Exhibition:
KEUNHO PETER PARK- Studio SPONG
July 18 - January 31, 2020
@ Philadelphia International Airport ‘Terminal A-West’
In 1998, Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) established an Airport’s Exhibitions Program—a visual arts initiative to humanize the airport environment, provide visibility for Philadelphia’s unique cultural life, and to enrich the experience of the traveling public. The Airport’s Exhibitions Program is responsible for organizing and presenting rotating exhibitions that are located throughout the airport. The exhibits change throughout the year to provide a variety of educational and cultural programs. This forum for presenting visual art attests to the airport’s commitment in supporting arts and culture. The Exhibitions Program provides millions of visitors from around the world access to a wide variety of art forms by artists and arts institutions from the Philadelphia area. Since its inception in 1998, there have been more than 300 exhibits featuring work by artists and arts/cultural institutions from throughout the Greater Philadelphia region.
Philadelphia artist Keunho Peter Park is a woodworker whose studio practice focuses on functional objects including furniture, furnishings, and musical instruments. The work is inspired by his fascination with nature, the human body, and wood. He creates 3-dimensional objects that are part anthropomorphic, part organic, yet completely functional. Park’s unique aesthetic and technique, known as segmented wood carving—a process where numerous smaller pieces of wood are joined together to create larger forms—result in objects that are evocative sculpturally and experimentally.
Park describes segmented wood carving as a technique “that enables me to make liberal forms and sizes…while always exploring innovative methods of construction.” Park’s detailing includes carved textures and applied color that accentuates specific surfaces to visually convey each piece’s one-of-a-kind “personality.” His artistic vision and skillful craftsmanship “instills a distinctive character” that celebrates the coexistence of nontraditional forms and functional art.