Hee Sook Kim: Paradise Between

Hee Sook Kim: Paradise Between

March 10 - April 10, 2016

Causey Contemporary

29 Orchard Street, New York, NY 10002

A show worthy of spectating and appreciating is Paradise Between by Korean Artist Hee Sook Kim. Stepping inside, viewers will be met with 2 large scale paintings placed closely together to create a complete image.

Paradise Between 1, 2015

oil, acrylic, crystals on canvas

80 x 160 in

203 x 406 cm

The installation pictured above, titled Paradise Between 1, allows for the audience to travel through a scenery that is very reminiscent to that of a Japanese scroll painting. Gazing into the landscape permits for the spectator to look through the perspective of Kim herself: an eastern artist living in a western world. The painting is very personal and autobiographical: it shows her own journey as an Asian artist living in America, and conveys this message to her audience. The colors of the painting are extravagant, a mix of soft blues, yellows, reds, and more in order to create the skies, mountains, plant life, and water. Looking up close, the viewer will see individual and carefully placed colorful crystals that shine brightly, accentuating and bringing attention to the animals seen at the bottom of the painting. The ducks and fish travel through the water while a prideful rooster gazes towards the far right. Kim allows for her paint to drip down to the bottom, and a repeated pattern of white symbols reminiscent of lotuses overlay the images.

Many of the paintings carry the same motifs as Paradise Between 1, blended vibrant colors, drips, repeated symbols, and crystals, symbolizing her journey as an Asian artist and accentuating her eastern influenced style.

Descending into the lower part of the gallery will grant the viewers with a barrage of works on paper. Compared with the paintings upstairs, the works shown in the lower area are far less colorful and detailed, but offer a serene sense of delicacy. The animals and even the plants shown in the works seem to request for the viewer to leave them in peace. They have a safe-space, quietly accompanied with delicate red spots, butterflies, and other symbols as patterns. The calm composition and muted colors compared to the exciting and colorful paintings located upstairs offer a strong juxtaposition of silence and loudness, possibly representing the eastern world the artist is closely connected with versus the complex differences and challenges associated with the west.

Paradise Between by Hee Sook Kim offers the audience a close and personal perspective through the artist’s own journey from Asia to America using mixed media, bright colors, and exquisite detail.