'Artists on the Road' Lecture Series Continues with Sunhwa Kim
Originally from South Korea, Sunhwa Kim, associate professor of design and coordinator of Buffalo State’s wood/furniture program, relocated to the United States in 2004 and has traveled widely.
During a campus talk on Thursday, March 20, at 12:15 p.m. in Upton Hall 230, Kim will discuss how her travels influenced her work, along with her involvement in last April’s International Lacquer Symposium held at SUNY Buffalo State.
Kim’s lecture, which is free and open to the public, is the second in a series offered this spring, “Artists on the Road: Travel as a Source of Inspiration,” co-sponsored by the Design Department and the International and Exchange Programs Office.
"By merging my thoughts, history, and culture, I strive to combine time-honored traditional Eastern lacquer techniques with Western ideas to invent a design fusion of contemporary furniture styles," Kim said. "I aspire to create objects that accommodate the current cultural shifts of East Asia, but still honor the traditional techniques that bridge the gap between older and younger generations and seek to create a greater connection between the East and the West, both emotionally and aesthetically."
Kim, whose elegant natural lacquer on wood was included in the recent Art in Craft Media exhibition at the Burchfield Penney Art Center, received her undergraduate degree at Dong-a University in Busan, Korea, and a master’s of fine art in design and craft at Kanazowa College of Art in Japan. She also studied at the Ishikawa Prefecture Institute of Wajima Lacquer Art in Wajima, Japan, where she began an in-depth study of natural lacquer techniques and materials such as gold and silver powder, leaves, and mother-of-pearl to create imagery in her work. She then earned a master’s of fine arts degree in furniture at the Savannah School of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia.
Design lecturer Gerald Mead will round out the “Artists on the Road” series with his talk on April 24 at 12:15 p.m. in Upton Hall 230. Mead will present “Travelages: Travel Influenced Collages,” focusing on how tiny artifacts from decades of global travel have influenced and served as source materials for several bodies of artwork over the years.
For further information on the series, contact Carol Townsend, associate professor of design and coordinator of design foundations, (716) 878-4986.