10/01/24

Ilhwa Kim's New Works Evoke Synesthetic Experiences


South Korean contemporary artist Ilhwa Kim's new exhibition Growing Surfaces launches at HOFA, London, on the 10 October running until the 23 October.  

In this highly anticipated series of works, Kim explores the delicate interplay between materiality and biological life, creating compositions that evoke a sense of ongoing growth and presence. The new works, embedded with seeds and other tactile elements, seem to be in a state of slow transformation, blurring the lines between the physical artwork and the sensation of something alive.

The experience of engaging with these works extends beyond sight alone. Just as Cézanne's work, according to Jasper Johns, has “...a synesthetic quality that gives it great sensuality - it makes looking equivalent to touching”, Kim's art initiates a multi-sensory response where observing the surfaces becomes equivalent as to touching them.
 
The viewer is consciously drawn into an active space where the artwork seems to grow, pulsate and breathe. Its presence is felt, not just visually, but through one's entire sensory perception - touch, smell and even the sound of silence seem to be implied by the subtle material forms.
​

The exhibition speaks to our instinctive ability to recognise the qualities of life in the world around us. Kim's use of organic materials, combined with her skillful manipulation of surfaces, alludes to an animated aesthetic, challenging us to reconsider where the boundary lies between the natural and the man-made.
 
Each piece seems to have its own ‘life force’, inviting the viewer into an intimate dialogue with a surface that feels both tangible and alive.

ENDS

Exhibition Details:

Growing Surface Exhibition: Free and open to the public daily, Monday - Saturday

Dates: 10 - 23 October 2024 Venue: 11 Bruton Street, Mayfair, London, W1J 6PY
(Location)

Venue: HOFA Gallery, 11 Bruton Street, Mayfair, London, W1J 6PY

Press Preview: 9:00am - 1:00pm, 9 October 2024. RSVP david@thehouseoffineart.com

More Information: TheHouseofFineArt.com

Press Contact: David Anderson, Communications Manager - david@thehouseoffineart.com 

Notes to Editors:  

HOFA GALLERY   

Founded in 2012, HOFA Gallery (House of Fine Art) represents contemporary painters, sculptors, photographers and multidisciplinary new media artists from all over the world including China, Korea, United States, Italy, France, Argentina and Australia amongst many others. Since its inception, HOFA has provided government institutions, museums, art galleries and private collectors access to some of the most sought-after works of art.   

Since 2018 the gallery expanded its reach beyond the contemporary art program, curating a series of highly acclaimed new media public art installations and immersive exhibitions; growing the artist portfolio in the generative Ai space, exploring the relationship between human and machine collaboration and its interaction with nature.