Gold Cakra Lamp
Choe U-Ram, Korean, born 1970
2013
Metallic material, machinery, electronic device (CPU board, motor, LED)
5/20 + 2 AP
Overall: 22 7/16 × 22 7/16 × 8 1/4 in. (57 × 57 × 21 cm)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Purchased through the Evelyn A. and William B. Jaffe 2015 Fund
© Choe U-Ram
2024.17.1
Geography
Place Made: Seoul, South Korea, East Asia, Asia
Period
21st century
Object Name
Sculpture
Research Area
Sculpture
Time Based Media
On view
Label
Gold Cakra Lamp demonstrates Choe U-Ram’s signature style of exquisitely handcrafted kinetic sculpture. The artist layers multiple steel mechanical units into a circular format that opens and closes. Despite the work’s evident complexity, its steel layers never collide with one another. Along with the bright light emitted at the center, the rotation of the work suggests harmony and a balance of mechanical and organic energy. This resonates with the title, Cakra, a Buddhist notion of the wheel of wisdom that circulates energy and light into the world.
From the 2024 exhibition Attitude of Coexistence: Non-Humans in East Asian Art, curated by Haely Chang, Jane and Raphael Bernstein Associate Curator of East Asian Art
Exhibition History
Attitude of Coexistence: Non-humans in East Asian Art, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, November 16, 2024-June 29, 2025.
Published References
National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Choe U-ram [Little Ark], MMCA Hyundai Motor Series 2022, Exhibition Catalogue (Seoul: National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, 2022), 62. National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Choe U-Ram: [Stil laif], Exhibition Catalogue (Taichung: National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, 2017), 84-85.
Provenance
The artist, Seoul, Korea; sold to present collection, 2024.
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