Artist's avatar approaches anxieties

Feb 21, 2008

Colorful, decorative flower patterns rarely cinjure up the feeling of a tranquil state of mind. Yet this is exactly the feeling that Korean painter Taeyein Kim's abstract pieces inspire.

Currently teo of the artist's paintings are on display at Gallery Hyundai in Jingro, central Seoul. through March 3. "Crustacean Keeper 1" features the face of an adorable child with wide, inquisitive eyes. Bur far from a typical portrait, this child is surrounded by what appears to be sunflowers with crab arms sticking out.

'Gate Keeper" contains the same baby face, inly this time it's attached to a body reminiscent of ginseng root. The child is a depiction of the artist, according to Park, Young-tae, an art critic and professor at kyonggi University.

In Kim's paintings, Park writes in an essay, she tries to portray a personal mythology through a kind of children's fairy tale. The myth is based on the artist's memories about her personal relationships and background. Park said that the artist has created a character the she titled "Keeper," who personifies flowers and insects. The child is a kind of avatar for te artist. in the painings, the Keeper character have tentacles, which spread out toward the world. These serpentine arms distance the feeper from fears and anxieties. The colors and the patterns kim has adopted in her painting, Park writes, camouflage her frail emotions and phobias aout the world. The continuous patterns of the paintings additionally represent the lif cycle of growth and decay. Kim graduated from the school of visual Arts in New York Cityand Cornell University on Ithaca, New York. She is currently a resident in Seoul, where she contines her work.

Gallery Hyundai is open every day from 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. including on weekends and holidays. Admission is free. For more information, visit www.galleryhyundai.com.

By Lee Ho-Jong Staff Reporter [ojlee82@joongang.co.kr

All works © Tae Yeun Kim 2023.

Please do not reproduce without the expressed written consent of Tea Yeun Kim