philkim-arts.com
Statement
“Man's native inertia is overcome only by desire, and nothing gets made unless it is desirable” – George Kubler
My current body of work, New Institutions; New Popularity, investigates the realignment of the image that provokes sensual desire and triggers objectification, transformed by Post-modern aesthetic standards of beauty; the assemblage of iconographic paintings and gender-vague figures juxtaposes different fragments of culture and extrapolates its historical context while retaining its intrinsic sensual provocation.
Desire itself is translated into my work through the mere act of me creating a desired imagery. It is the collage of these attractive objects, desired in singularity, that when juxtaposed next to one another create an assemblage of hyper-desire.
The imagery in my work challenges the traditional archetypes of beauty on which most fictional characters are created through objectification. Thus, my scrolls and paintings are populated by figures that are intrinsically ambivalent and immune to the idea of rigid gender identity—which constitutes a major canon within Asian and Western physical and moral aesthetics. Therefore, it is up to the viewer to decide the gender of each character, as well as to completely ignore the specificity of it. Simultaneously, the de-contextualization of historical erotic imagery through the enlargement of the original publication size denounces the secrecy in which Asian erotic culture was disseminated, as well as western puritan position against the public display of nudity, gender and sexuality.
The large and complex compositions created on paper scrolls dissect and embody the relationship between the evolutionary trends of aesthetic value and the ever-constant drive of possession. My practice examines the sequential perception of lust and desire using the Japanese erotic imagery that was forbidden during the Tokugawa period as an example in relation to the idolized imagery of current standards of beauty and perfection. The aesthetic appeal of the work ignites the desire of consumption in an audience who can appropriate the work through visual retention and actual physical ownership. Thus, the exchange between the audience and the work becomes a parallel to the relationship between the consumer and the object of desire itself.
Born 1982, Santiago, Chile
Lives and works in Los Angeles, CA
Education
2006 – 2009 BFA, Laguna College of Art and Design – Laguna Beach, CA
2002 – 2006 Santa Monica College – Santa Monica, CA
2000 – 2001 Universidad Catolica de Chile (Catholic University of Chile) – Santiago, Chile
Exhibitions
2011
Upstairs at the Market Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Pete and Susan Barrett Art Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
Galerie Rheeway, Group Exhibition, Los Angeles, CA
LA ART MIX, Group Exhibition, Gallery Godo – Glendale, CA
2010 RAW, Group Exhibition – Long beach, CA
2010 Maude Melange, Group Exhibition – Los Angeles, CA
2009 I Am Gallery, Group Exhibition – Los Angeles, CA
2009 Buena Park City Hall, Group Exhibition – Buena Park, CA
2009 Seven Degrees, Group Exhibition – Laguna Beach, CA
2008 Marion Meyer Contemporary Art - Laguna Beach, CA
2008 City Hall Council Chambers, Group Exhibition - Buena Park, CA
2008 Hyatt Regency Hotel, Solo Exhibition – Long Beach, CA
2008 FT Art Gallery, Open Mic – Los Angeles, CA
2008 FT Art Gallery, Fleeting Memories, Solo Exhibition – Los Angeles, CA
2008 Seven Degrees, Group Exhibition – Laguna Beach, CA
2008 Ettinger Gallery, Best of the Best Show – Laguna Beach, CA
2007 Ettinger Gallery, Group Exhibition – Laguna Beach, CA
2006 Ettinger Gallery, Group Exhibition – Laguna Beach, CA
2004 Korean Cultural Center, Group Exhibition – Los Angeles, CA
2003 New Hope, Solo Mixed Media Art Performance – Los Angeles, CA
Special Nominations
Pacific Art Foundation Fine Art Award
Dean's Honor List
Selected Collectors
Dr. Jane L. Kakkis, M.D., M.P.H., Private Collection – Huntington Beach, CA
Mr. Rueben Flores – Laguna Beach, CA
Ms. Daina Matthis, Private Collection – Syracuse, NY
Mr. Masoud Pourhabib, Private Collection – Los Angeles, CA
FT Art Gallery, Permanent Collection – Los Angeles, CA
Aria Design – Laguna Beach, CA
Mr. Dave Young Jr., Private Collection – West Point, NJ
Experience
2010 – 2011 Gallery Coordinator, Galery Godo, Los Angeles, CA
2007 – 2009 Gallery Coordinator/Curator, Marion Meyer Gallery – Laguna Beach, CA
2002 – 2009 Drawing , Painting and Contemporary Theory Instructor – Los Angeles, CA
2002 – 2007 Animation, 2D – 3D – Santa Monica, CA
