Keun Ho Peter Park: World Cup 2026: Flow State
June 18 – July 26, 2026
Curator: Jennifer-Navva Milliken
About the Exhibition
Soccer — known globally as futbol — has long inspired artistic expression. Its accessibility has made it one of the world’s most beloved sports, played by hundreds of millions across cultures, generations, and levels of competition. The FIFA World Cup, held every four years, is a global spectacle that draws billions of fans who rally behind their favorite players and nations. Yet at the center of this phenomenon is a single object: the ball itself.
In World Cup 2026: Flow State, Philadelphia-based artist Keun Ho Peter Park presents a sculptural portrait of the soccer ball. Inspired by the evolving forms of official World Cup match balls, Park explores how each design reflects the identity and aspirations of its host nation while conforming to FIFA’s exacting standards. A woodworker, furniture maker, and sculptor, Park celebrates this iconic object through a sculptural work that brings together his artistic languages of stack lamination and chip carving.
Flow State also traces the cultural histories embedded within World Cup tradition. As a youth in Seoul, Park witnessed the 2002 FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by South Korea and Japan, when the tournament — and its official Fevernova ball — served as a powerful symbol of diplomacy and cooperation. The 2026 World Cup similarly commemorates a moment of international partnership. Referencing the official match ball, Trionda, whose tripartite design represents the three host nations of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, Park reflects on soccer’s capacity to create connections across borders while sustaining local identities. The two woods selected for the work — cherry and maple — are native to the region surrounding Philadelphia, itself a host city for the 2026 World Cup.
About the Artist
Keun Ho Peter Park is a furniture designer, maker, and sculptor. His work centers on the parallels between wood and the human body as living organisms, creating anthropomorphized sculptures that also perform as furniture, musical instruments, and vessels. Marked by free-flowing curves created by organic forms and complex joinery techniques that convey organic lines and curves, Park contrasts his appreciation for wood’s unique tones and grain with a strong sense of color and patterned surfaces.
Born in Columbus, Ohio, Park grew up in South Korea. He holds a BFA in painting from South Korea’s Kookmin University and an MFA in Woodworking and Furniture Design from the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). He is the recipient of the Smithsonian Craft Show’s First-time Artist Award (2022), the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show’s Best in Design Award (2019), the Wharton Esherick Award: Excellence in Wood (2015), and the Philadelphia Invitational Furniture Show’s Emerging Artist Award Winner (2015). He has also been a Windgate resident artist at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Currently, he lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and presents his work in the US and South Korea. He taught wood and furniture at the University of the Arts (2016–23) and has been an instructor in fine woodworking at Bucks County Community College since 2023.
Shop Keun Ho Peter Park’s work in the Museum for Art in Wood store!