Byung Hoon Choi

Seoul-based sculptor and furniture designer regarded as a pioneering figure in contemporary Korean design. Working primarily in stone and wood, Choi creates minimally worked benches, stools, and sculptural furniture that preserves the natural form of his materials. Born in Gangwon-do in 1952, he trained in applied fine arts at Hongik University and pioneered the concept of art furniture in the early 1990s, work that doubles as both seating and sculpture. He often carves basalt sourced from Indonesian quarries alongside wood and traditional Korean lacquer; his pieces are held in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and Hong Kong's M+ Museum. He taught at Hongik University from 1990 to 2017, where he is now an honorary professor in Seoul and is represented in New York by Friedman Benda, which presented his solo exhibition Voice of Silence in 2025.