Art with a golden touch
S. Korean artist’s 24-carat gold paintings set to go on display here
KUALA LUMPUR: Paintings made from pure gold, anyone?
Be forewarned though, as it does not come cheap.
Malaysia is set to host a one-of-akind art exhibition featuring the works of South Korean artist Kim il-Tae who is said to be the world’s only gold painting artist.
Using cutlery and etching tools, Kim crafts artwork pieces of dragons, horses and roses with 24-carat gold.
While the use of gold foil leaves in artwork is not new, Kim is the only one who has dared to use real gold to create paintings.
The more you look at his art, the more you will appreciate and fall in love with it. Serena Chiam
His artwork, which are sold for between US$21,000 (RM86,000) and US$700,000 (RM2.8mil) per piece, were displayed at the prestigious Saatchi Gallery in London last year.
Owners of his pieces include former US president Barack Obama, Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt and singers Madonna and Psy.
Among the select few in the country who own Kim’s pieces is Serena Chiam, who said she fell for it when she visited his art gallery in Seoul four years ago.
“The more you look at his art, the more you will appreciate and fall in love with it,” said Chiam, who heads Aureo Gallery’s parent com- pany which holds the exclusive rights to distribute Kim’s artwork in Asia.
“We have plans to sell his artwork in Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines and China,” said Chiam at her office in Kuala Lumpur.
She said over 20 of Kim’s paintings would be displayed at his exhi- bition at the Shangri-La Hotel in Kuala Lumpur on Dec 9 from 10am to 7pm.
The South Korean will fly in to meet with his art enthusiasts and also share some of his art “secrets”.
For details, call Rio from Aureo Gallery at 012-649 0018/03-6419 1815.