Kim, Hae Yuon

Other Names: 김해연

"My current body of work consists of paintings in tempera and gouache on paper. During the past six years, I have been working to unlearn my art education, nurturing my creative process and developing my visual language. For me, painting is a process where I honor my first impulses without editing or censoring them. I begin a painting with an image that has strong feelings for me, but I never conceive the whole composition by sketching it out before I begin. I like to be surprised by and engaged in the drama of what happens on the paper.

This way of painting allows me to discover my own limits and inhibitions, which pushes me to stretch myself and my image-making. I paint personal images about family, relationships, religion, and mortality. I am fascinated by the complexities of life and relationships, and the opposing yet complementary nature of good and evil, and life and death.

The results of this process are often disturbing and challenging. To me the paintings have power and beauty that isn’t necessarily aesthetic, but tell the truthful record of my journey."

Hae Yuon Kim, Artist Statement, [1996]

Gallery of Selected Works

Family (1996) Surrender (1995) Tree of Knowledge (1995) Consorting with the Devil (1994) Home (1994) Merely Mortal (1994) Portrait of a Young Girl (1991) (Title Unknown)