A selection of paintings by Korean artist Heejo Kim. Kim received her BFA from Hongik University in Seoul and MFA from the LeRoy E. Hoffberger School of Painting at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, Maryland. Focusing on reestablishing identity and existence through relationships with others and objects, Kim’s practice explores ambiguity by dissolving visible markers of identity such as gender, age, and ethnicity. She allows her figures to quietly “be” rather than act. Her work is also informed by Roland Barthes’s notion of tenderness as an ethical mode of “being-with” as well as the Buddhist concept of Dependent Arising (Yeongi-sull)—’I exist because you exist, and you exist because I exist.’ This philosophy suggests that understanding oneself is never a solitary act, but a process deeply rooted in relationality—with others, with space, and with time.” Embracing the uncertain space between self and other, Kim’s figures linger in stillness and an underlying sense of interconnection:
“The figures in my oil paintings often lack visible facial expressions; in some works, their eyes and mouths are entirely absent, leaving only their noses and ears. This ambiguity blurs the boundary between self and other, evoking the Buddhist notion of Anatta (“non-self”), which teaches that identity is not fixed but continually shaped through connection and change. Though the figures may appear unreadable at first, they are deeply connected through interpersonal relationships.”
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