Elegant and ethereal, floating forms fill the space, combining the materiality of twisted wire and beads, crystals, and pearls with the ephemeral qualities of light and shadow. There is a sense of poetry, cathartic release, and peaceful movement in the stillness of KeySook Geum’s works. Life-sized sculptures of dresses, qipaos, and other forms of fashion hover suspended in the air or draw from the walls, solid yet weightless. Their quietness and glamour display a marked femininity and feminism, a mixture of strength and transparency, wire and light.
Art+ Shanghai Gallery’s winter 2014 exhibition Wire and Light: An Exhibition of Sculptures by KeySook Geum is Korean artist KeySook Geum’s first exhibition in Shanghai. Featuring a range of her life-sized fashion art sculptures, Wire and Light is visual poetry of delicate ‘lace’ and flowing ‘fabric’ meticulously constructed from twisted wire and beads. Geum’s sculptures display a fusion of Asian and Western aesthetics, traditional and functional forms, and contemporary flair, displaying a sense of romanticism with fairytale-like glamor. Often taking the form of female garments, her works transform our preconceived notions of fashion into dramatic statements. There is a thoughtful eloquence to her work that entices viewers to step close, to linger, and to marvel at the wire and light.
KeySook Geum, Black Qipao, Black wire and black beads, 125x40x25cm, 2014
KeySook Geum, Gold Nirvana, Black wire and gold beads, 170x80x40cm, 2013
KeySook Geum, Moving Up, White wire and lucite beads, 80x180x45cm, 2013
About the Artist
KeySook Geum (금기숙, 琴基淑) is a Korean artist, designer, and educator. Currently a professor in the Department of Textile Art and Fashion Design at Hongik University in Seoul, Korea, she has a doctorate in textiles from Ewha Womans University (Seoul, Korea) and completed a post-doctorate fellowship at the University of Minnesota (Minnesota, United States). Having worked in fashion design and costuming, she began working with wire and art sculptures in 1996. Constructing both abstract and figurative forms, KeySook Geum has exhibited extensively in Berlin, Vienna, New York, Chicago, New Orleans, Tokyo, Seoul, and Hong Kong. She has also completed major commissions for Argo Group and Royal Caribbean International. Her winter 2014 Wire and Light solo exhibition at Art+ Shanghai Gallery marks her first exhibition in Shanghai.
About Art+ Shanghai Gallery
Founded in October 2007 and located along the Suzhou River within walking distance to Shanghai's famous Bund area, Art+ Shanghai Gallery is a dynamic art space dedicated to the exhibition, promotion, and development of Chinese contemporary art. Art+ Shanghai Gallery showcases a range of established and emerging contemporary artists from within China and abroad, stimulating and celebrating the diversity of the sprawling contemporary art scene. In addition to holding group and solo exhibitions, Art+ Shanghai Gallery offers art consultation services, hosts cultural events, and participates in international art fairs.
About the exhibition
Exhibition Duration: November 8 to December 31, 2014
Participating Artist: KeySook Geum
Venue: Art+ Shanghai Gallery
Address: 191 South Suzhou Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai
Tel: +86 21 6333 7223
Opening Hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 10 AM - 7 PM (Closed Monday)
E-mail: contact@artplusshanghai.com
Courtesy of the artist and Art + Shanghai Gallery.
