My work explores perception and memory – specifically how the information received through each is fragmented and elusive, yet made whole through our bodies. In this way our experience of the world oscillates between dissolution and synthesis. Ultimately, I want the images to speak to a broad audience; using familiar terms to challenge our assumed relationships to the world.

The subject of my work is landscape; sites and spaces that resonate on a personal, aesthetic, and emotional level. The raw materials for these include reference photos, sketches, color swatches, written descriptions – anything I can use to reassemble and reconstitute the experience. Different elements become synchronized in one image: Multiple points of view are combined. Events in the distance are pulled forward. Objects are described based on subjective importance and interest. Color is chosen by sensation and mood.

My materials include water based painting and drawing media. These allow me to experiment with the descriptive means: contour, shape, wash, opacity, pattern, and so on. Forms vary within the same piece: fluid to concrete, schematic to solid, rough to refined. Disparate categories are reconciled: real vs. contrived, drawing vs. painting, ironic vs. sincere, harmonious vs. dissonant. Despite this oscillation between dissolution and synthesis, the body of the viewer is reaffirmed, absorbing fragments and knitting them into a comprehensive vision.

Born in Hartford, CT, Justin Kim received a B.A. from Yale and an MFA from the American University in Washington, D.C.

He has exhibited across the Northeast including: Denise Bibro, Brenda Taylor, EFA, and Bowery Gallery in New York City; and Smith College and Montserrat College of Art. Recent residencies include, The Virginia Center for Creative Arts, The Jentel Foundation, and The Studios at Mass MoCA. He is currently based at The Elizabeth Foundation in New York.

Mr. Kim has taught at Yale, Dartmouth, Smith College, The University of Massachusetts, and Deep Springs College in California.