Chicago Magazine Interviews Alum Dabin Ahn

Dabin Ahn (MFA 2020) was recently featured in Chicago Magazine for his show, Apocrypha, at Chicago Manual Style. Ahn’s work explores artifice and perception, using unexpected materials to produce objects that defy the very thing they signify. In Apocrypha, Royal Copenhagen plates and other dinnerware appear to be made of porcelain but are actually sculpted with liquid plastic or Styrofoam, and painted to create an uncanny realism. "It should work both as a hint and deceit to the materials used," Ahn said. 

Ahn is interested in challenging the barriers between painting and sculpture. While creating 3-D work, Ahn is making his own canvases. He shares, “If I created something on a ready-made plate, then psychologically, it’s just a mark on a readymade object. But if I come up with a plate on my own, then any mark on that surface becomes more of a painting.” Though Chicago Manual Style is currently closed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, you can view Ahn's work on his site.