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    "The Inlaying of Exquisite Light"
    Belonging to artist Jian Yoo, the creator of the new genre of 'Contemporary Mother-of-Pearl Art', Arijian is a mother-of-pearl art studio that presents the beauty of the mother-of-pearl, which embraces generations of time, with the works of the artist.

  • JIAN YOO

    Recognizing the physical properties of the mother-of-pearl and diversifying the perspective in which they’re seen, artist JIAN YOO embodies the mother-of-pearl’s materialistic presence with her formative language through the use of various media, such as painting, objects, and art furniture. Her works incorporate contrasting elements, like ideal-reality and tradition-modern, resulting in diverse perspectives found somewhere between varying environments and cultures. Made of thousands and thousands of mother-of-pearl pieces, her art reveals a kind of brilliance that is only realized when the small glimmers of light come together as a whole. Her line of work contains condensed layers of time, from the flow of time that the natural material embraces to the depth of time experienced through the long journey walked by master craftsmen who work alongside the artist.

  • ARIJIAN COLLECTION

    “It is also a part of creation to be newly inspired with connections to tradition and to think about whether these growing roots can be intertwined with modern society.” This is the philosophy of the ARIJIAN COLLECTION, the treasure chest that protects and preserves our beautiful and precious heritage.

    ㆍ The HERITAGE Collection that values the originality of antique furniture of the past, while adding on mother-of-pearl craftsmanship to remember the beauty and history of those times and record it in the contemporary language.

    ㆍ The HOUSE Collection showcases the trends of Korean mother-of-pearl craft over time, from the traditional furniture made in the studio of Jian Yoo’s father to the collections crafted by the greatest master craftsmen of the time after the peak of Korean mother-of-pearl art in the 1970s to the 1990s.

    ㆍ The EXCLUSIVE Collection presents art made original and distinct through Arijian’s unique designs and know-how, as well as the technical skills of the craftsmen.


  • GIFT COLLECTION

    The simplicity and candor that embrace nature and the aesthetics found in all parts of life stay with us for many years, create unique culture, and bring ease and happiness to our daily lives. Idly flowing with grace, at times brilliant, at times elegant, and free, Korean beauty gives warmth and leaves long, lingering emotions. Arijian presents a variety of goods that boasts its beauty, which is a blend of the value of time and the artistry and aesthetics of tradition that the studio protects. The studio presents high dignity and moves the heart with the artistic value and rarity that is created with the story, the design, the unique personality, and the colors based on the traditional craft.


    ◼ ARTWORKS |  ARIJIAN ONLINE GALLERY

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  • The Exquisite Light of Mother-of-Pearl that Begins with a Circle

    A circle represents the countless range of beautiful colors and light emitted by the mother-of-pearl, which is the artist’s primary art medium. The three circles highlighted in Arijian’s logo symbolize the artist, craftsmen, and collectors, who, together, complete an elegant culture through the acts of creating, sharing, and enjoying.

  • Color

  • Flamboyant and Immaculate; Mother-of-Pearl Boasting Its Beauty Under a Soft Lighting

    The iridescent surface of the mother-of-pearl constantly changes its gleam according to the illuminance and angle of the lighting and the viewer’s position, even allowing it to shine in the darkness. Depending on the environment, it can shine intensely or glow gently, boasting its inexplicable, mysterious lure.

  • Pattern

  • The 6 Warm and Shining Light Created by Nature

    The patterns use Arijian’s identity the halo as a motif to portray rays of light. Each pattern expresses the various ways light radiates and shines. Through endless transformations and trials, these patterns seek to escape conventional concepts to create the new art genre of “Contemporary Mother-of-Pearl Art”, symbolizing Jian Yoo’s passion.

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    • Team Arijian    

    • 靑奉 Chulhyun Yoo    Director

      Cheong Bong Chulhyun Yoo entered the wood lacquer industry in 1978 and imported · applied the Japanese Maki-e technique to Korea.
      He has been loved by many for his traditional yet distinctly Korean designs which incorporate the special dynamism and vibrancy found only in Korean masterpieces.
      Yoo is a master craftsman who has designed and gifted lacquerware for world-class designer Anna Sui and other renown national and international dignitaries and has worked tirelessly to cultivate the revival of Korean Najeon Chilgi.

      2020  Intersect Chicago 2020 Digital Fair
      2016  Awarded Special Recognition in the 46th Gyeonggi-do Craft Competition
      Awarded Special Recognition in the 46th Korean Craft Competition
      2015  Awarded accolades for Ingenuity and Originality in the 45th Seoul Best Handcraft Competition
      2014  Awarded Bronze Prize in the 44th Seoul Handicraft Competition
      Awarded Special Recognition in the 44th Korean Craft Competition
      2012  Awarded Participation Prize in the 42th Korean Craft Competition
      Certified as an official Korean Craft Masterpiece
      2008  Craft Exhibition at Millennium Hotel Doha
      2007  Customized furniture for ‘Tuscany’ Plaza Hotel’s Italian restaurant
      Manufactured furniture for Millennium Seoul Hilton Hotel’s Casino
      1996  Customized NajeonChilgi furniture for Anna Sui
      1992  Held the 1st Korean Traditional Craft Furniture Fair
      1987  Customized NajeonChilgi furniture for the guesthouse of the Korean Presidential Residence
      1978  Entering the Korean lacquer industry
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    • Jeong Zik Seong    Artist, Sponsored by Arijian

      • For the re-recognition of physical properties and artistic expansion as a part of contemporary art, Arijian has been sponsoring Western-style painter Jeong Zik Seong for her 'Contemporary Mother-of-Pearl Paintings' works since 2019.

      Jeong Zik Seong (b. 1976) is a Korean female painter in her 20th year as an artist and a mother of three children.
      She has established herself as a painter in Korea with her series of 'Semidetached Houses' which she has produced since 2003.
      She came to be known to the public for her paintings that depicted urban landscapes with her unique abstract brushstrokes, such as 'Constructive Abstract(Construction Site Abstract)', 'Blue Collar/Blue Color(Monochrome)', and 'The Mechanic' series.
      She had to move around as often as forty-three times to find a cheap house for rent each time. She rendered this experience in the series of 'Semidetached Houses' which interpreted the row house districts of poor hillside villages in Seoul in geometric and abstract shapes. 'Constructive Abstract(Construction Site Abstract)' series, which emphasized the act of drawing and erasing, is an interpretation of the rapid dismantling and re-building of redevelopment areas in Seoul, which she witnessed while moving around frequently.
      She rendered the workplace of laborers with her 'Blue Collar/Blue Color' series that aimed to create abstractions that reflected the dynamic rhythm of life of the blue-collar class, and 'The Mechanic' series that interpreted the ‘workplace’ of the car mechanic with rhythmic brushwork.
      Pieces of night plum blossoms in 'Winter Flower' series depicted people’s wish and hope, symbolized by candlelight rallies.
      The green monochrome works in 'Green Pool' series represented the ravaged soil of Korea following the controversial four-river refurbishment project.
      With the recent 'Contemporary Mother-of-Pearl Painting' series, Jeong Zik Seong has been exploring the relationship between the change of the four seasons and the changing aspects of natural landscapes and the symbolic expression of art, and making use of the technique of lacquerware inlaid with mother-of-pearl from the perspective of flatness and objecthood of painting.


      2000 Seoul National University, BFA
      2005 Seoul National University, MFA
      2012 Seoul National University, completed course for DFA

      [Contemporary Mother-of-Pearl Painting Exhibition]

      2022  ABU DHABI ART 2022, Gallery LeeBae (Abu Dhabi, UAE)
      Collected in National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea
      Context Art Miami, Olivia Park Gallery (Miami, US)
      ‘NoWhere’ 31th Solo Exhibition, Olivia Park Gallery, Korea
      ‘Najeon, Meeting with the Timeless Shine’, UNESCO HQ, Paris, France
      KIAF 2022, Art Park Gallery, Korea
      DAEGU ART FAIR 2022, Art Pixel Gallery, Korea
      PLAS Art Show 2022, Olivia Park Gallery, Korea
      ART BUSAN 2022, Olivia Park Gallery, Korea
      The Preview Seongsu, Pageroom 8 Gallery, Korea
      ‘Kotsembaram' Group Exhibition, The Untitled Void, Korea
      ‘#2 The Moment of Dialogue’, Hana Private Art Fair, Korea
      2021  ‘Living As The Artist', POSCO Art Museum, Korea
      'King Sejong and Music, Yeomillak', Sejong Culture & Art Center, Korea
      'From Flat Black, Expressing Nature', Gallery Daham, Korea
      ‘DNA: Dynamic & Alive Korean Art’, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea
      'Floating Forest', Gallery I am, Korea
      2020  'Special, Specific Objects', Lee Eugean Gallery, Korea
      'Shines In the Dark', Gallery Art Delight, Korea
      2019  'On the Read of the Winds', Nook Gallery, Korea