Union Gallery is pleased to present Joy Kim’s Guerilla.
Guerilla, a member of a small independent group taking part in irregular fighting, typically
against larger regular forces, referring to actions or activities performed in an impromptu
way, often without authorization.
Reflecting on this, Kim states “Every, each second, there is something happening in this planet”, offering us a microcosm of society today.
Kim takes us, the viewer, on a journey guided by his own personal narrative through his movements in daily life and travels. With an expressive multi-media and technique practice, Kim’s work challenges the very traditional movements and techniques of institutional Modern and Contemporary Korean art. Kim is self-taught and always had a spark to be creative.
It was his move to New York in 2014 which allowed his trajectory to become an artist to lift off. Absorbing everything which surrounded him. Since the Covid pandemic, Kim has returned to Korea, this has allowed him to amalgamate his learnt practice and existence abroad with a reflection on the current political situation and social landscape of his homeland. The references in his work include; the recent presidential race in Korea, ongoing military presence and mandatory service, threat from the North, and links to his childhood as well as the confronting immersive experience of his time in the US.
The smallest of paintings hung in the basement gallery reference The Blue Hour, the time of sunrise or sunset. Known in Korea as the time of the dog and wolf as you cannot decipher between a dog or wolf during this hour with the dramatic backlighting of the sky. Abstracted figures populate these works, many changed faces, multiple personalities- barely recognizable as humans. Kim believes now we live in a constant state of Blue Hour. A sense of seeing without knowing.