“검이불루 화이불치 (Korean),
Gumleebullu Hwaleebulchi (English phonetics)”
“It is modest but not humble, and impressive but not extravagant.”
translation of a Korean adage
Biography
Statement
Nina Cho is an artist and designer based in Detroit. She was born in San Francisco and raised in Seoul, South Korea, where she attended Hong-Ik University studying Woodworking and Furniture design. She then moved to Michigan to attend Cranbrook Academy of Art, earning an MFA in 3D Design. She was recognized as an Honoree of Sight Unseen’s 2015 American Design Hot List, presented in partnership with Herman Miller and featured as one of Five Breakout Designers of 2015 in Artsy. She was nominated for the Pure Talents Contest at Imm Cologne in 2016. She held a residency in 2016 in Tuscany, Italy, sponsored by the London gallery MOS. In 2018, the Toledo Museum of Art invited her to participate in the Guest Artist Pavilion Project. In 2019, She was recognized as one of 13 Extraordinary Women in Design and Architecture by Dwell. In 2020, she received the 6th Annual American Design Honors by Wanted Design presented with Bernhardt Design.
I was born in the United States and raised in Korea. I studied woodworking and furniture design as an undergraduate at Hongik University in Seoul. The program encouraged me to tell my own story and I was taught to create unique pieces of furniture inspired by my identity. I moved to the US shortly after graduating to study 3D Design at Cranbrook Academy of Art, where I found freedom to continue to develop my own process. My education led me to a personal and distinctive approach to design.
In addition to my education, I am influenced by the artistic ethic of my Korean heritage. Those ethics have led me to a reductive aesthetic, in which I merge Eastern philosophy with experimental form.
“It is modest but not humble, and impressive but not extravagant.” translation of a Korean adage
I admire this as an attitude and also as an aesthetic. I pursue an ideal that is impressive without extravagance. By avoiding unnecessary factors, the concept is revealed.
I am inspired by the traditional Korean aesthetic of emptiness. In painting, the unpainted portion of a canvas is as important as the painted part. It is about respecting absence as much as the object. Through practicing the beauty of the void, I respect not only the object itself but also the negative space that an object creates. Rather than a deficiency, the voids welcome air, surroundings, and the spirit of a space; leaving empty spaces in my pieces invite users to creatively complete the work. To balance the positive and negative space, it is essential to explore form. Carefully choosing every aspect of my work is essential. Form, material and color are cohesively connected.
I think of my work, and even my life, my thinking, my appearance and my possessions as interconnected, becoming a singular meaning and expression.
Education
2013 - 2015
MFA in 3D Design, Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, MI, USA
2008 - 2013
BFA in Woodworking and Furniture Design, Hong-Ik University, Seoul, South Korea
Solo Exhibitions
2021
American Design Honors by Wanted Design, Javits Center, New York City, NY, USA (forthcoming)
2019
Solo exhibition (The conception), Colony, New York City, NY, USA
2015
UNTITLED (Nina Cho Solo Show), Elli Gotlieb Gallery, Chicago, IL, USA
Lectures
2018
GAPP Artist Lecture, Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio, USA
2017
New Domestic Landscape Symposium, deSalle Auditorium, Cranbrook Art Museum, Bloomfield Hills, MI, Italy
Artist Lecture, Korean Cultural Center DC, Washington D.C., USA
2016
Residencies
2018
Selected artist for GAPP (The Guest Artist Pavilion Project) Residency,
Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio, USA
2016
Winner, MOS (Matter of Stuff) Designer Residencies Competition,
Officina Creativa dell’Abitare, Montalcino, Tuscany, Italy
Two Person Exhibitions
2017
The Between, Artbn Gallery, Seoul, South Korea
Selected Group Exhibitions
2021
With Eyes Opened: Cranbrook Academy of Art since 1932, Cranbrook Art Museum, Bloomfield Hills, MI, USA (forthcoming)
2021
12 Korean Female Artists Group Show, Korean Cultural Center DC, Washington D.C., USA (forthcoming)
2021
Broom Show, Cooler Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, USA (forthcoming)
2019
Coast to Coast, Neue House with Design Milk & Colony, NYC, NY, USA
2019
Chiaroscuro, Next Space Gallery, Detroit, MI, USA
2019
Safe Space, Detroit Public Library, Detroit, MI, USA
2018
SHAPE: Defining furniture in Michigan’s design legacy, Shinola, Detroit, MI, USA
2018
The Blue Room, 2018 Junior League of Detroit Designer Show House, Charles T. Fisher Mansion, Detroit, MI, USA
2018
Urban Furniture installation at Light Up Livernois during the Detroit Design Festival, Detroit, MI, USA
2018
From then till downtown, 1301 Broadway, Detroit, MI, USA
2018
Sight Unseen OFFSITE Selects during the NYC Design Week, New York, NY, USA
2017
MOS Collection show during the London Design Festival, Sketch, London, UK
2017
SUR/FACE: Mirrors, Museum Angewandte Kunst, Frankfurt, Germany
2017
Cranbrook: A New Domestic Landscape, Cranbrook Art Museum, Bloomfield Hills, MI, USA
2017
MOS Collection show during the Salone Del Mobile, ME Milan, Milan, Italy
2017
MIART, Matter of Stuff gallery, Milan, Italy
2017
Prototype, Interior Design Show, Toronto, ON, Canada
2016
PRISMATIC, Korean Cultural Center DC, Washington D.C., USA
2016
The Montalcino Design Week, Matter of Stuff, Montalcino, Italy
2016
Design in Detroit, Robert Adler Gallery, Detroit, USA
2016
Pure Talents Contest, IMM Cologne, Cologne, Germany
2016
TO DO Festival Exhibition: In Series during the Toronto Design Offsite Festival, Toronto, ON, Canada
2016
FORM EVER FOLLOWS, Cornell College, Mount Vernon, IA, USA
2015
The 9th Cheongju International Craft Biennale, Cheongju, South Korea
2015
Sight Unseen OFFSITE during the NYC Design Week, Hudson Mercantile, New York, NY, USA
2015
ICFF during the NYC Design Week, Javits Center, New York, NY, USA
2015
The 2015 Graduate Degree Exhibition of Cranbrook Academy of Art, Cranbrook Art Museum,
Bloomfield Hills, MI, USA
2014
UP & AT EM (Design Exhibition), Liminal Space in Chicago, IL, USA
2014
EXPERIENCING PERSPECTIVES, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services, Farmington Hills, MI, USA
2014
FIRST THINGS FIRST, Fab’s Showroom in Soho, New York, NY, USA
2014
PYROCOGNITIONS, Forum Gallery, Bloomfield Hills, MI, USA
2014
CRANBROOK INTERIOR, Forum Gallery, Bloomfield Hills, MI, USA
2014
EXOTIC FLAVOR, Forum Gallery, Bloomfield Hills, MI, USA
2012
Korea/Japan/China Exchange Exhibit, Hong Ik Art center, Seoul, South Korea
2012
Hong Ik University woodworking & Furniture design Graduation Exhibit,
HOMA(Hong Ik museum of art), Seoul, South Korea
2012
Coalition Exhibit(Hong Ik University, Seoul National University, Kook Min University),
Municipal Art Center Kyunghi palace annex Exhibit, Seoul, South Korea
2012
KOFURN Fair, KINTEX, Ilsan, Gyeongi-do, South Korea
2011
HAND MADE KOREA, COEX Exhibit, Seoul, South Korea
2010
Dialogue Method, Gallery BMH, Seoul, South Korea
2010
Street Exhibit, Hong Ik University street, Seoul, South Korea
2010
Dialogue Method, Gallery BMH, Seoul, South Korea
Selected Awards/ Honors
2020
Winner of 2020 NYCXDESIGN awards presented by Interior Design Magazine in the accessories category, USA
2020
American Design Honors by Wanted Design, USA
2019
13 Extraordinary Women in Design and Architecture by Dwell, USA
2018
Invited for the Guest Artist Pavilion Project at Toledo Museum of Art , USA
2018
Winner, Urban Furniture Competition for the Detroit Month of Design, USA
2017
Nominated participant of the Prototype, IDS Toronto, Canada
2016
Winner of the MOS Designer Residencies Competition, Italy
2016
Featured piece, UNICEF ART PARTY, USA
2016
Nominated participant of the Pure Talents Contest, IMM Cologne, Germany
2015
Selected designer as one of the 5 Breakout Designers of 2015, Artsy, USA
2015
Selected Honoree of Sight Unseen’s 2015 American Design Hot List, Sight Unseen
(presented in partnership with Herman Miller), USA
2015
Honorable Mention, The 9th Cheongju International Craft Biennale Competition, South Korea
2015
Selected as a Scholarship Awardee for Detroit Creative Corridor Center’s Client Services Boot Camp, Detroit, USA
2015
Nominee, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services Emerging Artist Award Finalist in 3D Design at
Cranbrook Academy of Art, USA
2014
Academic Winner of Design project Kikkerland and Bed Bath & Beyond, USA
2014
Runner Up, the You Are How You Eat design contest, Design Milk (partners at Alessi, Adobe and Shapeways), USA
2014
Selected participant, FIRST THINGS FIRST Show by Fab.com, USA
2012
Selected in Kyungki-province Furniture Design Contest Exhibit(Corporate category), South Korea
2012
Selected in Kyungki-province Furniture Design Contest Exhibit(Freedom category), South Korea
2010
Selected in Junk Art Contest Exhibit, Korea Environment Corporation, Seoul, South Korea
2009
Selected in Steel Furniture Design Competition, Korea Iron&Steel Association, Seoul, South Korea
Work Experience
2015 - Current
Current Founder and Designer of Nina Cho LLC, Detroit, MI, USA
2016
Partnership with Tait Design Co. Licensing the Spinning Top and Stand Design to Tait Design Co, Detroit, MI, USA
2016
Partnership with MOS and Carrara Design Factory, Licensing the Coulee Furniture and Product Collection to MOS, London, UK The collection manufactured by Carrara Design Factory, Carrara, Italy
2016
Partnership with Souda, Licensing the Wave Business Card Holder design to Souda, New York City, NY, USA
2016
Partnership with GKC, Licensing the Spout (Soap Container and Toothbrush Holder) design to GKC, Taipei, Taiwan
2014 - 2015
Department Assistant for 3D model shop at Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, MI
2014
Assistant Designer, Scott Klinker Product Design (Designer-in-Residence in 3D design at Cranbrook Academy of Art), Bloomfield Hills, MI, USA
2013
Product Design and Sale in Tiny-Big Corporation as a designer, Seoul, South Korea
2012
Furniture redesign project with MOBELAB Corporation as a designer, Seoul, South Korea
2012
Work in LIO GALLERY as an assistant, Paju-si, South Korea
2010
Hong Ik University Design Club ‘open space 505’ as a chairman, Seoul, South Korea
2009
Product Design and Sale in SangSangMadang Design Shop as a designer, Seoul, South Korea
Teaching Experience
2020 - 2021
Adjunct Faculty - Visual Communication II, University of Detroit Mercy, Detroit, MI, USA
2017 - 2019
Adjunct Faculty - Drawing for a Winning Portfolio, College for Creative Studies, Detroit, MI, USA
2019
Visiting Designer/Critic - the Advanced Fabrication review, University of Detroit Mercy, Detroit, MI, USA
2018
Visiting Designer/Critic - Life Drawing, Lawrence Technological University, Southfield, MI, USA
2018
Adjunct Faculty - Product Design for the Future, College for Creative Studies, Detroit, MI, USA
2018
Adjunct Faculty - Minimalist Furniture Design, College for Creative Studies, Detroit, MI, USA
2018
Visiting Designer/Critic - Space Studio, Wayne State University, Southfield, MI, USA
2015
Visiting Designer/Critic - Furniture and Millwork, Lawrence Technological University, Southfield, MI, USA
Certification
2012
Crafts (Korean Traditional Woodworking) Certification, KOUS (Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation), South Korea
Publication
2020
Design in Asia: The New Wave by Design Anthology, Hong Kong
2019
100 books every designer should know in German by René Spitz, Germany
Partner/Client List
Colony, NYC, USA
Not So General, LA, USA
Minotti, Miami, USA
Reunion, NYC, USA
Next Space Gallery, Detroit, USA
Ddc, NYC, USA
Jean-Louis Deniot, Paris, France
Souda, NYC, USA
Matter of Stuff, London, England
GKC, Taipei, Taiwan
Five and Dime, Seoul, South Korea
Lori Margolis, NYC, USA
Tait Design Co, Detroit, USA