In contemporary collectible design, few practitioners manage to strike a balance between rigorous intellectual philosophy and playful material exploration quite like Sanghyeok Lee. Restrained yet expressive, minimal yet deeply narrative, Lee’s work treats physical objects not as isolated entities, but as active participants in a dynamic spatial choreography. This core philosophy is vividly brought to life in ARC, his latest solo exhibition currently on view at MAJ VAN DER LINDEN in Berlin. Comprising an elegant suite of lamps, chairs, consoles, and shelving units, the collection transforms domestic architecture into a site of profound spatial inquiry. By anchoring his creations in both traditional Korean spatial concepts and a deeply intuitive European design sensibility, Lee invites viewers to reconsider the invisible architectural lines that define our everyday environments. Chronology: From Strawberry Fields to the Berlin Avant-Garde Sanghyeok Lee’s journey as a designer is a transcontinental narrative defined by distinct chapters of discovery, migration, and artistic maturation. Formative Years in South Korea Lee was born in South Korea in a rural setting bordered by strawberry fields—a setting he recalls with characteristic humor, comparing it to the birthplace of The Beatles ("almost like Liverpool," he laughs). He began his formal training in design in Seoul, immersing himself in foundational aesthetics. However, during the early 2000s, the international design community’s eyes were increasingly fixed on the Netherlands. The Dutch design scene, known for its intellectual rigor, playfulness, and disruptive output, caught Lee’s attention. Seeking a broader creative horizon, he relocated to Europe to study at the prestigious Design Academy Eindhoven (DAE). His time at DAE proved transformational. It was there that he developed a deep, intuitive understanding of materiality and handling—what he refers to today as the fundamental bedrock of his creative practice. The Crucible of Berlin: Arbeitsloser (2012) Following his graduation, Lee moved to Berlin, a city whose raw, industrial energy and complex historical layers would profoundly influence his artistic vision. Settling in the German capital was far from seamless. Lee faced the bureaucratic and emotional hurdles familiar to many expatriates: mastering a complex new language, navigating the grueling Berlin housing market, securing employment, and managing the labyrinth of visas and health insurance. “At that time, I even had to tick the box labeled ‘Arbeitsloser (jobless)’ on official documents,” Lee recalls. Rather than letting these systemic struggles deter him, Lee channeled them into his art. The experience directly inspired his breakthrough 2012 furniture series, Arbeitsloser. Translating the fragile, peripatetic, and temporary forms of construction scaffolding into refined compositions of wood and brass, the series served as both a personal catharsis and a sophisticated commentary on precarity, stability, and urban endurance. Academic Evolution and the Pandemic Shift (2020) As Lee’s reputation in Berlin grew, his portfolio expanded organically from collectible design objects to large-scale sculptures and public art installations. A pivotal turning point occurred in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic reshaped global movement and isolated populations. Amid this global disruption, Lee embarked on a Master’s degree at the Universität der Künste (UDK) Berlin. “It was a strange period that really shifted something in my work,” Lee reflects. “I started to think not just about the object, but about the behavior of the object and our behavior around the object.” This academic deep-dive solidified his transition into a holistic spatial designer, viewing physical objects as theatrical actors within a broader architectural stage. Supporting Data & Design Philosophy: The Geometry of Absence To fully understand Sanghyeok Lee’s work, one must examine the philosophical frameworks that guide his hand. Far from treating a room as a blank container to be filled, Lee views space itself as an active medium. Prior to our interview, Lee shared a curated collection of conceptual reference images. Among them was a still featuring the work of Olafiur Eliasson, accompanied by a telling caption: "The gap between the two chairs is more interesting than the two chairs." Another image featured undulating vaulted ceilings, a still of avant-garde Austrian artist Valie Export overlaid with the declaration, "Art can help to sharpen our perception," and photographs of white condensation trails cutting sharply across a pristine blue sky. These references highlight Lee’s fixation on invisible connections—the vectors of sight and movement that link a floor to a wall, a pillar to a ceiling, and an observer to a room. Yeo-baek and Korean Spatial Philosophy Underpinning Lee’s modern minimalist aesthetic is yeo-baek, a traditional Korean concept denoting empty or negative space within art, architecture, and design. In Korean artistic tradition, negative space is never considered a void of nothingness; rather, it is a resonant zone that holds energetic weight, leaving vital room for human reflection, imagination, and psychological projection. “I appreciate the emptiness, and maybe this relates to the things I create,” Lee explains. “When I see an empty space, I think about what would happen if I made an object and placed it there, how that might change the way people think.” The Genesis of ARC Lee’s latest collection, ARC, marks a departure from his previous methodology. Inspired in part by the inductive logic of Enlightenment-era encyclopedic projects—such as Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d’Alembert’s Encyclopédie, where knowledge was accumulated through observation rather than deduced from top-down theories—Lee approached the design of ARC through pure intuition. He began by cataloging visual stimuli that captured his imagination: architectural curves, expansive horizons, and structural frames. Simultaneously, he inherited a stock of beautiful oak timber gifted by friends who were moving away from Berlin. “I didn’t plan anything; the work came intuitively,” he notes. Drawing on the traditional Korean belief that cut wood retains an ongoing life force and continuous transformation, Lee engaged in a meditative, collaborative dialogue with the material. Eschewing rigid preliminary blueprints, he adopted a sculptural approach: “I spent a lot of time placing different elements together, focusing on the details, looking at each object, and considering whether all the pieces were in the right place.” The resulting collection of lamps, chairs, consoles, and shelves features recurring, graceful arches that naturally guide the human eye, establishing the new pieces as contemporary heirlooms that bridge functional utility with poetic sculpture. Official Responses and Exhibition Context: MAJ VAN DER LINDEN The physical presentation of ARC is as crucial to its impact as the objects themselves. Rather than displaying the collection within the clinical, sterile confines of a traditional white-cube gallery with isolated pedestals, curator MAJ VAN DER LINDEN has placed Lee’s works inside a warm-toned, domestic architectural townhouse setting in Berlin. Upon entering the exhibition space, visitors are immediately enveloped in an environment where furniture layout actively sculpts room dynamics, encouraging a continuous, circular flow of movement. "Spatial experiences play a central role in my creative process," Lee stated in an official gallery statement. "I examine not only the overall atmosphere but also the details of each individual element that makes up a space. In any space, I envision the absurd stories that might unfold within it." Discussing the exhibition experience, Lee adds: "Following the lines of ARC reveals hidden connections that invite personal interpretations of space. It creates new spatial experiences, offering another dimension that expands through objects." Implications for the Future of Collectible Design Sanghyeok Lee’s ARC collection and his broader trajectory signal a maturing shift within contemporary collectible design. As the global design community moves away from hyper-consumerist novelty and toward thoughtful, narrative-driven longevity, Lee’s work offers a compelling blueprint for the future. Re-centering the Human Actor: By prioritizing human movement, psychological behavior, and spatial choreography over mere surface aesthetics, Lee bridges the historical gap between fine art sculpture and functional industrial design. Intercultural Synthesis: Lee’s practice proves the profound richness of synthesizing traditional Eastern philosophies (such as yeo-baek and material animism) with Western intellectual histories (Enlightenment logic, European avant-garde spatial theory). This cross-cultural dialogue yields objects that resonate globally while maintaining distinct philosophical depth. The Economics of Precarity and Resilience: By transforming personal immigrant struggles in Berlin—such as the bureaucratic realities reflected in Arbeitsloser—into dignified, architectural furniture, Lee demonstrates that utilitarian objects can hold profound socio-political memory. ARC stands as a testament to the power of subtraction, reminding us that what is left unsaid—and unbuilt—matters just as much as the physical form before us. Exhibition Details: Exhibition ARC by Sanghyeok Lee Dates: On view until March 27 Venue: MAJ VAN DER LINDEN – Townhouse 068 im Stadtquartier AM TACHELES Address: Johannisstraße 14, 10117 Berlin Post navigation Through the Blur: How a Legally Blind Photographer Redefined Portraiture in the Age of Automation Beyond the Lens: Lev L. Spiro and the Art of Capturing ‘Thin Places’
