Yeowoon Kim

We met the talented artist Yeowoon Kim and we asked her about her art and her vision. Enjoy the exclusive interview of Yeowoon Kim in NewYorkio.

What are you working on at the moment?          

I am currently working on a kind of mobile work called pieces. The key idea in this work is that the pieces are shaky, moving, and incomplete; it is the outcome of my conclusion on the most humanistic gesture. I cut a complete rectangular frame into pieces, connecting them again to make an imperfect frame and then cut a single picture into pieces to be hung on fishing line, making them freely move. The title of the work is A Piece of Something. By going through the process of collecting some of the numerous pieces that comprise something, I recreate a piece again.

Where do you find inspiration?

In terms of form, I look into the old masters’ work and consider their process of thinking which led to the birth of such artworks. In doing so, my thoughts deepen and I find an answer. With regard to content, I am inspired by watching news or listening to people’s life stories, which can be credited to my particular interest in humanity. We can see the raw nature of a human (goodness, evilness, how we react to a certain situation, what kind of people are out there) in the news. On top of that, good music enriches my artistic sensibilities.

What is your dream project?     

I would like to produce work that can contribute to art presenting new thoughts and forms through profound thinking.

Is the artistic life lonely?              

It is so in my case. I feel a whole lot of different feelings for things that others normally overlook, to the extent that I cannot fall asleep. And sometimes, people around me don’t sympathize with what I think about. Feeling lonely is inevitable until you make something that others understand.

What are your goals for the future, both work wise and life?      

Right now, my goal is to further develop the pieces series. And I wish to have a solo exhibition after a long hiatus. My bigger dream is to provoke this cold modern society a little through my work. To do so, I should be able to create good work. Life wise, I would like to study art and make work abroad to have diverse experiences

What’s your favorite piece of work that you have created?         

It’s A Piece of Chaewon, a work that consists of dozens of moments from my two years old daughter’s selfies. I collected more than twenty selfies of her and made them into a piece. This is the first completed work from the pieces series, while the idea of the project was still being conceived. These numerous moving pieces of photograph sculptures suggest a feeling somewhat different from that of (still) portraits.

Website: www.yeowoonkim.com

Short CV

Born in 1983, Seoul, Korea

EDUCATION

2007, BFA in Painting, Seoul National University

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

2010-2015

Group Show, The Voice of the Artist, SCOPE Art Fair, Miami

Solo Show, Life of Circle Art Space, Hong Kong

Group Show, IYAP-Society of the Spectacle, Interalia, Seoul

Solo Show, Lotte Gallery, Ilsan

Group Show, Dream of Butterfly, Gwangju Museum of Art, Gwangju

Group Show, Korea Tomorrow, SETEC Hall no.3, Seoul

Solo Show, Gallery EM, Seoul

2007-2010

Group Show, AIR, Artist Talk & Walk, Prairie Center of the Arts, IL

Open Studio, AIR, Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild, NY

Artist Statement

I would like to define the essence of a human being as ‘imperfection’ and express it visually. Unlike a square, mechanical painting on a flat surface reminiscent of a paused computer screen, the work is in an imperfect form (inefficient, mechanically speaking, and not easily replaceable), precarious, and freely moving, the aspects of which I think are an image more natural to the reality. When looking at an object, humans cannot make out a perfect image in the first place due to a blind spot, hence it is in fact impossible to conjure up a single definite image in one’s mind.

I cut the complete form of a rectangular frame and connect the pieces to make an imperfect shape, and I weave a net with fishing line within the frame. Based on the shape I gained through this process, I cut the images into pieces like a puzzle and hang the fragmented images from the frame with fishing line as if the images fell from it. Since the image pieces are fixed with minimum force, they can be stirred even by a mild breath or a gesture. This is a living movement different from continuous still images in a movie. My work is a process of collecting pieces of certain objects and of recreating them into another fragmented piece. The completed piece implies imperfection; in other words, the presence of other piece.