Curation Pim Top

The work by Pim Top is probably more influenced by his studies at Erasmus University (Cultural Science, Philosophy, Art History) then by his brief stint at the art academy. Every image he makes comes from studies examining the way we perceive 2d images and the way we have, since the beginning of time, translated our reality to a flat surface and how this is used for communication. That is why his work could be referred to as a kind of hermeneutic realism and can be seen more as a formal study in image making and language in general. His work asks the viewer to be more mindful of the way he or she perceives his or her own reality in regard to aesthetic assumptions and the different types of value that can be attributed. His recent collages added a tactile element to his mostly digital work by working with different types of (photo)paper. The compositions are still created digitally, now focusing on a more abstract style. Although the works seem very busy and maximal, he would rather refer to them as his more “minimal” work. Kind of in the same way Steve Reich for example referred to his work as quite “maximal” instead of the “minimal” label it was given. A “minimal maximalism” if you will.

Digital collages (or digital paintings) made of hi-res photos, photoshop layers, screenshots, found images/illustrations and then morphed, liquefied, copied/pasted for about half a year minimum. My main source of photographic material are the cut-out product images I make as a product photographer. All these elements are pasted in a very large photoshop document from which parts are used for composing the final works. After finishing the composition of a work all elements are cut out in photoshop and put in separate layers. These layers are colour coded representing different (photo)papers. These are either acid free watercolour papers with different textures and weight or photo papers like high gloss, pearl and lustre. The final stage before printing is figuring out the order in which to layer all the elements and minimizing paper waste by minimizing white space on the printed papers. Lastly all the parts are hand cut and glued with acid-free bookbinder glue and acid-free paper tape. Because I wanted to have full control over the whole process I’m limited for now to an Epson a3+ printer so the sizes of the works don’t exceed 45x56cm.

PYEORI JUNG

PINK is a versatile color steeped in cultural and emotional significance. It embodies sweetness, love, and tenderness in numerous cultures, providing psychological comfort. However, given its multitude of shades—ranging from vibrant blueish pinks to softer, icily pale hues—PINK presents a paradox.

We explore interpreting our own variation of pink against our societal and environmental layers, redefining what pink means to us. Artists infuse their personal affection for pink, expressing how they perceive and combine materials to create unique shades of pink.
Our pink narrative, fueled by artists’ love for the color and their distinctive creative approaches, shows its varied meanings to evoke emotions in both aesthetics and cultures. We encourage them to craft their unique pink, one that has yet to exist in the world, presenting their pink essays to enrich their journey in constructing their individual pink kingdom.

Knit Pigment’s first edition, PINKDOM, focuses on telling the stories of pink through artists: Sho Ota, Pyeori Jung, and Sangmin Oh. The final collage works are created by Pim Top.

Work Description:

Pinkdized Flora and Pink Bonsai extend a fundamental inquiry into contemporary humanity’s relationship with nature by juxtaposing its ephemeral, finite existence with the enduring, industrial permanence of metal. This fusion of organic and synthetic elements challenges our perception of nature’s impermanence, questioning the ways we attempt to defy time and decay.

Rooted in the artist’s personal observations of consumption patterns and daily life, the works critically examine humanity’s insatiable desire for beauty and its underlying self-interest within a capitalist framework. Just as eternal beauty is an illusion and all living things are destined to wither, we persist in preserving only the fleeting moments of aesthetic perfection. By artificially prolonging nature’s temporal boundaries through metal—an industrial material that resists time—these works subtly satirize the paradox of aesthetic obsession, revealing its duality with both irony and elegance.

SANGMIN OH

Sangmin Oh established his own studio in 2021 based in Netherlands and Korea. He is influenced by sculptural crafts, textile techniques, color of explored materials and architectural elements. The studio focuses on observing trivial and small empty spaces, aside from spaces that are displayed amongst people’s daily hectic movements. “I want to fill up those brief, empty spaces. They can be filled up with emotional or visual stories and even with new realizations.”

BRAM VANDERBEKE

Bram Vanderbeke is a Ghent-based, Belgian artist/designer. He graduated from the Design Academy, Eindhoven in 2016, complementing a prior training in Design at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Ghent. His practice is diverse but consistent and stands out for its material, sculptural and monumental qualities.

Bram explores and transforms the possible interactions between an object, its architectural environment and its user, further challenged by raw materiality, form and functionality. His works are in the same time autonomous artistic manifestations and utile solutions, an ambiguity Bram deliberately aims for. He creates his Architectural Objects and rhythmic installations in varying dimensions, both in private and in public contexts. The works often influence the spatial perception of the environment they become part of, sometimes by extending an existing space through creating a new space within it.

Bram Vanderbeke is one of the founding members of BRUT, a collective of emerging Belgian designers. He also collaborates with Dutch Invertuals (NL), Gallery Hioco/Delany (BE), Galerie VIVID (NL) and Nilufar Gallery (IT).

Architectural Objects

Bram Vanderbeke creates Architectural Objects: monumental designs with a distinctive materiality and aesthetic. In doing so, Bram suggests considering the status of these works as intermediate. Not so much to declare them unfinished, but rather as an accentuation of their intrinsic potential – their capacity to vary and alter, according to the circumstances they may once become part of. The works introduce an interaction between space and object and between architecture and function.

Stacking is a vital word in relation to these Architectural Objects. Since it is this stacking – the deliberate and, above all, physical act of placing something on top of another – which is the foundation of many of them. When looked at from a distance, the Architectural Objects generously emphasise their context, revive its identity and introduce a new rhythm. Once in closer view, the objects also reveal their other qualities. On the one hand, this is the moment when the objects unveil their function and when an observer becomes a user. On the other hand, it is the point where materiality takes over, led by the textures and shades of the surfaces, the rawness and solidity of form and substance. They echo a process which is both experimental and intentional, bodily and mental.

ODD MATTER

ODD MATTER is a design studio driven by curiosity for all the strange and wonderful. Researching, probing, creating and exploring our worlds past, present and future through its materials, processes and concept. The studio believes that by working with existing processes and notions, researching these from a different more naïve perspective a different kind of product can be created. Unique and specific to the place they originate from.

Odd Matter are Dutch native Els Woldhek and Bulgarian Greorgi Mannasiev. They met whilst undertaking their MA studies in the design Products department at The Royal Collage of Art. The pair’s common interest in he borders of creating, process and material has put them on a shared path. One that operates across a wide range of disciplines and seeks to work within existing industries to create products, interiors, concepts or unique commissions more true and telling of their creation and will.

SUPERTOYS SUPERTOYS

Supertoys Supertoys, a Dutch-German art & design duo based in Rotterdam (NL), formed in 2018, aspire to infuse joy, wonder and connection into everyday life, challenging our preconceptions about the world and all things around us. At the heart of Supertoys Supertoys’ artistic vision stands their concept of ‘Radical Cuteness’.

Their distinctive cute, cartoonish, and somewhat abstract formal language is integral to their aesthetics. Soft shapes and predominantly pink colors radiate happiness and joy, while subtly evoking vulnerability and a sense of sweet melancholy. These aesthetics are paramount to their vision of ‘Radical Cuteness’ tapping into the profound connection between people, rekindling a childlike sense of boundless imagination.

Serving as a response to modern life’s hardships on this planet, the duo intends to offer a whimsical refuge by empowering individuals to create their own world, embracing aspects beyond their current reality and social constructs. By using cute and playful designs reminiscent of childhood, the duo taps into our shared memories, aiming to foster unity and bridge cultural divides through feelings of shared nostalgia and joy.

Benchy One with Eight Legs – wooden edition I

This bench was created alongside writing a short story that subtly echoes themes from “The Little Prince”, focusing on the beauty and fleeting nature of life. He was stranded. As far as he could see there was only sand. “Is this earth?”, he wondered. The sand was still hot but the air was cooling down rapidly as the first sun sets. “In the desert you easily suffer from schizophrenia”, he thought, “the loveliest and at the same time the saddest landscape in the universe”. As he spotted a round shape far away between the motionless and soundless sand dunes he felt melancholic. “A friend is coming”, he thought. He could see a little guy in soft green clothes with golden hair pointing upwards walking towards him. “I’ve always loved the desert. You sit down on a sand dune. You see nothing. You hear nothing. And yet something shines, something sings in that silence.” Melancholia turned into joyful anticipation as the little fellow approached and asked: “Please, draw me a chair.”

JONAS LUTZ

Finnish-born designer Jonas Lutz creates objects of bold simplicity and elegant solutions, often with a tacit playfulness. His objects instantly reveal a continuous search for the novel and undiscovered. Simplicity of form is well balanced with a gentleness that invites the touch and a modesty which speaks of a deep comprehension of materials and a desire to elevate their qualities.

Jonas finds inspiration in Nordic furniture traditions as well as in the lively design culture of his adopted country of the Netherlands. Fueled by an upbringing in a creative milieu his instinct and sensibility in the work with materials intimates that of a sculptor’s act. This act is much replicated in the way he gives himself design briefs triggering investigations of materials and concepts, often inspired by objects of use in his home.

Jonas Lutz studio is located in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. He studied at the Carl Malmsten furniture school in Stockholm, Sweden, and has a bachelor in design from the Design Academy in Eindhoven, the Netherlands.

DAE UK KIM

Dae Uk Kim, born in South Korea – Based in Eindhoven, The Netherlands & Seoul, South Korea.

Growing up in South Korea, its conservative social expectation towards gender and sexuality compelled me to suppress my desires and hinder the freedom of identity expression. Now as an artist living and working in the Netherlands, I strive to interweave my personal storytelling and notions of ecological diversity to create sculptures and installations that represent marginalized and silenced voices.

My body of work includes several series exploring the way society represses or celebrates diversity. One of the series, MUTANT, aims at fulfilling, expressing, and revealing my personal desires and dreams obstructed by societal expectations of my gender identity. I incorporate my ritual acts of beautification, such as braiding hair, manicure, and wearing high heels, which satisfy my desired gender expression, into my artistic production, creating sculptures that embody my lived experiences.

Another series, BLOOOMING, takes a different stance and is inspired by the way conventional beliefs perceive mutations in nature as forms of luck, preciousness, and beauty—such as four-leaf clover or fasciation flowers. This series evolves from Mutant, which delves into my personal story of queerness; in BLOOOMING, however, it furthermore addresses a broader sense of diversity, difference, and uniqueness shared in various cultural interpretations of nature.