I often think how curious it is that our arrogant western minds find eastern minimalism as something new and “modern” when in fact, the east has embraced the minimalistic and abstract natural world way before the Norman invasion of England in 1066 A.D. and it’s therefore perhaps the most consistent and long lived aesthetic tradition in our human history.

Working within its tradition of abstract, natural, sensuous curves lacking any ornamentation is Korean über-artist Byung-Hoon Choi (b. 1952).  But this is not “art” made only to be visually pleasing.  It’s fully functional furniture, a relationship readily explored by the artist in all his work.

His tables are truly remarkable. There is a certain purity in these pieces that makes them fit effortless in our modern world today, regardless of what else surrounds them. So consider the very first console table with a small Ruhlmann lamp and a simple Georgian silver salver clustered to one side and balanced on the other side by a Line Vautrine 1960s mirror.  Now we’re talkin’!