“A chair can assume a personality,” says Minjae Kim, standing on a carpet of sawdust, a chain saw at his feet. Bits of wood fleck his dark button-down shirt, shorts and clogs, and there are stray shavings in his bun of black hair. “You can connect with its character, ” continues the Korean-born designer, explaining that for him, anthropomorphizing furniture is a process of “animating objects” and a response to an absence of personality in 20th-century design. “Modernism’s intention was to remove those characteristics in order to function anywhere, but that’s very aggressive. It’s time to mend that connection again.” This story is from Kinfolk Issue Fifty-One Buy Now Related Stories Design Issue 51 John Pawson From the king of minimalism: “I find the essential and get the design down to a point where you can’t add or subtract from it.” Design Interiors Issue 51 Axel Vervoordt Inside the world of Axel Vervoordt. Design Issue 51 Inga Sempé “Minimalism is boring as hell, and on top of that, it’s preachy.” Design Issue 51 Halleroed Meet the giants of Swedish retail design. Design Issue 51 Andrew Trotter The architect and designer on renewing traditional architecture. Design Issue 51 Kim Lenschow The architect who wants to show you how your house works.
Design Issue 51 John Pawson From the king of minimalism: “I find the essential and get the design down to a point where you can’t add or subtract from it.”
