Artistic Exploration: Dismantling Canvas, Rebuilding Imagination
Initiated and organized by The Bridge Arts Foundation, the 'Beyond Borders' Global Young Artist Open-Call Exhibition is currently being held at The Scholart Selection Art Space in San Gabriel, California, and will run until December 31, 2023.
Bridge Arts Foundation's Art Director, Tia Xu, engaged in a conversation about the exhibition and art with several artists participating in this exhibition. In this interview, we have the pleasure of speaking with artist Ki Yeun Kim.
—— Q&A ——
Tia Xu: Could you please share your background and what inspired you to pursue a career in art?
Ki Yeun Kim: In my early life, I experienced the pressure to be a good girl, and I was forced to restrain my voice and follow the social rules. I would like to have my own language to express something to tell to the public, and art is the one of most effective ways to convince the viewers universally.
Ki Yeun Kim, Deviation, 2022, Curtains, Bed sheets, Kitchen supplies, Cleaning supplies, Mirrors, Drying racks, Acrylic paints, 95 x 120 (inch), photo courtesy of artist.
Tia: What does "Beyond Borders" mean to you, and how does your work in this exhibition either reflect or challenge this concept?
Ki Yeun Kim: From my viewpoint, borders are determined by political and cultural discourse which are affected by the people who have power in the society. Therefore, I would like to see the world from different perspectives, and my work in this exhibition, “Out of the Window” is one of my studies to challenge the conventional concept of painting, by breaking down each canvas frame and pursuing the accidental encounter within the work, using unexpected materials.
Ki Yeun Kim, The Way I Have to Work, 2021, Trash bags, Mops, Dish treys, Table cloths, Wigs, Acrylic paint on Stretcher bars, 52 x 70 (inch), photo courtesy of artist.
Tia: Can you tell us the story behind a specific artwork from the exhibition?
Ki Yeun Kim: Most of the materials that are glued on the canvas come from the kitchen area, like bowel trays, tablecloths, and cooking tunnels. if you look at the detail on the background, you can find diverse textures, and each of them has been cut off from different types of curtains. I want to see the moment of transition that my personal history is turned into the visual language as details of my works.
Tia: How does your cultural background influence your art?
Ki Yeun Kim: Since I have lived a woman in South Korea, social and cultural perspectives to female make me question to the world around me. Therefore, My work is like a manifesto, offering me opportunities to examine the way I would like reimagine female preference and taste which challenges patriarchal cultural contexts in art history.
Ki Yeun Kim, Declination, 2023, Fabric, Graphite powders, Color pencils, Oil bars, Acrylic paint on Canvas, 23 x 36 (inch), photo courtesy of artist.
Tia: What materials and techniques do you prefer to use in your art, and could you explain your choices?
Ki Yeun Kim: I have interested in investigating cultural, political, and social implications within each of art materials. In particular, I have tried to challenge the traditional shape of canvas, overlapping mundane objects on top of it, in order to subvert conventional authority with domestic materials which are related with feminine history.
ABOUT OPEN CALL EXHIBITION PROGRAM
Bridge Arts Foundation's "Beyond Borders" Open Call Exhibition Installation View, Photo: © The Scholart Selection / Luna Hao
Bridge Arts Foundation's Open Call Exhibition Program is designed to provide support for early-career artists. For its inaugural edition, the "Beyond Borders" Open Call Exhibition has thoughtfully selected 18 talented artists from a pool of approximately 350 submissions, employing a selection process that involves art professionals. "Beyond Borders" opens from October 14th to December 31st, 2023.
ABOUT ARTIST
Ki Yeun Kim
Ki Yeun Kim got BFA from Maryland Institute College of Art in 2017. Back then, she mostly worked on drawings with artistic concepts about the notion of ugliness which describes a negation of beauty and truth embodied in an object. she received C.V. Starr Scholarship and Transfer Scholarship, and right after graduation, she participated in the group exhibition named as “Night: The 28th Annual Strathmore Juried Exhibition” held in Strathmore Hall Foundation, INC in North Bethesda, MD. In 2022, Ki Yeun got MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art. and during that year, She has since became interested in feminist theory which has informed her reengagement with the concept of ugliness within a social and art historical context. she was involved in “Michigan Emerging Artists Exhibition” at the Alluvium Gallery (Kendall College of Art and Design), MI. Ki Yeun is living and working in NYC now, and recently her work was published in “Radiate & Repcat”, a spring online exhibition catalog curated by Christina Massey. Also, she was involved in “ASTETICA 2” show at The Holy Art Gallery, London in July 2023.