SPACE April 2025 (No. 689)
View of Maison & Objet
Woojai Lee, Bleu, newspaper & mixed media, 350 × 350 × 500mm each, 2025 ©Woojai Lee
The design fair Maison & Objet was held last January from the 16th to 20th, in Paris, France. Every year, the fair’s ‘Rising Talent Awards’ unveils the up-and-coming talent of a selected country. Noteworthy young artists and designers under 35 years old are invited to showcase their work to a jury of French and guest experts. This year, Korea took centre stage at Maison & Objet. At a time when Korean artists have already been thriving internationally, sharing and communicating their work, SPACE take a look at what was on display in order to gain an insight into French perspectives on Korean design.
Front chair work. Minjae Kim, Chaise de Douleur, douglas fir, lacquer, stain, acrylic paint , 87.5 × 45.5 × 35.5cm, 2025 ©Minjae Kim
Korea, This Year’s Rising Talent
Maison & Objet is one of Europe’s largest B2B design fairs, founded in 1949 by the Atelier d’Arts de France and RX, and continuing to this day under its present name. The biannual five-day event is participated by over 70,000 design professionals, with 2,500 brands from upto 150 countries. Unlike Art Basel or Milano Design Week, which are firmly embedded in their city centres, Maison & Objet can only be reached by traveling around 20km to the north-west of Paris on the weathered regional express train. A certain French flair manifests at the Paris Nord Villepinte...
