Yi Gallery is presenting Figuration, an extraordinary body of new paintings by GJ Kimsunken
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Friday, November 22, 2024


Yi Gallery is presenting Figuration, an extraordinary body of new paintings by GJ Kimsunken
Installation view.



BROOKLYN, NY.- In his work, Kimsunken asks questions about human existence: who are we, why are we and what are we for? Generally, he titles each work Figuration. The new works represent a significant departure from his previous series and are an exciting development in his continuing interest in and investigation into human figuration. Kimsunken still methodically primes the canvas with gesso, which he then covers in multiple layers of oil paint, giving the surfaces an otherworldly luminescence, as well as substantial weight. Despite his compositions’ reductive, abstract appearance – achieved by scraping away paint from the canvas – Kimsunken’s paintings represent the human figure.To the artist, this method is very much the most direct way of mark-making and is related to the core theme of his work - arousing the human condition - leading to the question of human salvation.

Kimsunken’s non-descriptive figure paintings occupy a singular space between representation and abstraction. His repetitive and rigorous painting process emphasizes the physical properties of oil paint, with the resultant works deeply rooted in the history of the medium.

For this exhibition, the artist reflects on new modes of representing and abstracting the human figure. Absence and presence are equally important in the new group of works – absence makes presence possible and presence exists through absence. The two states of being are inseparable. Only eight inches wide, Figuration 22. 18 (Otherness) is the same height as the artist himself – seventy-one inches. Here, Kimsunken makes direct reference to the concept of absence by using an exaggerated, elongated format, cropping out a large part of the canvas and giving it an almost sculptural presence off the wall. In the artist’s own words, “My work seems to question the meaning of presence through the concept of absence.” Kimsunken wants viewers to stand next to a painting and feel the presence of a figure. The elongated, upright format isolates the essential image from the larger compositional structure and accentuates the human figure through articulation of the head. The exploration of this long format is further developed in two paintings, Figuration 22. 12 and Figuration 22. 17, which allude to cropped torsos and suggest the presence and absence of a full figure.

In the rear gallery, three smaller scaled works reflect the artist’s most recent exploration in figuration. By isolating part of the human figure, one at a time, Kimsunken encourages the viewer to use imagination to fill the blank wall space, where their own figure stands. Intended by the artist to hang low on the wall, Figuration 22. 16 (legs) alludes to the position of legs where a human figure stands. Questions of spatial relationship are necessarily a part of viewing Figuration 22. 13 (shoulder) and Figuration 22. 15, in response to one’s own figure and other bodies in space. Through radical and tactful placement of intimately sized canvases, Kimsunken invites the viewer into a transcendental experience which affirms one’s own sense of presence.

As with much of the artist’s practice, these predominantly monochromatic paintings possess subtle yet richly worked surfaces with pronounced textures. Kimsunken sought to investigate the relationship between the paint material and the passage of time, with an emphasis on raising physical matter to the height of the human spirit.

GJ Kimsunken (b. 1985, Seoul, South Korea) received his MFA from the New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting and Sculpture in 2010, and an BFA from the National Art School in Sydney, Australia in 2008. Kimsunken currently lives and works in New Jersey. His work has been featured in galleries and institutional exhibitions around the world.










Today's News

August 24, 2022

Museum of the Bible returns ancient gospel looted from Greek monastery

Once more into the vaults: Blondie on the music that defined its legacy

Bertoia's to auction long-held Bill and Stevie Weart antique toy collection in special Sept. 8-9 Signature Auction

The Vancouver Art Gallery presents 'Uninvited: Canadian Women Artists in the Modern Moment'

Cincinnati Art Museum rediscovers a national treasure in storage for more than 50 years

SF Camerawork to open new space in Fort Mason Center

John Hansard Gallery presents Tangled Hierarchy, curated by Jitish Kallat

Yi Gallery is presenting Figuration, an extraordinary body of new paintings by GJ Kimsunken

Katonah Museum of Art presents 'Tradition Interrupted'

Compton Verney examines and enjoys artists' use of colour

Marc Swanson's 'A Memorial to Ice at the Dead Deer Disco' on view at the Thomas Cole Site

ICA Miami launches new podcast series; Marine archeology, rising sea levels, in season one

Weatherspoon Art Museum announces summer exhibitions

Vienna Design Week 2022 to be held September 16-25

'Infinite Beauty' exhibition explores artists fascination with nature opens 9 September at The Arc, Winchester

University At Buffalo Art Galleries announce appointment of Anna Wager as Curator of Exhibitions

Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art announces key appointments

SJ Auctioneers announces Silver, Collectibles, Toys & Décor auction

Getty Museum's YouTube Series Becoming Artsy returns

Kate Berlant can't hide any longer

1927-D Double Eagle, from Bob R. Simpson Collection, sells for record $4.44 million at Heritage US Coins Auction

The Native Land Conservancy selected as a beneficiary of the 35th Provincetown Swim for Life & Paddler Flotilla

Siblings Help You Stay Positive, Calm, & Happy

10 Times Fashion Designers Were Inspired by Art

4 world-famous artists you have to know about

Why should we hire professional contractors for HVAC installation and repair?

Grinch Costume

What Temp is Smoked Brisket Done?

Why You Should Hire Hamilton plumbing services - The Advantages!




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Attorneys
Truck Accident Attorneys
Accident Attorneys
Holistic Dentist
Abogado de accidentes
สล็อต
สล็อตเว็บตรง

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site Parroquia Natividad del Señor
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful