Jihee Kim

In Jihee Kim (b.1983)’s work, bodies that are susceptible to falling into the trap of general perception or completed sentences are repeatedly dismantled, becoming ambiguous components. She believes that the possibility of new meanings emerges from the indeterminate state of these objects and incorporates various icons into the movement of color and line. Kim has been working on the Garden series, where she replaces the emotional quandaries individuals face in relation to a community with mesmerizing images of natural objects. Each work serves as a stand-in for universal human emotions, metaphorically revealing the shared experiences of sadness and compassion, happiness and desire. In her recent works, the vivid sensations she experienced at Domaine de Boisbuchet in France are intertwined with the silhouettes of objects she captured in the garden at night. The layers of detailed symbolic imagery evoke the energy an individual might feel amidst infinite nature. Kim holds a Doctor of Fine Arts degree from Ewha Womans University and is currently an Assistant Professor at Dongguk University College of Art. She has held solo exhibitions including at PLATFORM-L(Seoul, 2023), ThisWeekendRoom(Seoul, 2022), PYO Gallery(Seoul, 2022), Soorim Cultural Foundation Art Center(Seoul, 2021) and Gallery Planet(Seoul, 2021). Kim has also participated in various group shows, including at Kyoto Tsutaya Books(Kyoto, Japan, 2024), Posco Art Museum(Seoul, 2023) and Osan Museum of Art(Osan, 2023). Kim was selected as the artist for the 2023 Youngmin International Artist Residency Sponsorship by the Hanwha Foundation of Culture, named a 2020 New Hero by Public Art Magazine and recognized as the 15th Kumho Young Artist. Her public collection includes Government Art Bank of MMCA, Seoul Olympic Museum of Art, OCI Museum of Art, Kumho Museum of Art, and UNIQLO Korea.