Wansoo Kim

bio

Wansoo Kim was born and raised in South Korea where he received his BFA in ceramics from Seoul National University of Science and Technology. During his experience in South Korea, he received multiple awards from both the school and from outside juried shows. He participated in the 2015 International Art Workshop in Turkey as one of seven Korean ceramics artists. Wansoo has continued to push his career forward, showing regularly in national juried exhibitions held in Nebraska, Philadelphia, Michigan, Texas, Kansas and North Dakota. He is the recipient of 2017 NCECA (National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts) Graduate Student Fellowship and Trickey Memorial Fellowship in Studio Art at University of Nebraska – Lincoln. In 2018, He was featured as an emerging artist in the April issue of Monthly Ceramic Art magazine in South Korea. Most recently, he joined Red Star Residency program at Belger Crane Yard Studios as a long-term resident artist.

artist statement

"In my eyes, the world is composed of both revealed things and hidden things. I interpret my surroundings based on this idea, seeking to realize my ignorance and awareness. With this in mind, I create objects in which dichotomous ideas are present, and use their physically revealed and hidden aspects in order to represent the greater human struggle to see and understand what is hidden from us.

The notion of inside and outside is one of my particular subjects. Upon observing an object or a structure, we see only its external reality. I aim to present the unobservable, often presenting the inner reality of things at the same time as I present the apparent outer reality. In this respect, my works can become a gate leading viewers to an invisible space, counteracting the conception that what we see is everything.

I also question what sustains our daily lives. An individual`s beliefs and perceptions are created not only by personal history, memory and experience, but also by society’s tradition and culture, accumulated throughout human history. I interpret this invisible background as a spiritual support for individuals by materializing it as physical supports. Thus the idea of verticality and horizontality is another fundamental in my works. I see great value in the physicality of human beings and all structures under the force of the gravity. The ground is horizontal and is our base. We always stand vertically on the ground. On top of legs or columns is the ceiling or the roof, sandwiching us between two horizontal lines. Vertical structures are a symbol representing human beings. I am aware of their struggle to overcome gravity. In this respect I focus on developing and expressing an imagery of verticality, which is a form compiled of vertical structures that I have observed such as a column, the legs of humans and animals, and ordinary table legs."

exhibitions