Artist: Hyejeong Ko

Galerie Maria Wettergren presents Silver Shadows, an exhibition by South Korean artist 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.

With a dual education in jewelry at Kyonggi University (1999) and a Master’s degree in Metalsmithing and Jewelry from the School for American Crafts at the Rochester Institute of Technology (2003), Ko is now regarded as one of the most important contemporary sculptors working in silver. Her works are held in major museum collections, including those of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Korea and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Born in 1975 on the volcanic island of Jeju, at the southern tip of Korea, Hyejeong Ko holds a bachelor’s degree in jewelry design from Kyonggi University (1999) and a master’s degree in metalwork and jewelry design from the School for American Crafts at the Rochester Institute of Technology (2003). Her years of training in Jeju have profoundly influenced her approach to metalwork, which relies on techniques such as micro-soldering and precision fabrication.

Hyejeong Ko’s metal sculptures have been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Korea and internationally; her works are now part of major institutional collections, including those of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea; the Victoria & Albert Museum in London; and the Ulster Museum – National Museums NI in Belfast. Her work has been widely acclaimed, notably with the Grand Prize at the Cheongju International Craft Competition in 2023, the Homo Faber Prize in 2024, and the Boghossian Foundation Prize in 2025.