Wonmin Park ‘s first solo exhibition in the USA at ultra-chic Carpenters Workshop Gallery is a celebration of technicality and patience.
Wonmin Park had never seriously worked with aluminum before ‘Plain Cuts’. ‘Plain Cuts’, his show now on view at Carpenters Workshop Gallery in NYC, is made almost exclusively of the lightweight metal, which took years to master. The Korean artist didn’t hesitate to tell me that, almost as if it were a point of pride- for a guy who’d never touched aluminum, its a testament to his innate skill.
Wonmin is perhaps best known for his softly glowing resin objects- known as “Haze”- blocky, physics-defying structures- usually, tables- that look like you could have a nibble of if no one was looking- just to see what it tasted like. They’re not “fun” and they’re not “childish”: they’re honest, curious, and wonderful.
“Plain Cuts” is a different beast- hinged on a duet of precision and natural tarnishing, the show features tables, a light fixture, and a console. Their scales are suitable for the miles-long hallways and vast drawing rooms that they might end up in. They are sleek and well made, at once looking very heavy but impossibly light. The slabs of aluminum appear machined to perfection, cutting through each other with exacting precision. The result is a finished and confident work. Unlike the resin pieces, Park toys with the composition here. Scale of items, but a systematic logic to his execution- as if it were engineered in such a way from the beginning. Check out the office scenes in Jacques Tati’s ‘Playtime’. You’ll see what I mean.
There are no welding marks, no obvious screws or stays. A bookcase holds 8 boxes suspended by one pillar of contrasting silver. The material is not perfect- Park patinaed the aluminum with a deft hand- just enough to look deliberate, not aged. See them for their detail, their heft, their illusion, their grace, their energy.
“Plain Cuts” is Wonmin Park ‘s first solo exhibition in the U.S. and runs through April 14th at Carpenters Workshop Gallery.
693 5th Avenue,
Penthouse
http://carpentersworkshopgallery.com
