Eternal Life, 2019. Leather and natural lacquer
50 H x 38 W x 34 D cm

'I create unique patterns and textures by layering different types of leather, each with its own particular colour and thickness. The growth and transformation of all living things are influenced by external environmental factors; through this process, my hands have become another external influence. It is without the support of a frame or tools, and only with my bare hands, that these works are created - using different tensions, controlled by the tips of my fingers to piece together the different strips of leather. With my work, I recreate tree rings by compiling these thin leather strips into different shapes and vessels, in the hope of giving infinite life to a material that has already reached its fulfilment.' - Junsu Kim

Our new Crafted Collectables series launches an artwork each week from gallery artists and the wider community of artist-designer-makers. We’ve invited them to make a small-scale work that might act as a memento; a piece that can be treasured over a lifetime, nurtured through family generations or gifted in an act of friendship. We believe that within the taxonomy of objecthood, the art object has a unique skill in transferring emotional content; beginning with the maker's intention to express a poetry of being in unity with material, it proposes a focal point upon which memories and ideas can be created, held or restored over time.

The third in the series are Junsu Kim's leather vessels.

Price includes VAT and excludes delivery.

South Korean artist Junsu Kim creates his organic vessels by stacking thin leather strips in combination, meditatively building the layers with varying thicknesses and subtle tonal differences. With an innate interest for raw material, Junsu began working with metal but became captivated with leather when he participated in workshops with local leather craftsmen in Tuscany, Italy. Junsu seeks to capture a sense of time through his use of material and process; the coils of leather reflect the rings of a tree and the slowness and regenerative qualities of a lifecycle. Each piece has its own rhythm and momentum, reflective of the meandering pace of life.

In 2016, Junsu graduated from Kookmin University in Seoul with an MFA in Metalwork & Jewellery. His work has been exhibited extensively in South Korea and shown internationally in Paris and London. In 2019, he was a winner of the Cheongju Craft Biennale Competition and in 2017, he was awarded The Artist of the Year 3rd Prize (Director Prize) at the Craft Trend Fair, organised by KCDF in Seoul, and received the Award of Selection in the Talente Competition, Munich.