Debora Kim
Debora Kim (b. 1990 in Seoul, Korea) is an oil painter based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Her interest in art began at Smith College, where she studied Studio Art. She later continued her studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, earning her MFA in Western Painting. Currently, she is a member of the Goodyear Arts Collective in Charlotte, NC, and serves as an art professor at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College. Kim has exhibited locally at Goodyear Arts, LaCa Projects, Sozo Gallery, and The Mint Museum Randolph. Her out-of-state and international shows include Lorin Gallery in Los Angeles, Tchotchke Gallery in New York, and the Open Call and Four Year Anniversary Shows at Delphian Gallery in London.
Artist Statement
My oil paintings encompass a wide range of subject matters and styles. However, if there is one thread that pulls my work together, it is the idea of responding to and expressing emotions and experiences through painting. I am influenced by what I see in my everyday life. Mundane events, media, human desire, motivation, apathy, and helplessness are just some of the interconnected reasons to paint. The banality of the images depicted—sometimes in bright, saturated colors and other times faded and pale—becomes surrogate self-portraits, memories, and hopeful futures. This can take the form of a carefully staged still life representing identity, appropriated media images of idealized love and romantic relationships, or food, which can evoke a sense of belonging, physical satisfaction, or, conversely, an invitation for discomfort and sweet temptations.
www.debkoo.com
How has the environment you grew up in affected your art practice?
As a child, I was encouraged to be creative and make art. My mom would draw people in different outfits to entertain me on long car rides, my father would help me sew dresses for my dolls, and my older brother and I would spend our free time drawing cartoons. Art was something I enjoyed doing, and I realized I could express my visions and desires—such as outfits, the doll I wanted for Christmas, and what my future house could look like. As I got older, I focused less on art, but when I reached college, I took a drawing class spontaneously, which rekindled my love for art. My parents were supportive of my continuing art studies, and they are a big reason I am where I am today.
If your artwork was a mirror, what would it reflect?
If my artwork were a mirror, it would reflect all things sweet. This sweetness can be sugary, pleasant, delightful, inviting, intimate, lighthearted, sentimental, cloying, or excessive. I have realized there is more to sweetness than I thought.
What is the most difficult part (or your least favorite part) of your process?
The most difficult part of my painting process is being patient and accepting that not every painting will be my best. I believe consistency is key. There will be times when nothing seems to be going right and times when I feel like I am soaring. Regardless of where I am in my process, I know it’s important to keep going.
Pursuing ‘artist’ as a career is not for the faint of heart. What is the most rewarding aspect of this pursuit
The most rewarding part of pursuing a career as an artist is that I get to do what I enjoy most and express my interests and thoughts. In my painting practice, which includes a lot of still life, I enjoy finding objects, setting them up, and observing how they interact. One way I facilitate this interaction is through beautiful lighting that enhances the vibrancy of the objects' colors, textures, and surfaces, as well as their shadows. I appreciate that still life allows me to stage and paint objects that are both close and far. Some objects have an intimate history and are within reach, such as those I use every day in my home, while others are unreachable or temporary, like food. The act of staging both permanent and ephemeral objects, and giving them a sense of permanence through painting, is oddly satisfying.
If your art is in a lineage of artists working within similar veins, who would be part of your lineage and why?
If my art is part of a lineage of artists working within similar veins, I would include Wayne Thiebaud, Pierre Bonnard, and Giorgio Morandi. Light is a common thread that connects their work, as well as their love for still life. I admire Wayne Thiebaud for his subject matter, which includes many cakes, sweets, and figures; Pierre Bonnard for his paintings of interiors and table settings; and Giorgio Morandi for his depictions of everyday household objects.
