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Chainsaw Artist Finds Global Fame at 91
19 Apr
Summary
- Kim Yun Shin, 91, wields a chainsaw to create abstract hardwood sculptures.
- Her retrospective at the Hoam Museum is the first by a woman artist.
- She lived in Argentina for 40 years, developing her unique artistic style.
South Korean sculptor Kim Yun Shin, now 91, has achieved significant recognition for her distinctive abstract artworks, primarily created using a chainsaw on hardwood. Her career, spanning decades and continents, is currently celebrated in a major retrospective at the Hoam Museum of Art in South Korea. This exhibition is noteworthy as it marks the institution's first solo show dedicated to a woman artist since its establishment in 1982.
Kim, who was born in 1935, has a profound connection to nature, stemming from her childhood experiences in colonial Korea. Her journey led her to study in France and later to Argentina, where she lived for 40 years, embracing chainsaw carving and working with diverse materials like dense hardwoods, stone, onyx, and sodalite. She views the chainsaw as an extension of herself, stating, "The saw is my body."
Her artistic path was not without challenges, including the political turmoil of South Korea and societal invisibility for women artists. However, Kim's resilience and unique artistic vision, nurtured by Argentina's culture and nature, have finally earned her international acclaim. Her work and lifelong dedication are seen as paving the way for subsequent generations of women artists.
