A selection of recent paintings by Brooklyn-based artist Sung Hwa Kim. Born in Seoul, Kim received a BFA from Art Institute of Boston in 2008, and an MFA from Maryland Institute College of Art in 2012. His work explores the passage of time through the lens of the traditional Korean white porcelain jar, a vessel that functions as a symbol of cyclical transitions and existential reflection.
“I invite viewers to contemplate the fragile balance between what fades and what endures. I approach this exploration as one might write a haiku: capturing fleeting, poetic moments of change that are both deeply personal and universally shared. The colors I use are intentionally evocative, marking shifts from urban to pastoral, from day to night, from life to death. Through these colors, I craft a landscape where contrasting forces converge: nature’s serenity meets the pulse of the city, and moments of stillness are interrupted by the vibrancy of transformation. Each painting is a snapshot of time, yet frozen in a dreamlike stillness, as if suspended in the delicate limbo between opposing forces.”
Guiding the viewer across the threshold between what is ephemeral and what remains, Kim presents fragmented worlds in fleeting harmony. His work is an invitation to reflect on the intersecting realities that shape our existence, both on earth and in the vast cosmos. For Kim, collisions of time, place, and emotion inspire a meditative journey, one that unearths the delicate webs that bind the tangible and the transcendent.