Expanding Universes
Jung ja Kim Solo Exhibition
Curated by Suechung Koh
말할 수 없는 것의 침묵 | Silence Beyond Words
31.4′35′_Korean Paper, natural dyeing, feather, pen point_2013
Elga Wimmer PCC
(Curator Suechung Koh)
2013. 8. 19(월) ▶ 2013. 9. 3(화)
Opening Reception 2013. 8. 22(목)
526 West 26 Street, Suite 310 New York, NY 10001 | 212-206-0006
허를 허하다 | Granting Vacancy
40.2′34.6′_Korean Paper, natural dyeing, ramie fabric_2013
Jung-Ja Kim’s Expanding Universes
Kim’s training may have been in Oriental Painting as ink, brush, paper or silk landscape type work is called in Korea, however her work is conceptually and philosophically directed. Kim’s The Silence beyond Words recalls such a work as Man Ray’s photograph, ca. 1967, of Duchamp’s Dust Breeding, 1920 a work that may look and sound prosaic by its title but which is nevertheless brilliant in concept and beauty. Duchamp allowed dust to collect on his work The Large Glass that naturally produced concavities, hills, layered textures and patterns considered beautiful enough by Man Ray to commemorate photographically. The relationship to Kim’s work is not only in the use of common objects that a simple yet beautiful but also in both artists’ use of natural materials and the environmental / accidental effects on their media. In her mixed media works Kim allows natural staining to take place on Korean rice paper that attains a worn appearance fading midway while darkening at the edges. Moreover, Kim adds a real quill pen pointed at the tromp l’oeuil notebook. Duchamp erased most of the dust in his work but left one whole portion intact actually pasting the dust in permanently.
Like Chaekkori the traditional eight-fold painted screens of her native country, Kim overlays objects painted in a hyper-real style onto a flat surface. However, instead of sitting on the surface as usually do 3- dimensionally created objects in Chaekkori, Kim’s book seen in the foreground of The Silence beyond Words disappears as it recedes into the distance. This absence in the middle ground has its analogy in the word Silence contained within the title of Kim’s work. Moreover, it can be said that Kim is making a comment on a gender issue of importance; whereas books, ink stones, brushes were traditionally used in Chaekkori for decorating men’s quarters(sarangbang), Kim uses the book and ink quill as metaphors for herself. Chosun Dynasty Chaekkori when made for women, contained symbols of fertility and good fortune e.g. peonies, so that, Kim has reversed the symbolism in this work. It is as if she’s stating that women have come to the point in the 21st Century to be symbolized by their intellect rather than their ability to reproduce.
우주의 오디세이아 | Odysseia of the Universe 2013
38.2′32.7′_Korean Paper, natural dyeing_2013
Several of Kim’s works allude to galaxies as does Polishing the Sky, 2013 (63.8x51.2in, Hanji, natural dyes, oriental ink) in which appears a human form upon a golden hill dotted by a red pillow. The first association is with color that is principally yellow or gold and red, a combination whose symbolic meaning is to ward off evil spirits serving as talisman. Kim also plays with solid color on the hill, against transparent as is the human form in its midst and inky sky dotted with white stars. Chosun dynasty Zhe school painting is something Kim would be well versed in consequently, her use of transparency which is ordinarily a very difficult effect to accomplish. The red pillow in the center by its crimson color signifies royalty and is embroidered in gold thread at the edge, a common practice even today in handicrafts. But, Korean legend has it that the Queen of Silla embroidered a pillow with a peace poem to present to the Tang Emperor to commemorate her enthronement. Thus all together perhaps the painting can be understood in terms of humanity seeking answers in the spiritual realm having left behind all the wealth and important position of its materialist past.
Subconscious Acting, 2007 (63.8x51.2in, Hanji, natural dyes, gold powder) painted six years before Polishing the Sky nevertheless relates to it coloristically and thematically. The 2013 work can be seen as continuation or return to the cosmic subject found earlier in the work. In Subconscious Acting, there are two human forms, a turquoise one placed higher than the transparent one below that overlaps it. Their arms up stretched as if in supplication, their size is not so patterned ground, the figures stand, and above them in the sky appear huge dotted spirals. Their entreaty evident, they are embracing the universe while their coloristic aura is reflected in the spirals above. The spiral has its own symbolism hearkening back to megalithic art and has been found in desserts, but also on roof tiles of the Tang Dynasty in Chang’an signifying the sun. Hence, the whorls of Kim should be seen as cosmic fingerprints of the galaxy.
Written By:
Dr. Thalia Vrachopoulos,
응답하라 2013 | Respond, 2013!
40.2′34.6′_Korean Paper, natural dyeing, LED on metal panel_2013
Remembering the Vacancy
Jung-Ja Kim
The butterfly is ground for my contemplation.
Obeying the law of nature, as the sun rises and sets, I become a butterfly like the one in Chuang Tzu’s Butterfly Dream, navigating through various interests from past and present, of East and West, of the visible and invisible universe.
What my work intends to reveal:
1. Hidden Violence
What my sketching trips haverevealed were endless natural destructions and cultural re-constructions of new buildings and roads nationwide and military bases hidden deep where no one seemed to have lived. Although I just briefly encountered those places, they carved wounds in my memory.
The subjects that exhibit social criticism are includedin a way so as not to hurt the whole framework of paintings no.1-14, so as to form only an artistic composition. By arranging the arms like toys in tranquil nature, I observe the violent and threatening plays of politicians that excuse their forceful means supposedly for the sake of peace.
While watching the selfish greed and avarice of humans committed under the justification of enlightenment and development, I intend to recover the aesthetic conscious that we dreamed of for the complete unity between man and nature.
나비의 꿈 | The dream of butterfly
20.9′17.7′_Korean Paper, colored powder_2012
2. A World beyond the Invisible World (work list no.15~25)
After sunset, the night sky allows a new world to exist. It reveals a marvelous other world of contemplation, the earth where I stand, the Milky Way, and the numerous stars of the universe.
Born from nature, human beings might own a regression instinct to return to it, and ceaselessly explore the universe.We use telephone for communication. When dis-assembling a waste phone set, I felt as if I had discovered another universe of science.My paintings make use of waste phones as their objects which were used for communication. From this simple task I may receive a response from somewhere in the universe...
거짓과 진실 | The False & The True
40.2′34.6′_orean Paper, colored powder, ramie fabric_2013
넘치는 향연 | Overflowing Banquet
40.2′34.6′Korean Paper, colored powder, ramie fabric_2013
■ JUNG-JA KIM
Chosun University: B.F.A. in Oriental painting
SOLO EXHIBITION | 2013 Elga Wimmer Gallery, New York | 2012 Zoom Gallery, Seoul | 2011 Pink Gallery, Seoul | 2011 INSA Art Center, Seoul | 2011 Pacific Fine Art, New York | 2008 KIAF, COEX, Seoul | 2007 Seoul Arts Center, Seoul
GROUP EXHIBITION | 2013 Tenri Gallery, New York | 2013 Modern Painting Exhibition, Seoul Arts Center | 2012 Modern Painting Exhibition, Seoul Arts Center | 2011 Scope New York | RED DOT New York | 2010 The Representational Painting exhibition, Seongnam Art-center, Kyungkido | 2009 The Representational Painting exhibition, The Annex to the Sejong Center, Seoul | 2007 The Korean Painting Grand Exhibition, The Gwangju Biennale Gallery | The Representational Painting exhibition, Seongnam Art Center, Kyungkido | 2006 The Korean Painting Grand Exhibition, The Gwangju Biennale Gallery | 2005 The 24th Korea Grand Art Exhibition, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Gwacheon | 2004 The 16th Korean Traditional Painting Exhibition, GwangJu Biennale Gallery | The 72nd Representational Painting show, National Museum of Contempuraly Art, Gwacheon | 2003 The 32nd Representational Painting show, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Gwacheon | The 15th National Korean Painting Competition, The Gwangju Biennale Gallery | 2002 The 31st Representational Painting show, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Gwacheon | The 14th Grand Competition of Korea Fine Art Association, Gwangju Biennale Gallery | 2001 The 30th Representational Painting show, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Gwacheon | 2000 The 29th Representational Painting show, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Gwacheon | Ankyun Painting Competition, Seoul Art Center, Seoul | The 34th Exhibition of Korean Artists Association, Seoul Art Center, Seoul | 1999 The 28th Representational Painting show, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Gwacheon
AWARDS | 2005 The Top Prize, The 24th Korea Grand Art Exhibition | 2004 Superior prize, The 16th Korean Traditional Painting Competition | 2003 Grand Prize, The 32nd Representational Painting Exhibition | The Special Selection, The 15th Korean Traditional Painting Competition | 2002 Special selection, The 31st Representational Painting Exhibition | The Special Selection, The 14th Korean Traditional Painting Competition
SITE | www.artkimjungja.com
vol.20130819-JUNG-JA KIM展