PROFILE
EXISTENCE IN SUBTRACTION AND ABSTRACTION: NEW WORKS BY JUNGHI KIM — WORDS MEHER MCARTHUR IMAGES COPYRIGHT AND COURTESY JUNGHI KIM
J U N G H I K I M ’ S A B S T R A C T paintings are a visual exploration of the nature of existence and of the self. Using primarily acrylic and watercolor on linen, she applies pigment upon pigment and then strips away layers to form highly textured visions of humanity in the midst of social and emotional interactions. Her ghostly figures streaked with vibrant color are not so much built up but broken down, created through the act of removing. Kim, a Korean artist whose work is grounded in Asian philosophical inquiry, explores ancient East Asian (mostly Buddhist) concepts of nothingness, the void and the non-existence of the material world of pain and suffering. As she strips away her pigment, she empties her heart of agony and longing, and from this process of subtracting and thus approaching the void, her figures emerge. Her final application of a single tone of pigment to the canvas gives the figures forms, presenting them standing, sitting dancing. They are typically arranged in groups, interacting with each other in ways that seem familiar. In one painting, Who (2013), a larger central figure appears to be encircled by smaller figures, a parent perhaps or a teacher sharing knowledge with open-minded pupils. In Other 3 (2013), a large image made up of six separate paintings, figures dance, leap and bound through space with a vibrancy that celebrates life and humanity. The pale blue background around the figures is what forms them, challenging our assumptions of what is negative space and what is positive. If the artist created the figures by stripping away paint and then painting a background around them, are the figures themselves real? Or is the background what is real? Ask a Buddhist, and he or she will say that it is all an illusion. 84
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