Featured Artist

​Ryu-Hee Kim​

​Metals | Jewelry | CAD-CAM |
​3-Dimensional Mixed Media Artist

Biography

Ryu-Hee Kim is an independent artist, an educator and a CAD-CAM (Computer-Aided Design – Computer-Aided Manufacturing) designer. She received degrees from Tyler School of Art and Texas Tech University. Studying in programs that taught traditional techniques as well as advanced 3D modeling practice equipped Kim with the skills needed to create her current work. Ms. Kim’s research has explored her Korean heritage as well as her multicultural living experiences throughout her life. Her research has received significant acclaim. Her work has been published and exhibited in over 50 national juried and invited exhibitions. Through combining traditional techniques with modern technology, Ms. Kim created work that extended beyond the technical knowledge of jewelry design.

Artist Statement

​An Artist Statement by Joseph Kopta

Ryu-Hee Kim’s somber and delicate sculptural ensembles respond to the tradition of Korean ceremonial practices that honor ancestors while bringing these rituals to the present. Invoking jaesa, or faithfully observed ancestor rites taking the form of a ritual meal central to Korea’s cultural history, Kim’s works reinterpret the formal ceremonial vessels central to the practice.

The format of these ensembles is consistent, encompassing a flat base, central vessel, and removable jewelry. While the forms of the works clearly draw upon the ritual brass, wood, and ceramic plates called jaegi, Kim bases certain elements of these objects on the petals of unfolding white chrysanthemum flowers used in funerary rites. Elsewhere, such as in Tears, seedpods that evoke an organic element serve as a source. In each case, these forms reference the cycle of life, death, and remembrance inherent in honoring the past. 

Here, the artist has updated the manufacture of the central vessels using 3D-printed nylon. Drawing visually upon baekja white porcelain, the fragility of these printed objects serves as a type of metaphor for Kim’s own ephemeral memories of the ancestors she honors with these works. Likewise updated is the material of the bases, rendered in transparent acrylic. The clean precision of the clear material recalls the act of carefully polishing and preparing the ritual plates and cutlery in jaesa, while the laser engraved designs are directly drawn from those found on historic ceramics used in the practice.

Each of Kim’s ensembles includes a central detachable element that a user removes and holds as a type of jewelry. In some of the pieces, such as For You, this removable jewelry itself mechanically unfolds like a nesting doll, expanding the chrysanthemum shape into an abstract, wearable architecture. In this way, the removal of this element and its manipulation activates the type of personal memorial power these ensembles hold. In Kim’s own words, “returning the jewelry to its container represents paying respect to your ancestors by giving and leaving offerings.” Ultimately, these ensembles serve as a means for viewers to connect to the past through the custom of honoring those who came before.