Eunha Kim Korean American

I am a Korean-born artist based in New York City. My work explores the shifting boundaries between myth, the fantastical, and everyday life, interwoven with my personal experience. The mask-like faces that recur in my paintings originate from traditional Korean masks once used by commoners to mock the noble class. Initially drawn to these masks as symbols of defiance, mirroring my own sense of marginality as an immigrant in the United States, I have over time transformed them into faces marked by longing, vulnerability, and a sense of disorientation. Drawing inspiration from everyday observations, Korean folk art traditions such as Minhwa, and the rich lineage of old masters, my practice remains in constant dialogue with the history of painting.

 

Figures in my work hover between the real and the fantastical, suspended in weightless, ambiguous spaces that reflect my experience of living between two worlds. At once burdened and sheltered, they emerge as totemic figures that at times hold orbs transformed from masks and faces. Along with the wandering guardian tiger drawn from Minhwa traditions, these dreamlike presences continually serve as metaphors. Yet there is also something bright and humorous in my work, in the way figures and animals are portrayed with a sense of playfulness and vivid color.

 

Painting, for me, is a way of seeking answers to unending questions of identity, place, and

belonging. My practice is deeply personal, yet it resonates with broader conversation