Kimsooja Whitney Biennial 2002 - Deductive Object

Artists Keith Edmier, Roxy Paine, Kiki Smith, Kimsooja, and Brian Tolle were commissioned to make dynamic new works suited for specific sites within Central Park for the Public Art Fund and the Whitney Museum of American Art’s cocurated exhibition in Central Park as part of the Whitney Museum’s 2002 Biennial Exhibition. Together, these five installations represent a broad overview of contemporary approaches to public art that are both thought-provoking and accessible to the largest possible audience.

Deductive Object, by Kimsooja (b. 1957, Taegu, Korea), is a vibrantly colorful installation made of Korean bed coverings. These textiles, traditionally given to newly married couples as a promise of long life and happiness, are typically embroidered with symbolic patterns and made of contrasting colors, such as red and blue, to signify the unification of yin and yang. By draping these richly expressive textiles over the tables at the Leaping Frog Café—where people come to eat, drink, rest, and socialize—Kimsooja elegantly signifies a broader context of past social encounters.