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The horse often makes a prominent appearance in Korean artist Su Jeong Kim’s painting. An animal associated with swiftness and movement, for Kim, it stands as a symbol of freedom. Within her work, it also stands as a direct representation of the artist herself. The horse is depicted travelling; its path often hindered by flowing organic lines, reminiscent of paper streamers in the wind, or long vines. At other times, it appears to be slowly slogging through pile after pile of rocky disks, part geode, part lava flow, or rocky outcrops that flow downwards against which the horse must prevail. Similarly, the position of the horse – whether small and in the background, or large, looming in the foreground, represents the artist’s own psychological displacement.
Kim’s practice features a repetitive, meditative process which allows her to focus solely on the task at hand as her intricate lines and shapes unfurl under her meticulous hand, blossoming like ever-unfolding petals. By placing them onto canvas, the repetition of the pen or brush stroke is akin to the sense of calm achieved through chanted prayer or other repeated meditative action.
The shapes themselves take on many forms – sometimes like burnt red blossoms, akin to lanterns, or the billowing surf at sunset. At other times they appear like floating pollen or sea anemones. They represent desire, their round shape harking to the circular nature of life, while the strings, despite their smothering qualities, bind them all together, representing the connections between us.
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