b. 1955

Wang-taek Oh, Director of the Goam Najeon Chilgi Research Institute, is a master of Korea’s luminous mother-of-pearl inlay and lacquer traditions, carrying forward a heritage refined over centuries.

Trained under Tae-hee Kim, designated National Intangible Cultural Heritage No. 10, Oh has cultivated a practice that reveres the discipline of craft while opening it to contemporary sensibilities. His surfaces, alive with the iridescence of nacre and the depth of lacquer, are not merely decorative but meditative spaces where light, time, and material coalesce. Acclaimed with top honors including the Grand Prize at the 16th Wonju Korean Lacquer Craft Competition (2017), his works have been presented internationally at institutions such as the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris; and the Korean Cultural Centers in Rome, Sydney, and Madrid.

Through his meticulous process, Oh transforms tradition into a living language—one that speaks as much to Korea’s cultural memory as to the evolving global discourse on craft and design.

Wisteria-shaped Wedding Chest, ash wood mother-of-pearl ottchil hemp cloth, 53.5(w) x 32.5 x 27.5(h)cm, 2021