Clara KimWorks

I was born in South Korea. A fond memory of my childhood in GoHeung (고흥) was catching and feeding frogs in my Grandmother’s pond. Chickens wandered around as freely as us children.

If you look at my paintings, it seems that you are peering into a folktale from the old days.
Frogs, chickens, horses, owls, and other creatures from these old stories told in our childhood by our grandmothers are summoned to the canvas by my hands.
The animals in the story at times play the part of prey and predator, but they can also form a symbiotic relationship.

In Korean culture, frogs are a symbol of water and happiness. Chickens are a symbol of wealth and abundance. In Korean folklore, the cries of a frog symbolize the importance of respecting one’s parents.

In my art works, I take the mystifying nature of human relationships, and project them onto these animals. These animals represent the many people who live in a competitive society, and animals also satirize our shortsightedness of the future.

I paint with a knife rather than a brush, drawing heavily from the oriental style, but expressing with a western style, creating a unique style unlike any other.