Yunchul Kim operates in a strange, uncategorizable zone, somewhere between what the ancient Greeks termed techne (technical mastery) and poiesis (poetry). Being a master of chemical processes that create unique colors from ecological sources and a builder of kinetic machines that move according to mathematical impulses and patterns, labeling Korean-born Kim simply as an “artist” would be misleading. In reality, he is part chemist, part engineer; a man who displays a profound interest in the evolution of science and technology, driven by the complexities of an era marked by ongoing conflict and disequilibrium. These thoughts are on my mind as I drive through the snow toward the north of Bukhansan (one of the mountains that surrounds Seoul) to reach the region of Gyeonggi-do where he works. Studio Locus Solus (which in Latin means a solitary or unique place) is spread out over two floors and has large floor-to-ceiling windows through which Kim’s artworks are visible from the street; with their machine-like structures, passersby must surely wonder whether they are, in fact, the creation of a brilliant scientific mind.