A Treat to the Eye | Jae Yong KIM

Inside the White Cube x Karnival

Donut consumption has been an inseparable aspect in the American culture. A huge percentage of Americans include Donuts as a part of their meal boxes. By and large, the most favorite one is the glazed donuts. Closely associated with this American popular culture, Jae Yong Kim invested his skills in a creating glazed ceramic donut sculptures. His donuts have been elevated beyond the banal to an iconic symbol that creatively comments about our globalized world of production and consumption. Rather than offering us an overt critique of this reality, Kim’s work conveys an almost child-like joy and pleasure. His glazed donuts look good enough to eat, and viewers can’t help but smile at their bright colors and sometimes querky shapes. Kim’s artistic process is also guided by the principle of pleasure: he works with each individual donut until he is happy with it, a process which takes three or four firings in the kiln over the course of many days. Each donut is individually hand crafted, painted, glazed and adorned one by one.

Each one bearing a caution note: JUST A TREAT TO THE EYE!

His almost defining “Great wall of donuts” outlines elements or characteristics- irony, humor, parody, theatricalization, excess, extravagance and exaggeration. His recent exhibition “Donut Fear”, 2020 in Hakgojae Gallery, Seoul helps us trace the Korean ceramic, craft and art with a broader perspective. His art provides a more extensive view on the question of "what is craft?", as well as answers with a naughty smile to the question of "what is fine art?"

His expertise conveys indirectly and unintentionally to a parallel referencing to some established artists representing a different medium or genre in art.

“Without my intention, references to Pop Art have been a consistent occurrence throughout the entirety of the donut artworks. Questioning myself regarding the donuts falling in line with a specific genre has brought questions and need for understanding. Each individual donut has invariably read to me as a small painting; color, pattern and physicality have been the ultimate procedure for my personal expression. How can these miniature sculpture/paintings speak out as larger works? Investigating Pop artists that have come before me act as a bridge to a sensible starting point for new works. Donut groupings that dictate popular artworks show a rich sense of history and are an observation of American contemporary art, especially Pop art. Finding the strength within certain artists and developing them into donut artworks establishes a new ground of relief sculpture studied through painting.”

-Jae Yong Kim

Here are some examples, where Kim has drawn parallel reflections from existing celebrated contemporary artworks

(L) Inflatable pumpkin by Yayoi Kusama that recently appeared in Place Vendôme, Paris in 2019. This installation was realized in collaboration with Victoria Miro, Ota Fine Arts and David Zwirner

(R) Donut decorated with Swaroski crystals from a show titled 'Donut worry be happy' in 2017

(L) Azulejo Tiles in Igreja do Carmo, Porto, Portugal

(R) XXL Donut 015, 2019 displayed at Hakgojae Gallery in their ongoing exhibition titled 'Donut Fear'

(L) The Great Wave off the Coast of Kanagawa by by the Japanese ukiyo-e artist Hokusai, 1831; Image Courtesy: Google Arts and Culture

(R) Big Wave, Homage to Hokusai, 2019 displayed at Blank Space, New York

(L) Rabbit Sculpture,1986 by Jeff Koons. In May 2019, it was auctioned for $91.1 million, breaking the auction record for an artwork by a living artist.

(R) XXL Donut 015, 2019, on dispaly at Hakgojae Gallery in their ongoing exhibition titled 'Donut Fear'

(L) Campbell Soup Cans, 1962, by Andy Warhol; Image Courtesy: Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)

(R) I Dreamt of a Donut Flavored Soup by Kim displayed at Lyons Wier Gallery, NYC in show titled Pop Goes the Donut in 2016

In 2016, Kim took a solo show to Lyons Wier Gallery, New York titled “Pop Goes the Donut”. This show drew attention to the consumer culture and conspicuous consumption of Donuts through the medium of ceramic pop art. Paying tribute to Pop artists, present and past, with his use of familiar motifs, Kim's sculptures beg the question "is the viewer visually consuming a donut, an artwork, or the art world at large?" Distinguishing colors, patterns and appliques start aligning themselves with art history and pop culture references.

Kim's work tells an enlightening story about consumption and consumerism from a perspective in which the art world and the food world converge.

Inside the White Cube x Karnival

In collaboration with Karnival, we celebrate the International Donut Day.

Karnival is a content and commerce platform that provides a platform for Korean Culture Enthusiasts in India whilst promoting India x Korea relationship through its distinguished set of merchandise.

To explore more about the the Korean culture please follow @lovekarnival and @shopkarnival on Instagram.

Image Courtesy: the Artist