Studio Nicholson Woman - Yoona Hur

Great clothing should do what exactly?

“I look for clothing that allows movement; something spacious and freeing that feels soft and relaxed on the body. I love balanced forms, proportions and tailoring.”

How should clothes make you feel as a woman?

"All encompassing. We are like oceans, multifaceted beings, so how I feel as a woman changes throughout the season, the time of the day, space or city I’m in, and what I’m doing or who I’m meeting. I want the clothing to be part of a particular moment, closely tied to my feelings and intentions.”

Why did you choose these pieces to wear today?

“I love wearing an over-sized, softly constructed shirt and pants in the same tone so it reads as a continuous volume. Studio Nicholson’s clothing has fluid forms with reposed structure. I’m also very much drawn to SN’s tones and textures, especially their linen and cotton."

Do you think the clothing being very reduced and simple allows you to just be yourself?

“Yes. I think Nick [Wakeman’s] clothing offers that a lot. It's in the movement. It's comfortable, so I can be focused on other activities. As an artist who is mostly working in the studio or just moving through the city, I'm more concerned about how I feel in the clothing and the clothing being versatile.”

Is there a category of clothing you find yourself repeatedly drawn to? 

“I don’t really have a singular category that I return to — I’m mostly intrigued by what other women create. How they use textures, tones and forms, and where their philosophy and inspirations come from is interesting to me. So, when I discover something that I feel aligned with or am simply curious about, I will try it.”

How did you career shift from architecture to art happen? 

“I was working as an architect in New York City for many years. Over time, I began to feel something intrinsic was missing — I had lost the connection to Korean heritage after leaving my family in Seoul at a young age. I also longed to create with my own hands, at my own pace. Eventually, I let go of my full-time architect career to pursue my path as an artist. That turning point led me back to Korea, where I spent about a year of re-learning, re-discovering, deepening my relationship with Korea in all encompassing way through traditions, landscape, rituals, food, and people.  Korea has such rich history of art, architecture, craft and philosophy, I continue to return to deepen that engagement. Following my own intuition and experiences that deeply move me and nourish my heart, body and not just my intellect have been big part of this shift and evolution. 

How would you describe your process/practice? 

"Meditative and material-driven — where form, emptiness and cultural memory carry equal weight.  Works emerge as reflections of various lived, experiential imprints that I carry with me and seek to share with others."

Your work is very serene, grounding, calm. 

“This is my Hanji paper painting [points behind her] and it's very visceral and often subtle and still. Such open space awakens and heals my senses and I hope it does the same for the viewers. I am interested in the expansion of that atmospheric equanimity beyond the physical work. 

Can you talk about the specifics of the materiality in your work?

“How a material feels in the hand is really important, but there's also a visual tactility that I am sensitive to. How the texture feels on the eye. With clay, it's really about the weight of things; the historic Moonjars are originally made out of refined porcelain, which I've worked with, but currently I prefer clay that's a little more rough, a little more textured, heavier. Hanji is on the other end of it. It's light, it's delicate, it's transparent. It's the opposite [of clay], but in terms of tactility, they're both soft, they're both very forgiving. I am attracted to paper and clay because they really embrace you; other materials resist you, but clay and paper pull you in and let you be fluid; there's an interplay between movement and form.”

What should a great piece of art do? 

“I like work that wants to reach out and free itself from its contained limits of the material or visual world. And I feel this rawness in Louise Bourgeois’ work; there’s this intense energy that wants to spiral out of its form or frame. On the other hand, there are these monochromatic and highly textural paintings by Chung Chang-Sup that feel very grounding. They offer emptiness and quietude that seem to merge out of a non-judgmental and non-egoistical stance. His abstractions are rooted in the respect and wonder for material and simply what the body and hand offered at that time and place.”