Exhibitions

The Times of Fiber: Carrying Tradition and Connecting the Future

Ⅰ.Recording the History of Fiber Art 

Sookmyung Womens University Museum, Chung Young Yang Embroidery Museum, and MOONSHIN Museum has come together to hold an exhibition about the past, present, and future of fiber art. The special exhibition《The Times of Fiber: Carrying Tradition and Connecting the Future》was held by SUM, which was chosen for the ‘2025 University Museum Promotion & Support Project’ hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and organized by the Korean Association of University Museums. This exhibition aims to reflect on the sustainability of fiber art and seek for its future through artifacts that carry the history of fiber, modern and contemporary embroidery works, as well as contemporary works created from waste.

The first part of the exhibition, ‘Recording the History of Fiber Art’ presents the history of East Asian fiber art beginning with traces discovered before the common era up to the pre-modern period. It also highlights the tradition of fiber art through ceremonial costumes including religious attire, wedding garments and official uniforms.

East Asian fiber art from Korea, China, and Japan reflect regional colors and communion as culture was mainly transmitted through fiber art.

The History of Fiber Art

In East Asia, fiber has played a significant role in diplomacy and was also utilized as currency. Moreover, it was also used to assess a person’s wealth, rank and social status, especially, embroidery designs on luxurious silk did not simply decorate garments, but showed the desires of the wearer and symbolized the wearer’s socio-economic status. Embroidery design may have changed with time and the development of civilization, it has established itself as a key form of expression that reflect the spiritual ideals and social classes of mankind.

Embroidery designs used in ancient East Asia seems to have been inspired by hunting, shamanistic symbolism and incantation ceremonies. This infers how the faith towards nature and supernatural existence in early society strongly influenced the designs. These traditional patterns have become more refined over time, and developed into silk embroidery, which represented both a secular and supernatural authority during the dynastic period. During this time the boundaries of fiber art expanded beyond daily household items to areas of artistic value and social meaning as elaborate handicraft techniques were used to convey political, religious, and cultural messages for the royal family and aristocratic class.

Bronze Mirror with Remains of Embroidered Silk Cover, Chinese Warring States period

           Woman’s Robe, Chinese 2nd century BCE (Replica)               Figurine of Painted Pottery Female, 

                                                                                                      Chinese Western Han Dynasty, 

                                                                                                   YooGeum Museum Collection

East Asian Ceremonial Costumes

The visual image found in ancient costumes of East Asia is not only considered as an aesthetic element, but have become a significant medium in connecting the mind and the material world. The symbols that are incorporated in costumes go beyond decorating and serve as visual representations that are important in forming and communicating the existence of an individual in this universe. For example, design patterns such as dragon(龍), phoenix(鳳凰), and clouds(雲) symbolize the authority of the royal family and aristocrats, whereas the design of Chinese characters, longevity(長壽), fortune(福), and auspiciousness(吉祥) convey personal desires for happiness and peace.

Especially, various design patterns that convey these meanings can be found in ceremonial costumes worn for major religious events in East Asia, such as Buddhism and Taoism, wedding garments, royal attire, and official uniforms. For example, lotus flower designs are often used in Buddhism as the flower represents enlightment and purity. As for Taoist clothing, patterns that depict immortals and natural elements were used to express the state of ultimate bliss in Taoism and its connection with humans.

Wedding garments and royal attire have also changed with time and differed according to one’s social class. Wedding costumes had auspicious designs and Chinese characters, fortune(福) and life(壽), embroidered to wish the couple marital harmony and success for their descendants. Thus, the chosen symbols represent the blessings for marriage and wishes for a prosperous family. Regarding royal costumes, motifs that display authority, such as dragon(龍) and phoenix(鳳凰), were used to highlight the dignity of the royal family and aristocrats, while the combination of colors and patterns represented the social status and hierarchy of the wearer. These type of design patterns in costumes served more than decorative purposes – they were crucial indicators of social status and position.

2025 University Museum Promotion & Support Project Special Exhibition

The Times of Fiber: Carrying Tradition and Connecting the Future

Ⅰ.Recording the History of Fiber Art

    2025.5.8.-12.30 Chung Young Yang Embroidery Museum

Ⅱ.Connecting the Aesthetic Consciousness of Fiber Art

    2025.5.8.-12.30 Sookmyung Womens University Museum

Ⅲ.Creating the Future through Up-cycling

    2025.5.8.-8.14 MOONSHIN Museum

＇The Textile Art on East Asia＇

This exhibition of the Chung Young Yang Embroidery Museum collection is introducing the textile art of East Asia, mainly that of China and Japan.

＇Ceremonial Costumes of East Asia＇

To celebrate the 20th inauguration anniversary of the Chung Young Yang Embroidery Museum at Sookmyung Women’s University, the museum organized the special exhibition, Ceremonial Costumes of East Asia. The museum has continuously held research and exhibitions to further scholarship of embroidery art, and to deepen the understanding of the social and cultural function of textiles worldwide. This exhibition will feature the ceremonial costumes of Korea, China, and Japan. We would be grateful if you could join us in celebrating this special event. 

The clothing worn for ceremonies symbolizes the lifestyle and culture of that period during a person’s life. There is a visual language represented by formalities and designs even in everyday wear, while ceremonial attire additionally possesses an instrumental expression and functionality that carries a message filled with religious spirit and culture. 

Various styles of clothing exist due to geographical surroundings, ethnical or religious differences, however there are similarities in terms of formalities and cultural values in traditional costumes. 

The exhibition, ＇Ceremonial Costumes of East Asia＇, features ceremonial attire that represent major lifetime events in Korea, China, and Japan. Especially, this exhibition examines the time and space of people during the Joseon period or the Chinese Qing dynasty through the costumes worn for ceremonies, such as coming of age, weddings, funerals, and ancestral rites.  

 There are various systems and formalities according to the region people live in that transcends time, however, the fact that they are important ceremonies in a lifetime makes it possible to compare the clothing in terms of its visual and aesthetic features.

‘Imagination: Ideas on Fiber Art’ 

Participating Artists: KIM Misik, KIM Yong Joo, KIM Taeyoun, MOON Bori, PARK Sook Hee, SEO Younjeong, Textile Project Group SIRAE, SHIN Healim, OH Hwajin, Jon Eric RIIS

Dates: 2022. 10. 12. ~ 2023. 4. 28.

Venue: Chung Young Yang Embroidery Museum

is an exhibition that restructures the space with contemporary artists using the museum’s Asian fiber-based collection as motifs. Contemporary fiber artists present how the use and patterns of ancient textiles can be continued and how each piece can influence one another in this exhibition.
The exhibition is divided into three themes: Space Rearrangement; Image Repetition; Transformation and Evolution. The first section ‘Space Rearrangement’ includes fiber collections that can be found in the living room, such as wall decorations, furniture, carpets, and folding screens from Korea, China, Japan alongside related works by contemporary artists.
The second section ‘Image Repetition’ shows the connection with traditional patterns and a sense of the period through the repetitive patterns of fiber artifacts and contemporary art works on display.
The third section, ‘Transformation and Evolution’ presents contemporary textile structures and installations that altered the original use of traditional textiles, which serve as motifs.

This exhibition was sponsored by Daegu National Museum’s ‘Joint Project of the Consultative Group for Specialized Museums of Costume Culture.’

‘제왕의 사람들: 한국과 중국의 관료 복식’

Serving the Celestial Throne: Court Officials＇ Robes of Qing China and Joseon Korea

A special exhibition commemorating the reopening of the Chung Young Yang Embroidery Museum (CEM) at Sookmyung Women’s University is <Serving the Celestial Throne: Court Officials＇ Robes of Qing China and Joseon Korea>, an exhibition that examines and compares the ruling culture of Korea and China through its clothing. <Serving the Celestial Throne: Court Officials＇ Robes of Qing China and Joseon Korea> is an unusual display in which attendants can examine the clothing worn by officials of the Joseon Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty through actual objects, portraits and photographs. Looking at the clothing of officials in the two Confucian countries, the attendants can enjoy the visual similarities and differences between them.

CEM has held the special exhibition, <Threads of Splendor>. This special exhibition displayed works that were inspired by the museum’s collection and added a new, contemporary interpretation to it. Following the global trend of exhibitions that encourage collaborations among the museum’s relics and contemporary artists’ work, a total of 13 domestic and foreign textile artists participated in this exhibition. Through the workshop held by CEM, the participating artists observed the museum’s relics with innovative ways of seeing, and presented the meeting of the past and the present through their works. In this exhibition, the museum’s collection inspired not only textile artists but also scholars, artists, designers and contemporary people in general.

To commemorate the 10th anniversary of CEM opening, the representing collections of the CEM and the works by the artists at home and abroad were exhibited. The artists were Gang Shin-hee, Kim Mi-shik, Park Seung-ae, Park Joo-hee, Sienna Martz, Shin Joo-yeong, Lee Myeong-sook, Lee Myeong-ok, Lee Sang-bong, Lee Jin-yoon, Jon Eric Riis, and Ha Jae-min. Through the dynamic interactions of the past and present, this exhibition proved a valuable opportunity that textiles of the museum can approach scholars, artists, designers and the public as the source of artistic inspirations and educational materials not to mention that the collection works have the power of being alive exerting influences. 

CEM has held a special exhibition in memory of the 8th anniversary of foundation. The origin of the Chinese silk embroidery is introduced, along with the traces of how the embroidery was spread to the East Asian region including Korea.

CEM held the 2nd Trunk Show by SAQA which comprises all the quilt of the world. Planned by Deb Cashatt and Kris Sazaki, the exhibition showed a variety of works by professional quiltis who belong to SAQA. This exhibition specially aimed at educational one in order that quilt could be developed as a genre in textile art. Currently, seven kinds of Trunk Shows have a world tour, displaying 30 to 50 quilt works at each exhibition. Works on display are done in the white mat whose size is the same with 12 inches by 12 inches each, expressing the concentrated artistic spirits of quiltists. This Trunk Show would be a special opportunity to confirm the amazing technical and aesthetic standards of quilt artists.

This exhibition celebrated the museum’s rich collection and shared with public a selection of embroidered textiles from numerous Asian countries, which showed various patterns and symbols reflecting the consciousness and rituals of Asian people. 

Veneu : 2009. 6. 5 ~ 2009. 6. 13 Sookmyung Women＇s University MoonShin Museum

C.E.M. had an exhibition of Daniel Carranza who is a surrealist artist with the vivid spirit of Latin America. He showed his viewpoint and attitude toward environmental issues through the fantastic pictures of personified animals.