Ho Jae Kim, Changing Room, 2023; Hand-Embellished, Signed, and Numbered Limited Edition Print

Ho Jae Kim (b. 1993, Seoul, KR) is a Brooklyn-based artist creating evocative, labor-intensive and detail-oriented practice of emotional, figurative compositions. Drafting his works in 3D modeling programs, the artist achieves heightened levels of geometric and compositional accuracy, while retaining a mysterious, ethereal atmospheric effect. The artist received his BFA from Rhode Island School of Design in 2016 and recent exhibitions include shows at Harper’s (New York, NY and Los Angeles, CA), Nicodim Gallery (New York, NY), and K&P Gallery (New York, NY). The artist’s work has been featured in a number of publications including Architectural Digest and Forbes.

Changing Room is a psychological portrait that is  an excellent example of the most technical direction of Kim’s work—refining and recalibrating his transfer and draftsmanship techniques to suit this most recent turn in his figurative practice. Thin layers of pigment under swathes of varnish heighten the cognitive distance between the viewer and subject. The eye is swallowed  into the vacuous royal purple mirror reflective—cutting through abstracted environments of a shared memory. Creases and folds of texture, evoking a timeless stillness reminiscent of the darkest corners of an estate sale, silhouette the luminous yellow light contouring the female figure and reflecting off of the velvet, chartreuse curtains. The stillness of transition between person and character is captured—like a religious transformation or spiritual consumption of the self and performance. The artist has hand-embellished each print in the edition with additional painted highlights and luminescent details, amplifying the light in each print, making them unique. 

“I’m thrilled to be working with ART FOR CHANGE on this edition,” shared Kim on the collaboration. “Reforestation efforts are critical for mitigating the effects of the climate crisis and it makes me feel good to know that the efforts of this project will benefit the environment more and more as time goes on.”

In support of global reforestation, ten trees will be planted for each print sale of works in this series commissioned on the occasion of EXPO CHICAGO 2023. The artist will also receive 50% of net proceeds from each sale.

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*Unframed prints ship within 1-3 weeks.
*Framed prints ship within 3-6 weeks.