Diaphanous Negation
Sungsoo Kim. Rediscovery 100306 (2009). Kiln cast glass, 12.5"h x 9.5"w x 5"d. Photo Courtesy of the Marta Hewitt Gallery.
Sungsoo Kim. Rediscovery 100302 (2009). Kiln cast glass, 13"h x 8.5"w x 3.5"d. Photo Courtesy of the Marta Hewitt Gallery.
Part of the aesthetic experience of Kim's work is a reliance on the idiosyncratic combination of form and material. The intellect naturally takes delight in this reversal of usage, here from packing material to aesthetic object (think how often artists exploit the term 'repurpose'). The result is that the two objects—the initial source styrofoam and the final sculpture—have diametrically opposite qualities. Styrofoam is designed to absorb impact, protecting the object resting in its negative spaces. The foam is the inessential, the object it protects is the essential. Styrofoam—typically white, somewhat translucent, lightweight, and inexpensive—is easily disregarded, especially given its cheap cost and non-archival qualities. On the other hand, Kim's glass sculptures are fragile; the production of the piece is far more labor-intensive; the solid aspect becomes the essential and creates a relationship to the negative space; and the lightness of the styrofoam is replaced by the purer translucence and weightiness of the glass. The precious object that was the function of the source packing material is now represented by a negation. In this negation lies the symbol of the whole transformation.
The second appeal is their formal beauty. Kim succeeds in using varying glass colors to great effect, especially the jade-like greens and comely blues. Also, by multiplying and varying the source styrofoam (such as the doubling and reversion of the bottle protectors in Rediscovery 100306, as mentioned above) the original form results in compelling variations. Finally, for some of the sculptures, their rectangular outer edges—designed as part of the source styrofoam so as to fit snugly into a cardboard box—create an outer confine that recalls the picture frame.
Jason Roegenes. Stargazer 5.10 (2009). Extended polystyrene foam inserts, electrical components, 20 fluorescent lamps
Dimensions variable. Photo Courtesy of the Carl Solway Gallery.
The Cincinnati public may recall from late last year another use of styrofoam packing material in the wall-mounted work of Jason Roegenes' Stargazer 5.10 (2009), part of the Carl Solway Gallery's exhibition Walls, Floors & Ceilings. Roegenes utilized the formal aspect of the styrofoam in his attractive wall installation, and even used lighting to reveal its spatial and porous qualities. In contrast to Kim, Roegene's work was site-specific and, since it retained the styrofoam material as such, non-archival. In contrast to Roegene, it seems that Kim rarely combines different styrofoam forms as did Roegene, the latter to great effect. Roegene managed to create the overlapping tonal variations notable in Kim's sculpture via the intensive rear lighting of his (Roegenes') work. Such heavy lighting is something that Kim's work does not need.
Minimalism historically drew inspiration from industrial processes for its production. Past criticism launched at the minimalist movement considered it subservient, or even a perpetrator of, the industrial aesthetic as well, since the works did not reveal the presence of the artist's hand in their machine-like geometric forms. Interestingly, Kim's work starts from industrialized objects destined to become discarded detritus and, though he retains their machined austerity, elevates their sculptural qualities. But does he succeed in overcoming the aforementioned criticism against Minimalism?
Sungsoo Kim. Detail of Rediscovery 08001 (2009). Kiln cast glass, 40"h x 100"w x 10"d. Photo Courtesy of the Marta Hewitt Gallery.
Curiously, the effect of seeing many of his works together in a solo show somewhat undermines his efforts. His extensive labor involved in the casting and construction of the individual pieces, his delicate sensibility for the glass color, and the subtle variations within the forms themselves, all risk being lost by the presence of similar artworks. The eye of a viewer, while first struck by the visual beauty and the conceptual underpinning of his approach (and perhaps the play involved in the guesswork of the original use of the source styrofoam), may become disengaged by the multiplicity. The geometrical forms begin to feel cold in their perfection. The larger grouping invokes mass production, even though his work is not mass-produced. Note, however, that this is an effect of their grouping in a solo show, not that of an individual piece seen in isolation.
Sungsoo Kim. Rediscovery 08001 (2009). Kiln cast glass, 40"h x 100"w x 10"d. Photo Courtesy of the Marta Hewitt Gallery.
The one work that breaks completely from this issue, and also introduces a different visual aesthetic, is Rediscovery 08001 (2008). Using small broken fragments, their occasional 'rough' edges serve as a contrast to the 'colder' geometric lines. Kim has arranged them in a grid wall display, conscientious even of the color coding in the diagonals. Such provides a deeper layer of harmony within a grid itself the proportion of the Golden Ratio. Individual pieces hold one's attention, for their quirky forms are not reminiscent of an original use function. This grid piece designates a break from the minimalist aesthetic in his other work even as it celebrates certain aspects of formal austerity. It also reveals greater choices by the artist, such as in the variance of the source pieces utilized, the flexibility in their arrangement, the greater range of color combinations, the redemption of 'studio accidents,' and more. Perhaps there is more of the presence of the artist and his studio in this wall work, and hence its appeal. Though its wall mounting somewhat denies it of the full benefits of the diaphanous quality of glass (as compared to the free standing works), it is the most deeply absorbing of the exhibition.
