An aesthetic of moderation and humility, rooted in Joseon's Seonbi culture, lives within Choi Byung Hoon’s wood and stone sculpture. Johyun Gallery presents Lingering silence, a solo exhibition by Choi Byung Hoon, who has pioneered new horizons in the field of art furniture for over four decades. Running from June 4 to August 2 at Johyun Gallery, Seoul, and from June 11 to August 2 at Johyun Gallery, Haeundae, this exhibition brings together recent works from his series, including cabinets and tables.

A single block of natural stone supports a smoothly carved oval tabletop, holding it in a balance that seems to defy gravity. The tension between the two, raw and refined, immovable and weightless, settles into a quiet equilibrium. Built up through multiple layers of clear lacquer, the wood draws surrounding light into its surface and reflects it back with the stillness of water at rest. The cabinets at the center of this exhibition are built from wooden panels arranged in a grid, their weight carried by natural stones set beneath like feet.

The wood grain surfacing softly through the black finish recalls the traditional language of ink painting, while the stones anchor the work in a time far older than memory. Where the polished surface of the wood and the rough, primal mass of stone meet, a tension builds between two opposing natures — refined and raw, present and ancient. As that tension reaches its peak, something shifts: not noise, but a deep and settled silence, the kind that comes when opposing forces finally hold.

Silence does not disappear; it lingers. Though invisible to the eye, silence permeates the human inner self, gently settles over space and time, and ultimately becomes the depth of an object. My current exhibition, Lingering silence, is an endeavor to re-examine the 'Seonbi spirit' (scholar spirit) that once existed within the scholar culture of the Joseon Dynasty through today's formal, sculptural language.

(From Choi Byung Hoon’s artist note)