Won Sil Kim
Our River: city floodplain
"I hope that my work in this exhibition will [...] promote a deeper connection between people and the environment."
Won Sil Kim, artist
Photo courtesy of the artist
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Won Sil Kim (born in Korea) completed an MFA in Art Graduate School at Sungshin Women’s University in Seoul, South Korea. Currently, she resides on the Mountain High (High Desert) side of CA. From 2008 to 2011, Won Sil worked as a curator, gaining valuable experience in the art field. She actively participates in various artist groups, including the Range Project Critic, LA Artists Association, and Southern California Korean Artists Association.
Throughout her career, Won Sil has showcased her talent through numerous solo exhibitions, group shows, and internal exhibitions held in various countries such as Thailand, Germany, Japan, Italy, London, and Korea. While her major is in sculpture, she has recently shifted her focus to mixed media. Her current body of work explores the relationship between nature and humans, including her own connection to the natural world.
In her latest exhibition, Our River: city floodplain, Won Sil employed charcoal, oil pastel, and acrylic on fabric. Notably, she made a conscious effort to choose materials that harmonize with nature, reflecting her belief that material selection plays a crucial role in sparking curiosity and imagination in the audience while enabling ample artistic expression. These chosen materials possess unique characteristics that allow typical landscape imagery to merge with the contemporary reality of art.As an artist, Won Sil aims to continue experimenting endlessly with materials and themes relevant to the 21st century.
ARTIST STATEMENT
My first impression of the LA River was the river bed covered with concrete and the embankment along the River is so strange and mysterious, and at times heartbreaking and sad. Later I learned that it is a desert river that needs to be prepared for floods, but also learned that it can be improved.
Healthy rivers usually have a meandering or meandering shape. Natural streams tend to have gentle curves and bends rather than straight channels. This curved pattern allows a variety of intrinsic ecological processes to occur. One of the essential ecological processes of a river is that it is a river with wetlands that seem very useless and unnecessary.
“Riparian” refers to an area of land that borders a river, stream, or other body of water. A riparian zone is a transitional area between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, characterized by water and distinct vegetation. Riparian areas are critical to maintaining the health and functioning of river ecosystems.
I hope that my work in this exhibition will serve as a means to raise awareness of the importance of ecological processes such as rivers and riparian and promote a deeper connection between people and the environment. I also hope that we can appreciate and reflect on the harmonies of nature, emphasizing both its fragility and its resilience.
As an artist participating in this exhibition, I want to be at least a small force in the future of this river.
