Opening Reception: April 3, 6–8 PM | AP Space, 555 W 25th St, New York
What happens when an artist turns industrial remnants into poetic expressions? South Korean artist Kim JongKu answers this question with his exhibition Rust and Resonance, presented by Gallery AP Space. Kim’s work transcends traditional sculpture, marrying calligraphy and time with an unlikely medium: iron powder. This fine dust, collected from his own studio floor, becomes the voice of fleeting thoughts and impermanence. His works—hovering between sculpture and drawing—emerge as meditations on memory, presence, and ephemerality.
Kim’s transformation began in 1997, sparked not by creative ambition, but by loss. When several of his steel sculptures were stolen in the UK, he revisited the materials he had once shaped. Instead of mourning the absence of heavy forms, he turned his attention to the residual powder—fragile, transient, and suggestive of erosion and time’s passage. What began as a practical experiment evolved into a conceptual rebirth, giving weight to the weightless and grounding the intangible.
In the fe-Plant and Mind Map series, as well as in performative video works, Kim continues to explore how process itself becomes form. His pieces, whether spread delicately across surfaces or suspended midair, mirror a written language that is both ancient and futuristic—gestural inscriptions that resonate with memory and cultural continuity. These installations are not just visual; they are experiential, inviting viewers to engage with ideas of temporality and material transformation.
Kim JongKu’s international acclaim and institutional recognition, including holdings in the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Korea and the Spencer Museum of Art, affirm his role in redefining contemporary sculpture. As a professor at Ewha Womans University, he imparts not only technique but a philosophy that encourages young artists to challenge material conventions and embrace the poetry of process.
