SMITHVILLE – Wansoo Kim’s exhibition, “Bashful Vessels” will be on display in the Joe L. Evins Gallery at Tennessee Tech University’s Appalachian Center for Craft until April 25.
Kim, a sculptural ceramicist, was born and raised in South Korea where he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in ceramics from Seoul National University of Science and Technology. He earned a Master of Fine Arts in studio art from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2018.
Since moving to the United States in 2013, he has shown his works regularly in national and international exhibitions. Kim participated in an artist-in-residence program at Belger Crane Yard Studios in Kansas City, before arriving at Austin Peay State University where he is an assistant professor of ceramics.
“In my eyes, the world is composed of both revealed things and hidden things,” Kim said. “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.”
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. He is the recipient of 2017 National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts Graduate Student Fellowship and Trickey Memorial Fellowship in Studio Art at University of Nebraska – Lincoln.
“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.”
The Joe L. Evins Gallery is open Monday – Saturday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Sunday 12 p.m. – 5 p.m.
The Appalachian Center for Craft is located at 1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville.
