KIAF SEOUL

Among his various series, the Mendrami works are particularly representative of the artist. These pieces function as both figurative depictions of common flowers and abstract symbols of life’s desires and sublimity, while also serving as meditative records reflecting the artist’s inner contemplation.

In the Mendrami series, flowers emerge and decay amidst thickly applied oil paint, pigment residues, and splattered droplets of oil. The series encapsulates the life and death of the Mendrami flowers, which sprout from seeds sown in the artist’s garden, blaze under the intense summer sun, and ultimately wither, revealing a latent, snake-like desire beneath their vibrant facade.

In smaller works such as Landscape, They Call It Longing, and Tree, Kim remains deeply committed to the medium of painting. He goes beyond mere representation, engaging in an active process of narrowing or widening the distance with his subjects to reveal their hidden essence.

Kim Jiwon has consistently observed the landscapes of nature and the everyday social scenes around him. Rather than simply replicating or depicting appearances, he delves deeply into studying and questioning these subjects and images, expressing his visions on canvas as an alternate reality. His distinctive colour combinations, forms that play on the boundary between figuration and abstraction, and the rough, sparse textures of his surfaces vividly showcase his obsession with form, drawing viewers into the visual allure of his work. Through relentless observation and exploration, the artist transforms his everyday life and social environment into another reality on the canvas, capturing the essence of ‘painting’ with energy and lyrical beauty.