18/04/2024
The artist Kim Yun Shin has been invited to the 60th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia curated by under the title STRANIERI OVUNQUE – FOREIGNERS EVERYWHERE, located in the Giardini della Biennale, from April 20 until November 24, 2024.
𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 deeply resonates with the trajectory of Kim’s life as an artist. Born in Wonsan (present-day North Korea) in 1934, the artist’s unique and organic visual language is grounded in her deep reverence for nature and is influenced by her nomadic lifestyle, which has taken her around the world—from studying in France in the 1960s, to immigrating to Argentina from Korea, to living in Mexico and Brazil. Guided by her philosophical reflections on nature and the universe, Kim’s work embodies traditional forms and ideas, painstakingly shaped through her physical labor.
Influenced by the structural and spiritual elements of ancient practices, Kim’s sculptural artworks often unfold from a series of interactions with nature. She uses solid wood or stone to embody the primordial world, or the world of origin.
This notion of an organic connection and her interest in religiosity unite in her seminal Add Two Add One, Divide Two Divide One series, which she began in the late 1970s. The terms “add” and “divide” originate from the Eastern philosophical concepts of yin (division and fragmentation) and yang (addition and integration). Through a labor-intensive, and intuitive process, in which she “adds” her soul to the wood and “divides” the space between bark and inner wood to create a complete whole, the artist transforms the solid, rough masses of wood into soft, organic shapes.
Over the last six decades, Kim has expanded her practice to include painting and printmaking, enabling her to explore her sculptural ideas in a two-dimensional format.
Currently approaching the age of 90, Kim continues to divide her time between Argentina and Korea, gracefully embracing her identity as a perpetual stranger in both lands.
#김윤신 #리만머핀 #국제갤러리
