CI KIM: Sailing

Arario  Gallery  hosts  CI  KIM’s  seventh  solo  exhibition  <SAILING>  at Arario  Gallery Cheonan,  starting on July  18th. Found  in  Jeju  Island This  exhibition invites  the  viewers  to  three sailings,  each with its  own  meaning. This  town is  the  home of  migratory  birds  and  a  place  of  retreat  for CI  KIM,  where he spends  over half a year. CI  KIM’s  solo  Exhibition  <Sailing>  presents  paintings  sculptures  and  installations  he  has  prepared over an hour’s  walk  from  his  Hadori  studio  to  Seongsan Ilchulbong, repeating  his  daily  routines. The works  consist of discarded  objects  he  found  on  the  beach nearby  the studio,  such  as  an  abandoned buoy, plastic  or scrap  metal  pieces.  A  rusty  fridge  or sea-water  drenched Styrofoam chunks  are  all transformed into  his  self-portraits, the moment  they  don a  pair  of boots  or glasses. From  objects  that  have served  their  use  and  are now  defunct, CI  KIM  finds  the traces  of  time,  and turns  these  materials  still  containing  vestiges  of  their  voyage  into new art  objects  through his  unique perspective.  Considering  his  status  as  a  collector and  businessman,  the  act of “collecting”  may  be equally  applied  to random  objects  in Nature  and  to  art  works  he  has  been compiling  from all  around the  world  for over 30 years. Death  and  Disaster The  traces  of  time  and  aging seen  in objects found  in Nature  are  the  marks of  death  and  attrition, but  also  signature  of  unyielding desire  for  life.  The  artist  is  constantly  aware  of  death  and  disaster. He  cuts up  time  into  bits  and  pieces,  capturing screen shots on the  TV,  or  amplifying  an equestrian  statue  used  as  tomb furnishing.  The  canvas,  with  tomatoes  rubbed  on its  rough  surface, is covered in mold  –  the  bright  colors and clear  lines  are  all  muddled and torn  up,  revealing  its visceral  innards.     They  allude  to death,  but  also  point  towards new  hope.  CI  KIM  adds  further  weight  to  the  tragedy by depicting a  sick boy  and an  adopted  girl,  a  photo  featured  in  The  Times,  but  he  also  reminds the  viewers of  a  certain  willfulness  to  overcome  disaster  through the  phrase  “AIDS  is going  to lose.”  To  those  who are  out  at  sea,  on  a  voyage,  rough  waters  and  the  utter  quietude  that follows are  unexpected,  unpredictable  visitors.  Death  and  disaster,  beyond human  comprehension or prediction,  are  objects of  fear  and  pain  in themselves but  they  also  signify  the  will  and perseverance  of  those  who  fight  against  fate.  A  Dynamic  Voyage This  exhibition also introduces  representative works  that  show  CI  KIM’s  past decade  as  an artist, along  with  the  pieces  he  produced  in  Jeju. As  a businessman-turned artist,  CI  KIM  tried  to  define, understand  and  digest  art  in his  own  way, facing  this  new world of  “art”  as  a  new  element  in his  life.  Simple and  honest  acts  such as  taking  photographs, plucking,  pasting,  piercing,  pouring paint, or balancing  comprised  his  attempted  to experiment with  different  modes  of expressions. The  Rainbow and Collage series  from the  2000s  fall  under  this  category. Since  then,  CI  KIM  experienced  with  new  materials  such as  tomatoes  and  iron  shavings,  borrows images  used in mass  media and transforms  objects  we find  in our daily  lives. The  objects  he  collects in his  usual  routines  become portraits  or form unique  installations  such as  panels  containing messages  or  unfamiliar-looking  combinations. In  these  experimental  processes, CI  KIM  acquired  his own  methodology, constantly  staying  aware of  the  basic  elements  of art such  as  the square  frame of the  canvas  as  he  had  first encountered  it years  ago, colors, and balance.  The  piece CI  KIM  has  been  focusing on  lately  is  a  solid  color painting  made of triangle-shaped corrugated  cardboard. He speaks  of  the  concentration  of  force and  its  tension,  and the  order  of  space found in the triangle. Pythagoras, a  mathematician  from Ancient Greece,  had  found  that  the  perfect balance and  order  of right-angled  triangles  come  from  the formula  among  the  three  squares surrounding  the  right-angled triangle.  CI  KIM’s  triangles  are also  born  from  one square.  The triangles, located in a  space where the vertical  and the horizontal  meet, pull  diffused forces  together  and occupy  the center  of the space. They  establish  a tensile force within the  given  space through the concentration  of  shapes  and colors. In  short, to Ci  KIM,  his  creative acts  could  be  seen as  a dynamic  voyage,  an act  of “sailing”  across  the vast expanse  of  water called art. The sense  of  comfort  embedded  in the  word “Sailing”  as  a paradoxical  ring  to  it  –  perhaps  not  only  because of  the  world’s  prejudice against brave journeys  into unexplored  grounds  or self-propelled  solitude  and  fear.  This  exhibition  will  be an  opportunity  for us  to see  how  CI  KIM’s  past  and  present form a consistent  pattern,  presenting  prominent  points  in his works  and the creative processes  among numerous  pieces  and series. The  exhibition  takes  place  at  Arario Gallery  Cheonan from  July  18  to  September  22.  Arario  presents an  artist’s  talk  corner  for the viewers  during this  period, and  will  publish  a  catalog  entitled SAILING, which shows  CI  KIM’s  past  works  and activities.