Bottari to Biennale: Kimsooja's French Honour
In an art world that often celebrates spectacle, Kimsooja has spent four decades mastering the opposite: stillness. This summer, the French government recognised the quiet force of her practice by awarding her the Officier medal of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Presented at the French ambassador’s residence in Seoul, the honour places her among the few international artists elevated to this rank, in acknowledgement of her role in shaping cultural dialogue between Korea, France, and beyond.
Kimjoonsa receives the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Photo by Kim Jin-sol.
The Order of Arts and Letters, created in 1957, is one of France’s most prestigious cultural distinctions, reserved for those whose work has left an indelible mark on the world of art and ideas. To be promoted from Chevalier (Knight) to Officier (Officer) is not only recognition of Kimsooja’s long-standing relationship with France, but also an acknowledgment of the universal resonance of her work — art that moves fluidly across disciplines, borders, and languages. It situates her in the company of writers, musicians, and visual artists whose practices have shaped cultural history, reinforcing her position as a figure who embodies both national identity and international exchange.
Kimsooja: To Breathe – Mokum, Oude Kerk, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Photo by Natascha Libbert.
France has long been Kimsooja’s second home. Since her studies at the École des Beaux-Arts in 1984, she has returned repeatedly to Paris — most recently in 2024, when she became the first Korean artist to be granted Carte blanche at the Bourse de Commerce – Pinault Collection. There, her exhibition To Breathe – Constellation turned light and colour into architecture, inviting visitors to pause, inhale, and exhale within a constellation of her making. Reflecting on the new honour, she said: “I have been fortunate to realise many monumental projects over the last four decades by exchanging inspiration with the artists and cultural figures in France who have shown unwavering love and support for my work. I am deeply grateful for my second home, France, for this recognition.”
Kimsooja, Deductive Object, 2007, Installation with two baguette trolleys and bottari made of textiles. Image courtesy of Kimsooja Studio und KEWENIG, Berlin.
Textiles are the warp running through her practice. Her bottari — traditional Korean cloth bundles used to carry belongings — serve as metaphors for migration, memory, and mobility. Gathered, tied, and placed in space, these bundles act as both sculpture and witness, repositories of other people’s journeys. Her celebrated video series A Needle Woman extends the metaphor, with Kimsooja herself as the motionless “needle,” stitching together the restless crowds of global cities. As she has said of her ambition: “I would like to create works that are like water and air, which we cannot possess but which can be shared with everyone.”
Kimsooja, Bottari Truck - Migrateurs, 2007, collection Fenix.
This year, the needle continues its journey across borders. In Amsterdam, her solo installation To Breathe – Mokum (24 May–9 November 2025) transforms the Oude Kerk into a prism. Sunlight fractured through rainbow film floods the stone interior, while bottari filled with clothing from the city’s diverse communities lie across the floor — a celebration of Amsterdam’s 750 years of migration. In Rotterdam, her work forms part of All Directions: Art That Moves You, the inaugural exhibition at the new FENIX Museum of Migration, while in Macau she presents the aforementioned A Needle Woman, Paris at the International Art Biennale.
For an artist who speaks in gestures rather than declarations, the Officier medal is a rare moment of fanfare. Yet it feels fitting. Kimsooja has shown that a single body standing still, a bundle of cloth tied with care, or a shaft of coloured light can hold its own against noise, movement, and borders. Her recognition by France is not just a personal accolade but a reminder: sometimes the most radical art is the art that asks us to pause.
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Further Information:
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Image Credits:
LEAD: Kimsooja, To Breathe, (2015). Installation view, Centre Pompidou-Metz.
Photo: via Radja Photographie
All other images as credited in photo captions.