임광순
Rim Kwangsoon

“The beauty of traditional Korean space is an aesthetic of emptiness, characterized by “intangibility,” which is not bound to superficial external forms, and “uselessness,” which is aimed at the enjoyment and use of space.”—excerpt from the artist statement

Rim Kwangsoon creates art furniture using structural components from traditional Korean architecture. He carves bitsal (comb-like) patterns into the noble wood grain that has endured the passage of time and uses an inlay technique to add color to the piece. His work explores the temporality felt in the traces of architectural components, the performativity of his craft, and new approaches to tradition and modernity. Recently, he has been creating spaces that present the unique objecthood of art furniture, along with canvas works that depict comb patterns, representing the source of life. In doing so, he reveals the connection between painting and wood furniture and presents a new interpretation of craft as an organic space of present and past, function and non-function. For this exhibition, Rim created <Contradictory Space Bitsal-03>, a painting that incorporates a girder, and <Traces of Life>, <Traces of Life 2409>, a long chair using the structural component of angle rafters, featuring a gentle curve visible from the eaves. The curves, gaps, and angles expressed in the work are all visual elements discovered in traditional Korean architecture and represent the artist’s unique production method that seeks to express Korea’s distinctive aesthetics by making the most of the unique texture of the materials themselves.