Beauty Behind the Mundane – Kenny Yong-soo Son

Objects are not lifeless; they have the capacity to be vessels of value and deep meaning. This is the ethos behind Kenny Yong-soo Son’s work – an object maker based in Sydney, Australia. With a background in metalcraft and object design, Kenny creates pieces that are functional and decorative – revealing a sense of longevity that also adds subtle beauty to the everyday.

Kenny was born in the city of Seoul, Korea, and relocated to Sydney as a child with his family in 1996 where he has since found a home for living, studying and working. Majoring in Metal and Object at the Sydney College of the Arts, he graduated with honours in 2010 and later completed a Master of Design in Object and Accessories at the University of Technology, Sydney.

 He started making works with a focus on reduction and simplicity, emphasising modern and traditional craftsmanship in the physical process.

After his studies, Kenny was driven to continue making and began his own craft and design practice. In the same year, he won an Australia-Korea Foundation Grant, which saw him spend six months in South Korea participating in an intensive mentorship program with designated Korean metalcraft master Sung-joon Cho. “This was a primary experience in my creative journey, learning all about traditional Korean metalcraft techniques,” he says.

This is when Kenny really found his creative path, fully realising his appreciation of the unique beauty of handcraftsmanship with an ethos that stems from the fine line between the decorative and the functional in object design. He started making works with a focus on reduction and simplicity, emphasising modern and traditional craftsmanship in the physical process. Believing that functional objects don’t have to lack beauty or craft, Kenny began producing objects that could interact with the user and their surrounds. “I am interested in how this process may evoke an emotive response when in harmony with the object,” he says.

“For contemporary craft and craftsmanship to excel, it is reliant on current and future makers to translate their outputs in a habitual and ingenuous manner towards the public. Work that is perhaps ordinary, rather than a work that is conceived to be extraordinary.”

His practice is unique in the way that his pieces aim to capture the user’s emotional sensibilities through physical interaction. He believes, “for contemporary craft and craftsmanship to excel, it is reliant on current and future makers to translate their outputs in a habitual and ingenuous manner towards the public. Work that is perhaps ordinary, rather than a work that is conceived to be extraordinary.”

Focusing on building his creative practice, in 2014 Kenny was awarded an Art Start grant from the Australian Council for the Arts to build and expand his private workshop. “This allowed for the further growth of my practice and provided me with opportunities to generate collaborations with fellow practitioners,” he reflects.

While Kenny found a home in Australia, he remained open to exploring the rest of the world and discovering creative influences from overseas.

While Kenny found a home in Australia, he remained open to exploring the rest of the world and discovering creative influences from overseas. As such, in 2016 he was awarded an Arts Projects grant from the Australian Council for the Arts to produce work and hold his first international solo exhibition – titled ‘The Study’ – at Sikijang’s gallery in Seoul.

This experience working abroad was so powerful that Kenny decided to temporarily base his practice and life in China – in the Shanghai district of Pudong – from 2016 to 2017. Here, he was the acting studio director of San W, a jewellery and metalcraft studio. During this time, he pushed himself creatively and mentally.

“Believing that functional objects don’t have to lack beauty or craft, Kenny began producing objects that could interact with the user and their surrounds.”

Seeking his next creative challenge on returning to Australia, Kenny undertook a year-long residency at the gold and silversmithing studio at ANU’s School of Art and Design. Here, he enhanced his skillset and developed new methods of working with gold, which would later feature in his objects.

Over the course of his career, Kenny has received many awards that highlight his creative prowess. Most recently, he was awarded second prize for his work – titled 925 Heptadecagonal – in the prestigious 2022 ITAMI International Craft Exhibition ‘Shuki Shuhaidai’ held at the Itami City Museum of Art, History and Culture in Japan.

 He draws on the ordinariness of daily life, with his many experiences and training programs inspiring his practice, and is constantly discovering new ways to design and create unique, functional objects that give an artfully romantic quality to the everyday.

Today, Kenny fills his days working as a teacher at the Sydney College of the Arts and continues to create new objects. He draws on the ordinariness of daily life, with his many experiences and training programs inspiring his practice, and is constantly discovering new ways to design and create unique, functional objects that give an artfully romantic quality to the everyday.

Kenny honours the longevity objects can hold in our hearts and physical spaces. He encourages us to be selective about the objects we live with to ensure that what we own holds meaning as well as adding beauty, so we treasure them for many years to come.