Grace Eunshin Kim
Born in Seoul, South Korea.
Lived and worked in the USA, Korea, and Canada.
Currently making art in Toronto.
I have always been drawn to the divine images of the late 13th to late 15th century European Renaissance artists like Giotto, Fra Angelico and Piero della Francesca. The most attractive quality in their paintings to me is certain awkwardness. Such awkward body language usually seems to come out of inner human conflicts.
Despite being alert to the immediacy of everyday living and earthly desire, the saints and ordinary people depicted in those paintings forever hungered for eternal life and faith. The tension and conflict between who we are and what we aspire to be constantly generates a feeling of discomfort which I can strongly relate to.
My figures are static, often exist in solemn contemplation. The images are strange, never tranquil or pretty. They are in an imagined time and place; clothed and equipped with possessions suggesting the kind of activities and predicaments they inhabit. They encapsulate the moment before action begins, making that moment last as long as possible using my personal visual vocabulary.
The state of prolonged thought and hesitancy while undertaking any course of action stems from inner conflict and the anxiety of being ill defined. In that sense, most of my works are images of St. Augustine’s notorious prayer: “Lord, make me pure, but not yet!”
Education
2017
Master in Education in Art Education, The University of British Columbia, CANADA
2006
MFA in Painting, The University of New Hampshire, NH, USA
2005
Summer Study Abroad, The University of New Hampshire, Ascoli Piceno, Italy
2004
BA in Fine Art, The University of Virginia, VA, USA
Certifications/Fellowships/Grants
2016/17
Graduate Scholarship, The University of British Columbia, Canada
2014
Artist Grant, HalongBay International Artist Residency, Vietnam
2013
Artist Partial Grant, Vermont Studio Center, VT, USA
Exhibitions
Solo
2013
Vermont Studio Center, USA
Group
2018
Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, Toronto, Canada
2017
Queenwest Art Crawl, Toronto, Canada
2017
Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition, Toronto, Canada
2014
2008
Group Exhibition, GwangNinh Museum, Halong Bay, Vietnam
Group Exhibition, New York Studio School, NYC, USA
2007
The Teeny Tiny Art Show, Three Graces Fine Art Gallery, NH, USA
2007
The fifth Annual Arches Student Print Show, Boston University, USA
2006
2006
Faculty Art Show, New Hampshire Institute of Arts, NH, USA
MFA Thesis Exhibition, Paul Creative Art Centre, NH, USA
Career History
01.2016 to 04.2017
Graduate Teaching Assistant, University of British Columbia
01.2015 to 04.2015
Fine Art Faculty, Semester at Sea, University of Virginia
02.2014 to 06.2014
Participant in Artist Residency, Halong Bay, Vietnam & Beijing, China
09.2006 – 05.2007
Adjunct Faculty in Foundation, New Hampshire Institute of Art, Manchester NH, USA
01.2006 – 05.2006
Graduate Adjunct Faculty University of New Hampshire, NH, USA