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I was born, raised, and educated in South Korea. I moved to the States in my mid 20s and there I started art study. I received both my 2nd BA and MFA in Contemporary Art Practice from Portland State University in Portland, Oregon.
After graduate, I nomadically moved to do some artist residency programs and finally moved back to Korea in 2018. Now I work as a painter and a curator at Haegeumgang Theme Museum in the very southern part of Korea.
I am interested in issues related to human subconscious, memories and feelings, and I think the main purpose of painting is to identify things beyond conscious and to convey them visually to the surface. Since my open eyes cannot see my dreams, I try to bring up the hidden and oppressed images through the process of painting.
Starting with reference to various photographic images and Old Masters’ work, the base images are disassembled, reinterpreted, and reproduced within the flat surface while painting. I think I make repetitive countless images in an obsessive matter to figure out what really means to me. Through the process of painting, I work with multiple transparent and opaque layers with line drawings to shape things and explode those things at the same time. Marks are made with various strokes using big flat brushes and squeegees and attempts to overcome the limitations of expression.
More info:
Saatchiart: https://www.saatchiart.com/hkim
Creatorlink: http://hyunjukim.creatorlink.net/PORTFOLIO
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hkimgrim
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hyunju.kim.3781