Made in California: Yeung Kim’s found-object art at Duson
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Point to just about anything at Duson that you’ve never seen anywhere else -- be it a table made from a chopping block and a typewriter stand or a lamp made from dented cola cans -- and owner/artist/designer Yeug Kim will tell you: ‘I made that.’ (Duson, aptly, translates from Korean as ‘two hands.’)
At the new Silver Lake shop, Kim stocks a range of midcentury furniture, found objects, Americana and folk art to rival the higher-priced spread at design stores such as Blackman Cruz in Los Angeles and Urban Country in Venice.
‘I like to mix American, Asian, antique and modern,’ says Kim, who sells 500-year-old bronze bowl rims from Korea on chunky wooden bases as tabletop sculpture. The pieces start at $145.
Many of Kim’s designs are made from found and recycled objects handsomely crafted into lighting fixtures. The prices are decidedly reasonable.
The pop art-inspired table lamp with a base comprised of crumpled Coca Cola cans, pictured at right, is $175. Next to it, an open-frame wooden lamp holds a variety of salvaged paint and calligraphy brushes and exudes Arts and Crafts charm with an Asian accent. That lamp is $450.
Kim also creates contemporary accessories such as wooden trays and metal candle holders in minimalist designs with rich, dark finishes suitable for a variety of decorating styles. See them, and more, after the jump.
Duson is at 2522 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles; (213) 805-0835.
-- David A. Keeps
Above: A low-profile, five-arm metal candle holder designed by Kim, $125, sits on a wooden tray, $125.
Below: The base of one of Kim’s inventive lamp designs, left, is made from the dials and gears salvaged from a gas pump. It’s $450. Part of a stash of Americana, the Blatz beer bottle man advertising figurine, below right, is $280. The neon-framed U.S. 101 road sign, sadly, is not for sale.
Photo credits: Jamie Rector / For The Times