Furniture or art?

bae sehwa fits into that small gap between furniture design and art.

When he presented his work at this year’s Art Basel, he was known as an artist, but Sehwa himself prefers the term ‘furniture artist.’ He first made a name for himself with his series of Lighting Tables that look like plain birch wood until you plug them in to reveal the pattern underneath.

His recent work, however, leans towards more craft-based, one-of-kind furniture, made entirely out of wood. The work that blew away the crowds at Art Basel are from his Steam series that includes lighting and “sittable” pieces made from bent wood.