SILVER SHADOWS: HYEJEONG KO

The recipient of numerous awards, including the Boghossian Foundation Prize in 2025, the Homo Faber Award in 2024, and the Grand Prize at the Cheongju International Craft Competition in 2023, the artist creates sculptures in sterling silver, inspired by the natural landscapes of her birthplace, the volcanic island of Jeju.

Hyejeong Ko transforms her perception of organic forms found in nature dandelions, pebbles, sea urchins, and streams into shimmering, ethereal sculptures. Yet rather than simply imitating natural forms, her works are inspired by the dynamics of natural phenomena, expressed through the Taoist philosophy of Wu Wei — an effortless action and harmony with the natural course of things. Ko sees this as both a principle of life and of creation: human beings, regardless of their origins, remain intrinsically connected to nature, and true beauty lies in this resonance with the natural world.

Through the ever-changing reflections of silver and her remarkable mastery of micro-soldering, the artist conveys a sense of lightness and grace, reminiscent of our impressions of the sea and its constantly shifting light. Silver, traditionally perceived as cold and solid, becomes in Ko’s hands a soft, flexible, and living material. 

For the artist, its variations in tone under the light evoke the ink gradients of Asian painting, where depth arises from the density and nuances of the stroke rather than from color itself. In this approach, silver becomes both a traditional material and a contemporary medium, capable of revealing an infinite range of nuances depending on the surface finish and the angle of the light. Alongside silver, Ko occasionally incorporates brass, mother-of-pearl, and porcelain, enriching her artistic vocabulary while contributing to the contemporary dialogue between traditional Korean craft techniques and contemporary sculptural practice.