“@” Series Stool_02
Manufactured by So Myeong Lee
South Korea, 2025
Steam-bent oak, PLA, loess, rope

Measurements
57,5 × 57 × 52h cm
22,6 × 22,4 × 20,5h in

Edition
Unique piece

About
“@” Series Stool_02 continues So Myeong Lee’s exploration of material transformation, craftsmanship, and the relationship between traditional woodworking and contemporary modes of production. Conceived as a new iteration of her “@” Series, the work combines steam-bent oak, PLA, loess, and rope, bringing together natural and manufactured materials through an experimental approach to construction.
In this version, forms enveloped in a dense mixture of loess introduce an earthy, tactile quality to the structure. Their organic appearance contrasts with the bent wooden elements and rope, creating a composition in which solidity, flexibility, and texture coexist. Rather than concealing the differences between these materials, Lee emphasizes their physical qualities and the ways in which they meet, overlap, and support one another.
Spiral motifs traced across the egg-like forms carry a particular symbolic significance within the work. For Lee, the spiral represents circulation and continuity, evoking the recurring relationship between birth and death. These forms suggest a process in which beginnings and endings are not understood as opposites, but as interconnected stages within an ongoing cycle of transformation.
Through this combination of material experimentation and symbolic imagery, “@” Series Stool_02 extends beyond the conventional boundaries of functional furniture. The stool becomes a sculptural assemblage in which materials, processes, and forms evoke ideas of growth, transformation, and regeneration, reflecting Lee’s broader interest in the capacity of objects to embody both physical and metaphorical processes of change.

Biography
So Myeong Lee is a South Korean designer whose practice moves between furniture, craft, and sculptural object-making. Her work investigates materiality and processes of construction, with particular attention to the ways in which traditional woodworking can interact with contemporary technologies and manufactured materials.
Working across wood, textiles, rope, and synthetic materials, Lee develops objects through an experimental process in which the physical characteristics of each material actively inform their construction. Rather than seeking to erase differences between components, she emphasizes their points of contact and contrast, allowing structure, assembly, and material transitions to become visible aspects of the finished work.
Her practice reflects a broader interest in the evolving relationship between craftsmanship and contemporary production. By combining handwork and established craft knowledge with new materials and fabrication methods, Lee questions conventional distinctions between the handmade and the manufactured, as well as between functional furniture and autonomous sculptural form.
In 2026, Lee was selected as a finalist for the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize with Chronicle of Matters, further developing her investigation into material transformation and the possibilities that emerge through the combination of different processes, structures, and forms.