Han Seungmin’s Bu Tables Recontextualize Ornament and Craft Traditions

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Summary

  • Han Seungmin aka Sonny Han’s Bu Tables reinterpret Korean furniture with industrial hardware as ornament
  • Brackets, washers and hinges become decorative motifs, highlighting cost and craft
  • Exhibited at One of One gallery, staged beneath a carved wooden fish referencing the Jaringobi folktale

Brooklyn artist Han Seungmin, who also goes by Sonny Han, designed the Bu Tables. This furniture series in two parts takes inspiration from classic Korean furniture, updating its style, size, and decorative details.

The project, titled ‘Bu,’ plays on a double meaning in Korean. The word sounds like both ‘wealth’ and ‘division.’ The artwork features tables arranged on top of each other, displayed beneath a hand-carved wooden fish suspended from the ceiling. This setup is inspired by the Korean folktale of Jaringobi, a notoriously stingy man who hung a dried fish over his table—not to eat, but to simply look at, so it would last longer.

By repeating and closely arranging these simple, practical parts, they transform into decorative designs. Brackets become borders, washers look like flowers, and hinges appear as jewelry on the surface. This intentional shift in how we see these ordinary objects draws attention to their hidden beauty, moving them from being purely functional to being delicate decorations. The project also emphasizes that materials and cost are always connected—each piece comes with a price, turning the act of building into a reflection on the costs of making things in today’s commercial world.

Presented by

One of One
gallery at its satellite space on 35 Allen Street, the Bu Tables are displayed stacked beneath a hand‑carved wooden fish, referencing the Korean folktale of Jaringobi, a miser who preserved a dried fish by only looking at it during meals. This juxtaposition of industrial parts and folk symbolism raises questions about value, consumption, and restraint in craft.

 

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2026-05-28 15:25