Myong Hi Kim, Butterfly Boy, 2006, oil pastel on chalkboard, 20.4 x 14.1 in. (52 x 36cm)

We are excited to resume our weekly Gallery Spotlight posts following a dynamic Asia Week this autumn, where our AWNY members showcased a captivating array of exhibitions, auction sales, and events, marking a vibrant start to New York’s fall Asian art season.

This week’s focus is on the highly respected HK Art and Antiques, LLC.  Based in New York since 2015, the gallery is one of the foremost sources of fine Korean art. Under the leadership of Director Heakyum Kim, HK Art and Antiques presents an exceptional and diverse range of exhibitions, from traditional artworks and ceramics to modern and contemporary paintings and sculptures.

Their latest show, Autumn Group Exhibition, opens this Friday, September 27th and will feature selected works by renowned contemporary Korean artists, including Yong-Ik Cho, Ouhi Cha, Sooyeon Hong, Myong Hi Kim, Su Kwak, Tchah Sub Kim, Elizabeth Keith, Geejo Lee, and Bohnchang Koo.

One of the highlights is Butterfly Boy, an oil pastel on chalkboard work by Myong Hi Kim.  Born in Seoul in 1949, Kim currently splits her time between New York and an abandoned schoolhouse in a tiny mountain village in Kangwon Province, South Korea. Her paintings on chalkboards are symbolist portraits and often fuse the Korean people’s nomadic history and her own experiences with keen insight on issues of displacement and migration both voluntary and forced. Observing the trajectory of Kim’s life with the figures in her paintings, art critic Eleanor Heartney notes: “But despite Kim’s awareness of the toll exacted by time and history, her ultimate message is one of hope…. Similarly, the figures in her paintings, however much burdened by outside forces, remain resilient and unbowed.”

Be sure to view this work and others through October 16th!

To learn more, click here.