NEW YORK.- The Korean Cultural Service New York is pleased to present the exhibition "Contemporary Textile Design" in collaboration with the Korea Textile Design Association. The exhibition will show the excellence of Korean contemporary textile design and the enormous potential of the Korean textile industry.

The Korea Textile Design Association is the largest such organization in Korea; the most significant works produced by its members will be on display. Visitors will be able to capture the essence of modern Korean textile design and textile products, which have the background of traditional Korean culture. The displayed works, from about forty prominent designers, will also raise questions about the boundaries between art and mass production, and between aesthetics and function. Future designers?choices regarding these issues will play an important role in adding value to the Korean textile industry. The exhibition will examine two different but essentially coexisting elements: art and function.

For Korea, the textile industry has been one of its most economically important industries since the 1950s. Today, modern designs and technologically advanced products bridge more strongly the perceived gap between traditional and frontier textile industries and open more widely the possibility of achieving harmony between the spirit and unique beauty of traditional Korean textiles and the modern spirit of design methodology. This exhibition will introduce Korean textile design to the U.S. and at the same time enrich and broaden the diversity of textile design in the American textile design industry.