KIMSOOJA AT METZ CATHEDRAL, METZ, FRANCE

A PROJECT INSTALLATION FOR THE 800TH ANNIVERSARY, 15 SEP 2022

Kimsooja, 'To Breathe', 2022 at Cathedral Saint-Ètienne Metz. Photo: Jaeho Chong

Kimsooja has created a permanent stained glass installation, ’To Breathe’, to commemorate the 800th anniversary of the Cathedral Saint-Ètienne de Metz, France. 

Kimsooja, 'To Breathe', 2022 at Cathedral Saint-Ètienne Metz. Photo: Jaeho Chong

The Korean artist has collaborated with the glassmaker Pierre-Alain Parot to build a timeless and dimensional painting. For this intervention, commissioned by the State, Kimsooja selects two techniques, superimposing the traditionally blown glass with the dichroic industrial glass, to deconstruct and reconstruct the daylight. Referring to the Obangsaek –the traditional Korean colour spectrum–, the colours symbolise five cardinal points (north, east, south, west, and center), as well as five natural elements (wood, fire, earth, metal, and water).