Bumin Kim: Lingering Light, Opens January 10, 2025

Opening Reception: Friday, January 10, 2025, 6 – 8 pm
Artist will be present
On view: January 10 – February 22, 2025

Anya Tish Gallery is pleased to present Lingering Light, a solo exhibition by Korean-born, Texas-based artist Bumin Kim, showcasing her signature thread paintings. Light is central to the ideas Kim aims to express through her work, as to convey light inherently acknowledges the presence of darkness. This interplay between light and dark reflects a captivating balance that shifts based on how we perceive and engage with it – much like how our perspectives on life’s challenges, people, or relationships transform based on the lens through which we view them. Kim’s intricate manipulation of materials mirrors this dynamic, as she redefines the traditional concept of painting: brushstrokes become thread, and the flat surface transcends into three-dimensional space. By repurposing thread as a tool of expression, Kim captures the power, elegance, and versatility of painting, embracing the transformative power of materiality to challenge what a painting can be.

When working with colors, the artist focuses on evoking a sense of light and clarity. Rather than using color merely to represent light, the aim is to convey a feeling of transparency, as if the color itself embodies illumination. This approach allows the inherent qualities of the materials to emerge, revealing their depth and potential. At times, under natural light, the work appears to absorb and radiate a soft, inner glow, resonating harmoniously with its surroundings. In that brightness, there is a subtle pull, a power that invites viewers to fully sense and inhabit the moment.

From the Artist:
“In Lingering Light, each piece explores the quiet, captivating qualities of light as it lingers, shifts, and fades. This collection delves into the essence of light; its ability to shape moods, reveal textures, and evoke emotions beyond words. Through nuanced layers, threads, and textures, the works invite viewers to experience light as more than illumination: as a living presence that transforms space, leaving traces of both memory and resonance. The show offers a meditative pause to witness light’s subtle beauty and its power to connect us to the present moment.”

Originally from South Korea, Bumin Kim received her MFA in Drawing and Painting in 2015, from the University of North Texas, Denton, TX. In 2017, she was awarded at the 30th Annual International Competition and Exhibition, Materials: Hard + Soft, in Patterson-Appleton Arts Center, Denton, TX. Her work has been shown in various institutions such as: Pulse Art Fair, Miami, FL; Dallas Art Fair, Dallas, TX; Art Aspen, Aspen, CO; San Francisco Art Fair, San Francisco, CA; Art Market Hamptons Fine Art Fair, Water Mill, NY; Texas Contemporary Art Fair, Houston, TX; Women & Their Work, Austin, TX, and the AT&T Gallery, Dallas, TX. Kim’s work has been reviewed and featured in publications such as: New American Paintings, Fresh Paint Magazine, and Glasstire, and can be found in numerous corporate and private collections throughout the United States, South Korea, Japan, and Europe. In 2020, Bumin Kim completed an artist residency at Facebook’s Headquarters, Austin, TX, and her work was selected to be displayed at the Schneider Museum of Art, Ashland, Oregon in 2022.