Korean artist Kim Deok Han reconstructs ancient lacquer techniques that span thousands of years through contemporary art. Learning classical methods from masters designated as Important Intangible Cultural Property holders, he creates works that embody the accumulation of time, seamlessly blending tradition with innovation. We sat down with this artist who sculpts time to discuss his journey from discovering traditional techniques to developing his unique creative vision.

From Discoveries at Restoration Sites to Layered Lacquer Techniques

Kim Deok Han “Overlaid Series No.25-30-03” 2025, 75 × 75cm, East lacquer on panel

- What inspired you to begin your journey as an artist?

Kim: During my university years, I participated in cultural heritage restoration projects, handling relics that had condensed centuries of time within them. Their surfaces contained traces of human touch and the weight of history. Through this experience, I realized that art is not merely about creating forms, but about recording time and memory within material.

Since then, my work has been a journey to reveal invisible time and inscribe its traces onto the present surface.

- Your works are characterized by the use of lacquer. What led you to incorporate this material into your practice?

Kim: I studied lacquer under Korea’s master artisans and Important Intangible Cultural Property holders, learning not only its technical precision but also its deep cultural and historical layers.

Lacquer is more than a coating material—it carries thousands of years of history in East Asia. It hardens and deepens over time, embodying endurance and transformation. I was drawn to this living nature of lacquer. Though rooted in tradition, I believe it is reborn through my hands as a contemporary medium.

- What techniques do you use in your creative process?

Kim: I apply multiple layers of lacquer, then sand and reapply it repeatedly. Lacquer cures slowly depending on humidity and temperature—it breathes with the air and deepens in gloss over time.

Through this slow process, I allow time itself to seep into the surface. Each layer becomes a sediment of memory, a trace of duration accumulated through countless repetitions.

Beyond Time and Memory toward Architectural Dimensions

Kim Deok Han “Overlaid Series No.25-30-02” 2025, 75 × 75cm, East lacquer on panel

- What ideas or sources of inspiration are most important to you when creating a work?

Kim: Time is the most essential material in my practice. I constantly explore how memory, trace, and disappearance coexist on a single surface. The hues of traditional Korean hanbok, the cycles of nature, even the rhythms of music or the universe—all serve as sources of inspiration.

My process of layering and sanding is not merely about creating a surface; it’s about embedding the grain of invisible time into matter. Ultimately, I seek to create a plane where past and present coexist seamlessly.

- What should viewers pay attention to in this exhibition?

Kim: The smooth surface of my work is not decorative—it is the result of countless layers of lacquer and polishing that condense time. Up close, subtle grains, reflections of light, and depths emerge, revealing invisible labor, patience, and the material memory of time.

My paintings are not images but fields of condensed traces of time and memory. I hope viewers can project their own memories and emotions upon the surface, experiencing it as a visual encounter with time itself.

- What kinds of expressions or projects would you like to pursue in the future?

Kim: I want to expand lacquer beyond the pictorial realm into architectural and spatial dimensions. Until now, I have inscribed time onto surfaces; in the future, I aim to construct entire environments as temporal structures.

Through future projects, I hope to create spaces that serve as mediators—recording, transforming, and transmitting time—allowing viewers to experience its flow both visually and sensorially.

Kim Deok Han's artistic pursuit has now reached a realm where he sculpts time itself. Through the ancient medium of lacquer, his works speak to the contemporary world, posing the questions ーWhat is time? What is memory? What is art?

Like the countless layers embedded within smooth surfaces, Kim Deok Han's creative work will continue to quietly yet steadily mark the passage of time.

KIM DEOK HAN: OVERLAID - Layered Time, Forms of Memory