See available works in the viewing roomStephanie Kim Gallery is proud to present Slice of Watermelon by Hongbin Kim and Yong Eun Kwon, the first duo exhibition from the two artists recognized for their exhilarating use of color and energy.
While this is the first time Hongbin Kim and Yong Eun Kwon have shown their works together, the two artists have a shared past and their works explore the challenges, energy and excitement of New York through the use of fluorescent color, movement and energy. Both earned BAs and MFAs from two of most prestigious art schools in Korea, Hongik University and Ewha Women’s University. Subsequently, they earned MFAs from School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York, an experience to which they refer as a process of “unlearning and reimagining” their work in the context of New York City.
Hongbin Kim is also known as “Van” from the Korean verb “vanhada” which has a dual meaning: "to fall in love" and "to oppose." This duality symbolizes the artist's pursuit of beauty and conflict inherent in his creative process, as well as his ambivalent view of the situations individuals face in modern society. Kim’s work captures the 'chaos of New York' and associated 'anxiety of an unsettled life.' This visual expression of the stimuli and stress of the city comes to life through exaggerated colors, movement and energy which dramatically articulate his experiences. Kim explores the nature of vibrant surfaces, pushing the properties of acrylic paint to new levels. Among the distinctive features of his works are Kim’s playful manipulations of paint which seem to explode from the canvases.
Yong Eun Kwon is often associated with a character from her work called “Fish Daegari,” literally “fish head” in Korean. This pink, half-human-half-fish persona informs many elements of her painting. Kwon works across two-dimensional and three-dimensional spaces, humorously creating portraits of incomplete modern humans who seek to escape the excessive competition, endless work, complicated thoughts and emotions of their daily lives. She aims to convey humorously, through the juxtaposition of humans and fish, that irrational, emotional, and irrepressible desire to be free. Alcohol often appears in her work. This is reminiscent of the liberation of citizens in the ancient Dionysus Festival. The fish head is a mask worn for the Dionysus Festival in her art world. Kwon’s works are driven by the desire for all of us to live more authentic lives, to take more time to find happiness, to see that our lives are short and finite, and as she often humorously points out, “that beneath our skins, we're all just pink meatballs!
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Hongbin Kim x Yong Eun Kwon Slice of Watermelon
Opening Reception on July 26th, 7-10pm
View by appointment only until Sept 22, 2024
Stephanie Kim Gallery 78 Franklin St., 2nd Floor New York, NY 10013
Please rsvp to Director@SleepersSummit.com
To Learn more: stephaniekimgallery.com