoul studio, where walls and worktables are given over to making his boxes. One sits unfinished as An builds its surface with hemp and lacquer, sanding between layers. Each stage must dry before he can continue, and around eight layers may go into a single box. Known as geonchil, the method grew from An’s early study of najeonchilgi, the Korean tradition of decorating lacquerware with mother-of-pearl.
An began studying najeonchilgi in 2007, having encountered lacquerware throughout his life, from the mother-of-pearl cabinets at his grandmother’s house to traditional craft shops and museums. As his practice developed, he became increasingly interested in lacquer itself and how the material could shape his process. A natural sap, lacquer responds to temperature, humidity, and harvest timing, making each application unpredictable. For An, that unpredictability has become part of the work.
The box, or ham (ha-ahm), is a recurring form in An’s practice. Its simple structure provides a starting point for experimentation. Ahead of his first solo exhibition at Gallery MOSOON this December, An describes the box as a time capsule, holding photographs, personal objects, and drawings by his daughter. His work reinterprets inherited forms and techniques, carrying their histories into new contexts.
JAE KIM: You’ve now been working with lacquer for quite some time. What drew you to this material?
AN SUNG GYU: I already knew I wanted to work with craft when I was preparing for university and studying art. I was particularly drawn to najeonchilgi. I remember seeing mother-of-pearl cabinets at my grandmother’s house and encountering them often in Insadong, a neighborhood in Seoul. Later, when I came across lacquerware from the Goryeo and Joseon periods in museums, I was struck by its beauty and wanted to understand more about how these objects were made.
That led me to look for a program where I could formally study najeonchilgi. As I learned more about the technique, I realized that lacquer, or urushi, was its foundation, and I became increasingly interested in the material itself. What fascinated me was that lacquer is highly responsive to its surroundings. Even the drying process depends on conditions such as temperature and humidity, so working with it requires a certain attentiveness to the environment.
As I continued studying, I also began learning geonchil, or dry lacquer, which uses layers of hemp fabric to build an object’s structure. Unlike carving, where the form is removed from a solid material, this process allows the form to be built up layer by layer. The result can be remarkably lightweight while still being strong. I started studying these techniques in 2007, and that initial curiosity about najeonchilgi eventually led me to a much deeper and ongoing relationship with lacquer.
JK: Lacquer is also a very tricky material to work with. Can you tell me a little more about how you work with it?
ASG: Lacquer is a natural sap from the lacquer tree, and because it is a natural material, it behaves differently depending on when it was harvested, the season, and the temperature and humidity. These factors can affect how it dries and how its color develops.
When I first started working with it, I wanted to control those differences and make it behave more like paint. But the more I worked with lacquer, the more I became interested in accepting what I couldn’t control. Rather than forcing the material to behave in a certain way, I began working with what it naturally does and adjusting the parts I could influence.
I also spent many years working on commissioned and subcontracted projects, including applying lacquer to hanok [a traditional Korean house] and making different kinds of objects. Even when the process was similar, the results were always slightly different. I found those differences interesting, and over time, they became an important part of how I think about my own work.
“Rather than forcing the material to behave in a certain way, I began working with what it naturally does and adjusting the parts I could influence.”
An Sung Gyu
JK: Creating one piece of your work is a slow and detailed process. I’m curious to understand the preparation that happens before you reach the finished surface.
ASG: A lot of the preparation in my process comes from traditional Korean craft. In najeonchilgi, Korean mother-of-pearl lacquerware, there is a great deal of work before the mother-of-pearl is applied. When making a wooden box, for example, hemp fabric is first applied to reinforce the structure and prevent the wood from warping or splitting. A mixture of clay and lacquer is then used to fill the texture of the hemp, followed by several layers of lacquer. The mother-of-pearl is added only at the end, so the finished surface contains all of these layers underneath.
That process is very important to me. In craft, how something is made is inseparable from the object itself. Since each step is done by hand, there are always small differences in the form, the thickness of the lacquer, and the surface. I’m interested in allowing some of those traces to remain visible rather than trying to make everything perfectly uniform.
JK: Your boxes, or ham, have become an important form in your practice. Why are you drawn to this particular object?
ASG: I’ve been making works in forms and shapes of a box for a long time, including traditional wedding boxes and lacquered boxes for storing historical records and books through a project at Jangseogak, the library and archives of the Academy of Korean Studies. So I’ve developed a strong connection to the form over the years.
I think of the box as a kind of canvas for lacquer work. It has a simple, fundamental structure, but there are many ways to build on it and transform it. One of the traditional artisans I studied with once told me, “If you can make a good box, you can make anything.” I liked that idea because it made me realize how much you can learn from a basic form.
For me, the structure of the box also gives me something to rely on. Once the foundation is there, I can focus on the surface, materials, and the ways the form can change. That balance between a strong structure and room to experiment is what keeps me interested in ham.
JK: You’ve worked with wooden boxes in the past, but in recent years, you’ve begun constructing the entire form using geonchil, rather than wood. What does building the form this way allow you to explore that working with wood doesn’t?
ASG: I started making boxes with geonchil about three to five years ago. Unlike a wooden box, where the structure is built first, geonchil allows me to build the form itself through layers of hemp, an earthen material, and lacquer. I layer the hemp, fill the weave, and sand it down repeatedly. It usually takes around eight layers to reach the thickness I need before I can shape the form.
I was drawn to this because it allowed me to make forms that would be difficult to create in wood. I also liked that I could work entirely in my own studio using just these three materials. I don’t have extensive woodworking experience, so geonchil gave me a way to take the work from beginning to end myself.
The process is demanding, so I have to be convinced that a piece is worth making before I begin. Once I start, though, I want to see it through to the end. The difficulty itself isn’t the point. What matters is what the process allows me to make, and whether I’m satisfied with the result.
JK: You’ve also been moving beyond the more conventional box form, experimenting with rounded corners and more fluid shapes. What prompted you to start pushing the form in this direction?
ASG: You are right. I’m interested in forms that would be difficult to make in wood because geonchil allows me to shape them more freely.
Rather than starting with a fixed form, I think about what shape can best bring out the surface, texture, or process I’m working with. Sometimes a rounded section allows those qualities to come through more clearly, so I gradually adjust the form as I work. I’m still exploring how far I can take these shapes while keeping a connection to the box as a starting point.
(Read the full interview from Issue 11)
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