Kim Saeng Hwa: A flower for you is on view at Taoxichuan Art Center, Jingdezhen
September 23 – November 22, 2023
The theme of the exhibition is “A flower for you,” and the works are created according to four different periods of a spiritual journey, namely “Life”, “Survival”, “Growth”, and the fourth period of “Life”.
The “Life” series introduced in this solo exhibition reflects the history of my personal creation that always pursues new themes. We will observe changes in themes and expressions by categorizing my work into periods.
The first period is “Life”. During my college days, I created ceramic sculptures with the theme of “everyday life”. The work was characterized by the humorous and contradictory expression of the critical moments in human relationships, and my time abroad gave me an unfamiliar environment to observe my interest in people and the wonderful nature around me.
The second period is “Survival”. After graduating, I focused on creating and producing a large-scale ceramic sculpture. My representative work was Symphony Concert of Nature, which expressed human “Survival” situation in nature by personifying grass beetles. The artwork included imaginary music played by bugs in a recreation park aimed to relieve people’s fatigue and pain as a doctor treats a patient.
The third period is “Growth”. After ten years of living abroad and teaching in the school, I changed my work theme from healing others to self-exploration while working on my Ph.D. and teaching students. The change was because I viewed and drew myself as a stranger in Korea and China and then converted the drawings to a three-dimensional form, which expanded the field of my ceramic creation and brought me joy in new creations. The “Ego” series and “Marginal Men” series were classic makings that recorded the social position and daily life that varied over time as part of my “Growth” process.
The fourth period is “Life”. The “Life” series holds the deep realization of naturally accepting my ambiguous identity due to my long period abroad, recognizing that my life is different from that of others, and contemplating the relations between creation, society, and life. This series of work embodies a person’s lifetime, which is all inclusive of my past handiwork, including “Life”, “Survival”, and “Growth”, and it is a representation of one’s life through the aggregation and re-edition of the daily lives of others. The work was created as if each story were gathered into a single flower. The form of the artwork shows each story vibrantly and dynamically woven in a complex manner. However, the form allows for interpreting complexity by leaving the gap between delicate and rough expressions. I reveal my inner world and express my attitude towards life in this art.
Text by Kim Saeng Hwa, September 2023
Exhibition presented by: Jingdezhen Towyi Cultural Development Co., Ltd.
Co-Organized by: Ceramic Art Avenue Art Gallery, Taoxichuan Jingdezhen International studio, School of Arts and Crafts, Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts
Curator: Kim Saeng Hwa
Artist Assistant: Zhu Weiqi
Contact
taoxichuan@163.com
Taoxichuan Ceramic Art Avenue Art Gallery
299#, Chao Yang Road
Jingdezhen, Jiang Xi Province
China
