PUBLIC ART & INSTALLATION
Luminous Offering II (Korean Moon Jar) — Coliseum of Art, Seattle
Coliseum of Art, The Coliseum Theater Building, 500 Pike St., Seattle, WA
Presented by Conru Art Foundation · Summer of Awe initiative · Curated by PublicDisplay.ART
June 26 – September 6, 2026
Materials: Steel rods, four-way stretch fabric, vellum origami, DC-powered LED lighting system
Type: Public art installation / illuminated sculpture
Project Description
Rooted in the form and symbolism of the Korean moon jar — 달항아리 — this seven-foot illuminated sculpture breathes with light in the heart of Seattle. More than 400 hand-folded vellum origami units envelop a taut fabric skin, their layered geometry diffusing an internal LED source into subtle, shifting patterns. Supported by a steel framework, the sculpture transforms light into a quiet, luminous presence that seems to emanate from within the vessel itself.
Inspired by the memory of a moon jar in her mother's home in Korea, Paik folded each origami unit by hand — embedding memory and personal history into the material structure of the work. The ascending form draws the eye upward while the rounded base gathers light inward, suggesting both offering and contemplation. Through translucency, fold, and light, the work invites a moment of stillness and renewal — a glowing vessel offered to the city and its people.
Luminous Offering II is a fully rebuilt evolution of the original Luminous Offering created for Seattle's Luminata Festival (2025). The interior electrical system was redesigned from battery operation to a dual battery and DC power system, sustaining the work's illumination across a three-month public installation.
한국의 어머님 집 달항아리에서 영감을 받아 탄생한 빛의 설치작품입니다. 빛의 결을 담기 위해 400여 개의 종이 오리가미를 하나하나 손으로 접어, 기억과 추억을 그 안에 함께 품었습니다. 달빛이 지닌 순결하고 은은한 흰빛, 그리고 하늘의 달과 땅의 달항아리가 서로 숨결을 나누는 듯한 고요하고 숭고한 대화 — 그 울림을 빛으로 담아낸 작품입니다.
시애틀 도심 한복판에서, 이 빛나는 달항아리가 도시와 사람들에게 고요한 쉼과 울림을 전하기를 바랍니다.
Contained Radiance — Vault Gallery Public Art Activation
Vault Gallery, Postmark Center for the Arts, Auburn, Washington2025
January 15 – April 10, 2026
Materials: Acrylic, mixed media, polyurethane, hanji (Korean mulberry paper)
Type: Temporary installation / gallery activation
Project Description
Contained Radiance expanded Kelly Haejung Paik’s painting practice into a spatial installation centered on the vessel as both physical form and symbolic container. Developed in response to the intimate architecture of the Vault Gallery, the installation treated the space itself as a container—holding color, form, and memory within a concentrated environm
At the center of the installation stood a sculptural moon jar constructed from polyurethane and woven strips of tinted hanji using a bojagi-inspired process. Surrounding paintings repeated the same vessel form while shifting color and atmosphere, allowing color to carry meaning through variation rather than through changes in form. The dialogue between two-dimensional paintings and the three-dimensional vessel created a visual exchange between containment and expansion, stillness and movement.
This project marked an important transition toward installation-based work, extending the artist’s ongoing exploration of Korean vessel traditions into a more spatial and materially engaged direction.
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Exhibition & Press
Presented as part of Contained Radiance, Vault Gallery, Auburn, WA, 2025.
For exhibition documentation and press coverage, please see the Exhibitions and Press sections.
Luminata 2025: Festival of Light — Greenlake, Seattle, WA
September 20, 2025
Luminous Offering (Korean Moon Jar)
Steel rods, four-way stretch fabric, vellum origami, battery-operated LED lights
7 ft. (3 ft. spherical base with 4 ft. upward extension)
Installed along the lantern-lit procession at Green Lake, this illuminated moon jar became a gathering point for thousands of festival-goers. More than 300 folded vellum origami units refracted the internal LEDs into shifting, organic patterns. Its upward extension suggested both light rising to the sky and radiance returning to the vessel, embodying the cyclical energy of offering and receiving in public ritual space. Created with an artist grant from the Fremont Arts Council and presented at Luminata 2025, Green Lake, Seattle.
OFFERING: SEVEN TRADITIONAL KOREAN VESSELS
Public Art Commissioned by Bethany Presbyterian Church, Seattle
July 1 – November 30, 2025
1818 Queen Anne Ave N, Seattle, WA
Seven paintings inspired by traditional Korean ceramic vessels are installed in the sanctuary windows of Bethany Presbyterian Church in Seattle.
Each piece reflects the quiet presence and enduring beauty of Korean forms, reimagined through layers of botanical imagery and light. Together, they create a meditative space for reflection, memory, and transformation. Each painting measures 40 x 30 x 2.5 inches.
BEYOND BOUNDARIES: SURREAL VISIONS
Public Art Installation at Seattle Restored
Mixed Pantry, 2233 1st Ave, Seattle, WA
July 11, 2025 – January 15, 2026
This public art installation, Beyond Boundaries: Surreal Visions, is part of the Seattle Restored exhibition activation and is now on view at Mixed Pantry in Belltown.
The installation features a series of surrealist paintings shaped by memory, perception, and the tension between stillness and transformation. The works reflect an ongoing exploration of ambiguous spaces—where time feels suspended and internal experience alters the visible world.