Sang Hoon Kim

Sang Hoon Kim is a South Korean designer who works with foam to create enigmatic and unique furniture pieces that bring together scientific precision, experimentation, and design. After graduating from Cranbrook Academy of Art in 2009, Kim decided to work at his family’s foam factory.

He became particularly fascinated with the unique properties of foam as a material while developing a new mattress line in 2015. He began to experiment with both scientific and intuitive methods to inform his furniture production. Kim finds inspiration for his works in architecture, and creates pieces that define spaces, all while adding beauty to an environment. It is Kim’s belief that furniture should be regarded as another dimension of architecture. The pieces he creates are rhythmically geometric in their construction and feature a great deal asymmetrical balance. His work functions not only as space dividing units, but also as a connection between the two spaces; simultaneously possessing harmony and rhythm, along with a sense of haphazard instability.

Kim concentrates on creating different perspectives to experience space. His pieces are meant to be viewed from all sides and angles and are designed around the form’s movement and contrasting components. Through these methods Kim communicates the language of organic forms. His intuitive approach welcomes experimentation and freedom within the chemical production of making, leading to impressively layered and multidimensional shapes, all the while serving as usable design. The distinctive textures and varying levels of softness are masterfully crafted to create something that is more than the sum of its parts.