Hyang #2

About Hyang #2

This sculptural wall hanging is inspired by nature and made from textiles by a Canadian artist.

This intriguing wall composition is by Chung-Im Kim, an award-winning fiber artist whose exquisite work has been showcased and celebrated internationally. In this handmade sculptural piece, an organic leaf-like shape created from pieces of industrial felt flows over the edge of a small white square. The rich colours blue and red (from a Lac Bug) stand out against the white backdrop. Kim’s artistic practice was originally inspired by her heritage and the use of traditional wrapping cloth in Korea called bojagi. Now walking her own country property and observing nature’s interesting structures and beautiful patterns provides her with an endless source of imagery for her own studio work. Patterns are drawn in sketchbooks, and the image is digitized and manipulated in Photoshop before it is transferred and screen printed on the fabric. Kim uses natural dyes to color the thick, sturdy industrial felt cloth which she cuts, hand stitches, and assembles into elegant compositions. The seam of each piece naturally forms peaks when it is stitched and pulled taut allowing for an attractive undulating shape. Kim often uses Korean words to name her artwork. The word ‘hyang’ has many meanings including a ‘sacred or personal form.’ One of a series.

“The word, ‘hyang’ can be interpreted in many different ways. I used it in two ways: as a direction unknown to me yet but going forward…. I guess that is how I feel most of the time when I work on a new piece. And I have to say it is often an exciting journey to find myself somewhere newly discovered. Another meaning I was thinking of was scent/aroma that takes me into a mysterious land of colour.” Chung-Im Kim

Chung-Im Kim was born in Seoul, Korea, and received her MFA from Seoul Women's University in 1984. Kim’s first studio was in Seoul where she also taught textile art at a college before moving to Canada in 1990. She has taught at OCAD University in Toronto since 2006. Kim has exhibited her work in prestigious institutions such as the Boston Museum of Art, the invitational Bojagi Exhibition at the Suwon Park Museum in Korea, the Museum Nagele in the Netherlands, and the Belgian Triennial Contemporary Textile Arts Exposition. Her unique designs and masterful execution have been honoured with top prizes and awards in many international art competitions. One of her works was selected as a gift from Canada to the president of China. She is represented by the Oeno Gallery.