KIM DO YOON

Cluster Contemporary Jewellery
”The Living Trace”

 

Kim Do Yoon, maker of the Louver series, makes jewelry inspired by architectural structures. Growing up in Seoul, a city dense with apartments and high-rises, he naturally absorbed the rhythms of urban life—its density, standardization, repetitive patterns. These experiences became the basis of his fascination with architecture.

He was first introduced to metalwork at Hongik University’s Department of Metal Art & Design. At first, he had no interest in jewelry. During his second year, however, his curiosity grew, and he became drawn to gemstones and the ornate aesthetics of Art Nouveau and Art Deco style. In his second and third years, his focus remained on technical execution. But his graduation exhibition marked a turning point: he began creating jewelry that carried narrative meaning, expanding his artistic vision. From then on, instead of pursuing mere extravagance, he turned to what truly inspired him, exploring materials beyond gemstones to realize his ideas. This shift led to the development of his jewelry series that reinterpret architectural forms.

 

KIM Do Yoon primarily works on reinterpreting architectural forms and transforming them into jewelry. To him, architecture is an object of admiration and a synthesis of the arts. By translating architectural elements and materials into wearable pieces, he seeks to realize the concept of “wearable architecture.”

Recently, he has been exploring the functions and aesthetics of architectural external shading, ‘Louver’. These structures, installed on the exterior of buildings, serve both functional and aesthetic purposes by controlling the light that enters the interior space.

In expressing external shading, Kim transforms elements such as glass windows and steel frames into jewelry, using materials like acrylic, 925 silver, brass, and stainless steel. To capture the light-shielding function of louvers, he utilizes the properties of acrylic—particularly through a technique called “sawing”—to create a contrast between transparency and opacity. This process produces a unique inner texture within the acrylic, resulting in compelling shadow effects.

Kinetic structures of louvers are also translated into jewelry through rivets, hinges, and similar mechanical details. Through these transformations and his distinctive sense of form, Kim Do Yoon creates captivating jewelry pieces inspired by architectural motifs.