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<\/a><\/p>\nEunha Kim, Cheerful, mixed media, 40\u201d x 30″<\/p>\n
Kim said at the opening reception, that in this exhibition \u201cHappiness\u201d is her favorite work. One interesting element of this painting is the attached brown fabric, a traditional Korean fabric that is used to dress deceased people. When asked for the reason behind this, Kim said, \u201cWe should remind ourselves that everyone\u2019s \ufb01nal destination is death, so we should live our life with joy, and then leave it with happiness.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eunha Kim,\u00a0Happiness, mixed media, 40\u201d x 30\u201d<\/p>\n Kim\u2019s work can be easily misinterpreted as any abstract painting. However, it is not hard to \ufb01nd Korean elements in the details. In \u201cSyncopated Motions\u201d one can easily identify the drums, ribbon-hats and the choice of traditional Korean colors. She combines these symbolic elements with her unique way of depicting the motions and movements of Nong-AK on her canvases, in order to share her wonderful experience with the viewers.<\/p>\n Eunha Kim, Syncopated Motions, mixed media, 40\u201d x 30\u201d<\/p>\n Kristen Fahrig\u2019s sculptures compliment, yet, at the same time juxtapose Kim\u2019s joyful images. Unfortunately, no one could talk to Fahrig at the opening reception as she past away in November, 2017. She left far too early, and in her the Queen West community lost an activist, an artist who cared about people, education and made sure that their environment didn\u2019t miss the artistic touch, as she filled playgrounds and squares with her sculptures and projects.<\/p>\n Her posthumous exhibition, Body Imprints<\/em>, is symbolic in many ways. The metal sculptures depict the bare minimum of the human body: a skeletal part or a simple outline. \u201cBackbone Shield\u201d with its steel spikes represent a strong armor and the bones that it might support; combining functional metal work with the human body. Some other works are even more stylized, \u201cDis-armed\u201d reminds us of muscles and sinews \u201chugging\u201d and supporting the body while \u201cFiligree Torso\u201d focuses on the decorative beauty of it.<\/p>\n Kristen Fahrig,\u00a0Backbone Shield, 2007, forged steel, 21.5\u201d x 14.5\u201d x 10\u201d (left) &\u00a0Dis-armed, 2008, forged steel, 39\u201d x 25\u201d x 12\u201d (right)<\/p>\n All the sculptures are non-figurative. As Fahrig wrote, they are \u201cabout the skin, the shell that surrounds the body. It’s also about the imprints that the body makes, for example in sand or in long grass. The body is the negative space into which we can project ourselves and feel our connection with the earth.\u201d Her latest work, \u201cBark Man\u201d depicts a fractural human form entwined with a growing tree, crating a poetic symbiosis, as the two different life-forms live together in harmony.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n