This content was published: April 1, 2004. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
Una Kim – Selected Pieces
Rock Creek Helzer Gallery
April 2004
My recent work considers the intersection of image and word in ways that brings new meaning to the visual space they inhabit.
Growing up writing both Korean and Chinese characters, I developed sensitivity to these forms of ideographic and calligraphic writing where the form of the character is as important as its meaning. In high school and college, western art opened up a new imagery vocabulary to me. My work has always crossed between these two cultures of visual meaning and I have always felt at home in the interrelationship between these very different visual modes of representation.
In my past work, I have explored various themes along the border of western art and Asian pictorial space. In 1997, I went back to my homeland of South Korea on a painting grant and studied with master of Chinese and Korean calligraphy to further my understanding of this ancient art. My work from that time exploded with color and sensuous feeling combined with my growing awareness of the struggle for basic rights and the obstacles faced by the women of South Korea.
Recently, I have moved toward new forms of dramatic representation of highly personal experiences in painting and collage that allows me to reconfigure Hangul (Korean) characters and images into what I consider intriguing and expressive works.
