Cindy Ji Hye Kim

At first glance, Cindy Ji Hye Kim's paintings and drawings appear harmless with their mostly black and white and cartoonish style. However, upon closer inspection, they reveal scenes of violence and impending disaster. Kim's recurring cast includes household objects, flies, anonymous women's bodies, and a family of three as she delves into the unseen structures of image creation.

Biography of Cindy Ji Hye Kim

Cindy Ji Hye Kim, born in 1990 in South Korea, earned a B.F.A. from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2013 and an M.F.A. from the Yale University School of Art in 2016. She has been granted residencies at The Banff Centre, Vermont Studio Center, Ox-Bow, Grin City Collective, and Salem Art Works.

Her work has been showcased in solo exhibitions at Interstate Projects, NY; Helena Anrather, NY; and YYZ Artists’ Outlet, Toronto. Kim has also participated in group exhibitions at Foxy Production, NY; DC Moore, NY; Thierry Goldberg Gallery, NY; and the Abrons Art Center, NY.

Currently, Cindy Ji Hye Kim resides and works in Bronx, NY, USA.

Cindy Ji Hye Kim's Art Style

In her artistic practice, Kim delves into memories and the construction of personal narratives through image creation. The artist's recurring motifs and shapes evolve into a narrative of their own, as the symbols that commemorate life's moments are reimagined and reiterated in her drawings, paintings, and sculptures. Kim questions the meaning of coping with longing and nostalgia and how it relates to our personal history and sense of belonging.

The forms and symbols encountered in Kim's works are familiar, yet the stories they tell can be elusive. Her consistent use of a grayscale palette, which she regards as the primal and concealed layer of an image, transforms the act of drawing into a tool for delineating the unconscious. Kim's works explore duality, encompassing themes of parent and child, dreamscapes intermingled with nightmares, and gateways without a discernible beginning or end. In Kim's works, there is a constant balancing act between opposing forces, leaving the viewer in search of answers.