KIM JAEIL
FLAT STRUCTURE
KIM JAEIL FLAT STRUCTURE SUNDARAM TAGORE MADISON AVENUE JUNE 14 – JULY 14, 2018
GALLERY MISSION Established in 2000, Sundaram Tagore Gallery is devoted to examining the exchange of ideas between Western and non-Western cultures. We focus on developing exhibitions and hosting not-for-profit events that encourage spiritual, social and aesthetic dialogues. In a world where communication is instant and cultures are colliding and melding as never before, our goal is to provide venues for art that transcend boundaries of all sorts. With alliances across the globe, our interest in cross-cultural exchange extends beyond the visual arts into many other disciplines, including poetry, literature, performance art, film and music.
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LUMINOUS PAINTINGS REVEAL HIDDEN DEPTHS Sundaram Tagore Gallery is pleased to present new and recent work by Korean artist Kim Jaeil (born 1969), who produces perforated, sculptural paintings cast from resin. Raised and educated in Seoul, Kim Jaeil works in a manner similar to an earlier generation of artists who lived through the Korean War. Beginning in the 1970s, those artists began producing abstract works in a conscious shift away from the realist painting style favored at the time. This influential era of artistic development in South Korea marked the early stages of the Dansaekhwa (monochromatic painting) movement, which challenged the prevailing aesthetic of traditional Korean art. Produced using minimal palettes with a focus on negative space, this non-figurative style of painting emphasized process and materiality, as well as inner exploration over visual expression. Although Kim’s work references pioneering Dansaekhwa figures such as Park Seo-Bo and Chung Sang-Hwa, he cites Western art, including relief work by American artist Lee Bontecou and the spatial theories of Italian painter Lucio Fontana, as his primary influences.
To create his punctured cast-resin works, Kim uses his own unique process of intaglio, a centuries-old printing technique that incises a form into a surface. He begins by sketching a composition on a flat surface. Once it’s finalized, Kim builds a form out of clay in three connected layers, into which he pours resin. Once hardened, Kim carves the resin structure and applies acrylic paint, producing a mesh of circular pockets illuminated with vibrant, light-reflecting hues. Each painting can take up to a month to produce, depending on the size and complexity. Kim’s compositions vary. Some are inspired by forms found in nature, such as waves or stars; others are more abstract, such as Vestige (Space Blue), a configuration of circles shaped by hundreds of carved dimples highlighted in jewel-tone blue and purple pigment. The result is an optical illusion created by the convergence of the cubic and planar layers, with the negative space accentuating the hollowed-out forms. Kim’s luminous hollows, strung together by an unseen connective tissue, compel the viewer to examine the work closely to discover its hidden depths. For the artist, these mystical spheres encapsulate both the microstructure of human cells and a galaxy of stars across the sky.
Left: Vestige (Ray Silver II) detail, 2018, acrylic on fiberglass resin, 44.5 x 64.6 x 1.8 inches/113 x 164 x 4.5 cm 7
VESTIGE (KARMA SILVER) 2015, acrylic on fiberglass resin 51.2 x 51.2 x 1.8 inches/130 x 130 x 4.5 cm 8
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VESTIGE (IMPACT) 2015, acrylic on fiberglass resin 47.2 x 43.3 x 1.8 inches/120 x 110 x 4.5 cm 10
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VESTIGE (FLOW) 2015, acrylic on fiberglass resin 38.2 x 57.1 x 1.8 inches/97 x 145 x 4.5 cm 12
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VESTIGE (DIVINE) 2017, acrylic on fiberglass resin 47.2 x 43.3 x 1.8 inches/120 x 110 x 4.5 cm 14
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VESTIGE (RAY SILVER II) 2018, acrylic on fiberglass resin 44.5 x 64.6 x 1.8 inches/113 x 164 x 4.5 cm 18
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VESTIGE (SPACE BLUE) 2016, acrylic on fiberglass resin 44.5 x 64.6 x 1.8 inches/113 x 164 x 4.5 cm 20
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FLAT STRUCTURE (STAR PURPLE) 2018, acrylic on fiberglass resin 59.1 x 59.1 x 1.8 inches/150 x 150 x 4.5 cm 22
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VESTIGE (HALO SILVER) 2018, acrylic on fiberglass resin 59.1 x 59.1 x 1.8 inches/150 x 150 x 4.5 cm 24
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KIM JAEIL Born in Seoul in 1969, Kim Jaeil has a BFA and MFA from Hongik University, Seoul. He has exhibited his work in numerous solo and group exhibits throughout Europe, Asia and the United States, including at the Seoul Museum of Art; the London Art Fair; Art Cologne; Fountain Art Fair, New York and Miami; and Art Osaka. He is the recipient of the Special Prize in the Misul Segye Art Contest, awarded by the Seoul Museum of Art. Kim lives and works in Seoul.
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SUNDARAM TAGORE GALLERIES new york 547 West 27th Street, New York, NY 10001 tel 212 677 4520 • gallery@sundaramtagore.com
new york 1100 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10028 tel 212 288 2889 • gallery@sundaramtagore.com hong kong 4/F, 57–59 Hollywood Road, Central, Hong Kong tel 852 2581 9678 • hongkong@sundaramtagore.com singapore 5 Lock Road 01–05, Gillman Barracks, Singapore 108933 tel 65 6694 3378 • singapore@sundaramtagore.com President and curator: Sundaram Tagore Director, New York: Susan McCaffrey Director, Hong Kong: Faina Derman Sales director, Singapore: Melanie Taylor Exhibition coordinator/registrar: Julia Occhiogrosso Designer: Russell Whitehead Editorial support: Kieran Doherty
WWW.SUNDARAMTAGORE.COM Photographs © 2018 Kim Jaeil Text © 2018 Sundaram Tagore Gallery All rights reserved under international copyright conventions. No part of this catalogue may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any other information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. Cover: Vestige (Divine), 2017, acrylic on fiberglass resin, 47.2 x 43.3 x 1.8 inches/120 x 110 x 4.5 cm