BROCKTON, MA.- Fuller Craft Museum presents The Sixth Sense: Contemporary Jewelry from Korea from Jan. 31 through July 26, 2009. Organized by Fuller Craft Museum and curated by celebrated international artist, Kiwon Wang, this exhibition will highlight new work by contemporary Korean jewelry artists, providing an intimate look at the spiritual and aesthetic elements of Korean jewelry while highlighting the importance of Korean artists in the international art scene.

Korea has a long history of shamanism. Regarded by some as superstition, shamanism refers to a range of traditional beliefs and practices focused on communicating with the "spirit world" and the premise that the visible world is pervaded by invisible forces or spirits that affect the lives of the living.

While the artists in this exhibition have an acute awareness of their country's cultural systems, they show neither a conservative devotion to Korean traditions nor a fixed imitation of the west as they attempt, through their jewelry, to make traditional methodologies speak to the present.

"The art of jewelry-making and metalwork is growing and has become more prosperous in Korea," said curator and artist, Kiwon Wang. "This exhibitionwill provide western audiences with a very intimate look, conceptually and technically, at the quality of Korean jewelry and how it produces contemporary ideas while maintaining a connection to traditions."

Kiwon Wang lives and works in New York City. She is the recipient of the Award of Excellence from Bellevue Arts Museum and Best in Show at Smithsonian Craft Show in 2004. Wang received her MFA from Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and has taught at RISD and Penland School of Craft, North Carolina. Her work is represented in private collections as well as the Museum of Arts and Design, New York and the Samuel Dorsky Art Museum, New Paltz N.Y.

"We are proud to present this fascinating showat Fuller Craft Museum and hope it will inspire and challenge our visitors," said director and chief curator, Gretchen Keyworth. "I am grateful for the hard work and dedication of Kiwon Wang, as this exhibition would not have been possible without her commitment and spectacular vision."

Fuller Craft Museum will celebrate the opening of The Sixth Sense: Contemporary Jewelry from Korea with a public reception on Sunday March 1, 2009.