Sculptor pays homage to female body

By Ines Min

Staff reporter

The women at Sun Gallery are figures of voluptuous hips and buttocks, angular bone structure and dainty appendages.

That is, the women of marble and nickel alloy created by sculptor Kim Myung-sook. Kim's fifth solo exhibition opened at the gallery in Insa-dong, Seoul, Wednesday, showcasing her latest works from the past two years.

The curvy, sensual sculptures Kim creates are distinct in their use of the bare minimum of lines, achieving shape and volume with the smoothest of turns in sleek marble imported from Carrara, Italy. The solid colors of the raw material compound the sense of ascetic luxury: Nothing more is needed to convey the hypnotizing shapes of the artwork.

``I don't use one specific model, but several,'' said Kim, 58, last week in a meeting with reporters. She refuses to take the route of contemporary artists, who design their structures using computer programs. Instead, Kim seeks inspiration from croquis, which means ``sketch'' in French, and creates her work from scratch.

The direct approach to her artwork is evident in the intimate postures her statues adopt. Tilted heads and puckered lips take on an almost coy demeanor, but not with a conniving motivation. Kim's figures seem to call out in their pure confidence.

``There is no line more beautiful than the buttocks, to draw out the beauty of a woman's figure,'' Kim said. ``I create a message in the human form while expressing rhythms and volume that seek the beauty and simplification of curves.''

As a successful artist, Kim's next step is to open her own museum, a goal she hopes to achieve by her 60th birthday. She has already bought a 2,500-pyeong (8,200 square meter) plot of land in Gangwon Province, and hopes the structure will remain in commemoration of her life and work.

Ultimately, however, each piece she creates serves as breadcrumbs to her progress, as well as a testament to the female body. Kim has maintained her eye for lines since she first began her work in the 1980s. And ― the sculptor was unabashedly honest in the room full of strangers ― she was first inspired by her own body in her youth.

``As I saw my reflection in the mirror, I saw how aesthetic a woman's curves and lines are,'' she said frankly, without arrogance. ``From then on I only did female figures.''

Kim Myung-sook's exhibition will run through May 22. Sun Gallery is located in Insa-dong; take subway line number 3 to Anguk Station, exit 6. Visit www.sungallery.co.kr.