Kibong Rhee: There is No Place

Tina Kim Gallery is proud to present Kibong Rhee’s There is No Place in his first solo exhibition in New York. In addition to paintings from his newest body of work, the artist will be installing a major site-specific environmental sculpture. Kibong Rhee’s work consistently challenges the eye, encouraging the viewer to look intently at his exquisitely rendered landscapes. Primarily interested in the delicate balance between temporal fleeting moments and the eternal, Rhee’s poetic tableaux evoke a rare balance of sensuality and meditative distance.

 

In his widely celebrated paintings, the artist uses a complex layering technique to create incredible depth and movement. This three-dimensional optical dynamism married with natural scenes constitute an essential part of the artist’s oeuvre. For his site-specific installation, Rhee will be creating a diorama-like scene replete with a life-sized replica of a tree and time based misting elements — an effect that literally animates his interests in nostalgia and ephemerality.

 

The artist’s installations and works on canvas reflect his interest in the subtle nature of change and he has observed that all things are in a continual state of evolution and disappearance — a phenomenon he has likened to water flowing. Rhee’s unique painting technique, along with the highly specific landscapes he chooses to paint, frame this cycle. The artist feels that disappearance is a physical process of nature that arouses a sense of beauty, reflection and fantasy; in this way physical experiences expand to become both spiritual and transcendent.

 

Born in 1957, Kibong Rhee graduated from the Seoul National University with a Master’s degree in painting. He first gained attention when he was awarded the Grand Prix at the National Art Exhibition in 1986, and has established himself as one of the leading artists in Korea. His work has been collected by many renowned institutions worldwide including the Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art and the Korean National Museum, Hoam Art Museum, and ZKM Museum (Germany), in addition he has been included in the Busan Biennale 2010, Biennale Cuvée 2009, the 2008 Sevilla Biennale, and the Singapore Biennale, 2008.