Beauty in the Box: The Enduring Elegance of Korean Design presents 65 pieces of Korean furniture from the Weisman Art Museum’s outstanding Edward Reynolds Wright Jr. Collection. The collection came as a bequest from Dr. Wright in 1988. A scholar of Korean history and politics, Wright was Executive Director of the Korean-American Educational (Fulbright) Commission in Seoul from 1967 to 1978. He formed his collection of Korean furniture during those years and continued to collect when he lived in Japan and San Francisco. The variety and breadth of his collection is unmatched in the United States, and is perhaps unrivaled outside Korea.

This exhibition is presented in 2003 as part of Minnesota’s commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Korean immigration to the United States. Nationally, the Korean-American population numbers 1.5 million. Minnesota his home to one of the largest Korean communities in the country, and has the greatest per capita population of adopted Koreans of any state in the country. There are 20,000 adopted Koreans and 15,000 non-adopted first and second generation Koreans in our state. The Weisman is pleased to have the opportunity to partner with Minnesota’s Korean community on this special exhibition.

Most of the Korean furniture in the Weisman’s collection dates from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Korean culture was floor-based––they did not develop chairs and high tables. Without the chair and table and the things that accompany those objects, the most common pieces of furniture in all cultures are receptacles for the keeping of the essentials—and luxuries—of life. So traditional Korean furniture is mainly wooden boxes of all sizes—boxes for the storage of clothing, bedding, money, food, herbs and medicines, jewelry, cosmetics, sewing, writing implements, and books; and for the presentation of wedding presents.

The exhibition focuses on the beauty and craftsmanship of Korean wooden furniture. Korean furniture is not highly decorated with lacquer or inlays. It depends on graceful proportions, skillful use of the natural features of wood, and a high level of craftsmanship, for its beauty. Furniture from the north of Korea, where the variety of wood was more limited than in the south, uses more decorative metal fittings for hinges, locks, and fasteners. Fanciful bats and butterflies, symbols of good luck and happiness, can be seen in the metal hinges and other fittings of many Korean boxes, particularly those made for use by women. Korean craftsmen respected the wood and the wholeness of the piece. The natural qualities of wood were exploited to the utmost in Korean chests.

Beauty in the Box will be arranged in sections according to the various uses of the boxes. Although the selection of the pieces for the exhibit was based on aesthetics rather than anthropology, it still seems most appropriate to display pieces with similar intended uses together. Texts accompanying each exhibition section will explain how the boxes would have been used and explain why various sizes or shapes were devised for a particular use. Texts accompanying each box explain the wood and joinery techniques and the meaning of any images in decorative metalwork, as well as comment on the “artistic” features of the piece. The exhibition sections are Kitchen Storage Chests, Document and Stationery Boxes, Wedding Gift Boxes, Women’s Boxes (jewelry boxes, cosmetic boxes, mirror boxes, and sewing boxes), Blanket and Clothing Chests and Boxes, Medicine Boxes, and Coin Boxes and Chests.

Also included in the exhibit is a brief history of Korean immigration to the United States, the history of ties between the University of Minnesota and Korea, and acknowledgement of the prominence of Korean-Americans in Minnesota.

Support for this exhibition is made possible from the generous support of the Edward Reynolds Wright, Jr. Fund at the University of Minnesota.

Beauty in the Box: The Enduring Elegance of Korean Design, an exhibition from the Edward Reynolds Wright, Jr. Collection, is on display at the Weisman Art Museum from May 17-August 3, 2003.