Artist bridges the divide between nature and culture

Lim's occidental life in New York since 1973 definitely did not reduce, but rather, strengthened the artist's sensitive vision toward oriental concepts and values, leading him to name the title of his ongoing exhibition "Habitual Habitat," a pun on the word "habit." The artist's empirical or habitual facts dwell in a designated space - the habitat.

"Even though I ate hundreds of hamburgers there (in New York), I didn't lose the Korean fragrance," said Lim at a press conference at Kukje Gallery last week.

Around the studio, many works are hung on the wall even though they are either three-dimensional installations or relief.

"I wanted to break free out of the conventional frame of the plain, square canvas. The breaking process can be called 'canvas shaping,' in other words," explained Lim. Creating volume out of "negative space" which is hidden in the illusion of our visibility, the artist tries to capture his personal reflections of the journey to nature.

"Horse-Roof," one of Lim Choong-sup`s works displayed at the "Habitual Habitat" exhibition.

"Scape-Fossil" is a mixed media wall installation that consists of 20 boxes of different shapes of typewriters, each filled with natural souvenirs taken on his weekend trips. When they are mixed with the urban object - the typewriter - they create a bridge between nature and manmade culture.

According to art critic Yoo Jin-sang, Lim Choong-sup is a rare artist who turns his metaphysical contemplation into sculptural form.

"Artist Lim's works are totally creative because he starts each work from scratch, not taking anything from earlier works," said Yoo.

Lim's works fundamentally take their roots in East Asian values, even though the artist says they were not intended to. In the process of digging himself out through weekend trips and thinking, Lim's works turned out to have utilized oriental materials.

Sculpted out of white rubber casting, the relief "Lotus Position" is stuck on the white wall. Lim suggests the shape of Buddha by showing the feet and hands only and cutting out all the other body parts.

"I used my own hands and feet in the casting," said Lim.

Lim Choong-sup's solo exhibition "Habitual Habitat" runs through Feb. 18 at Kukje Gallery. It is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Tuesday to Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. It is closed on Mondays. Kukje Gallery is in Sogyeok-dong near Exit No. 1 at Anguk Station on Subway Line No. 3. For more information, call (02) 735-8449 or visit www.kukje.org

<By Kim Yoon-mi, The Korea Herald>