EDINBURGH .- Sierra Metro Gallery in Edinburgh are delighted to announce the first international solo exhibition for Australian artist Haein Kim. An award winning animation director and illustrator, based in Sydney Australia, Kim marries her Visual Arts practice alongside her commercial animation work for clients including Uniqlo, WeTransfer, MTV and It’s Nice That. PAIN2POWER is her first solo exhibition of new works drawn on paper which explore the modern woman’s psyche and feature a playful world of humorous and bold protagonists who readily express their fear, anxieties, love and determination.

Inspired by the work of Japanese artist Misaki Kawai, block colour artworks of Henri Matisse as well as a host of fellow Asian creative women, Haein Kim’s figurative artworks see characters fill the canvas with eye-catching exaggerated proportions and bright colours. Kim’s pieces are created using a labour intensive process of drawing with coloured pencils and paper experimenting with opacity and vibrant colours. For the artist’s residency at Sierra Metro she will create new works in the build up to the exhibition including larger than life size cutouts encouraging visitors to interact with the pieces. An uplifting, life-affirming celebration of womanhood, PAIN2POWER represents a new step in the development of Haein Kim’s art practice.

Speaking ahead of the exhibition, artist Haein Kim said: “I’m excited to begin my residency at Sierra Metro and be part of the 2023 Edinburgh Art Festival. I plan on making fun, fresh pieces that explore the modern woman's psyche. How we want to see ourselves, expressions of emotion, materialism and puppies! I want to represent my WOC sisters and show that we are beautiful. I love drawing big dominant women who physically take up all the space of a page. PAIN2POWER reflects my personal experience in pushing past pain and rolling with the punches. I’m ecstatic to exhibit this journey in the UK!

As a result of working internationally a lot of people discover my work online or through instagram so I’m looking forward to giving people the opportunity to discover the works in person. I’m interested in the mixing of real life and digital experiences, encouraging the viewer to digitally share their interactions within the exhibition.”

Sierra Metro Director, Janine Matheson said: “We are delighted to host Haein Kim as our first artist-in-residence. Ever since discovering Haein’s amazing work online I was determined to showcase it here at Sierra Metro. Haein’s energy, humour and fresh depiction of everyday moments and emotions is captivating and I look forward to welcoming visitors to the gallery to see and interact with her work.

It’s particularly exciting to be platforming an international artist who has a successful commercial practice alongside their art practice. As a role model for young people looking at careers in digital and the arts, Haein’s creative journey is inspiring and thanks to a collaboration with CodeBase she is generously hosting a Digital Skills 4 Girls workshop as part of the festival exhibition programme.”

Sierra Metro Gallery
Haein Kim: PAIN2POWER
August 12th, 2023 - August 27th, 2023
Artist Talk - Sunday 13th August 10.30-11.30am