The Korean Cultural Center Washington, DC (KCCDC) has started its K-Recollection event, a group exhibition and virtual tour featuring diverse, multidisciplinary works by twelve Korean artists.

In the new group exhibition and virtual tour, the artworks on display represent a reflection of the artists' cultural identity over the context of life in the new normal, following the global coronavirus pandemic. The event began last April 24, with the release of a guided tour video that offers an inside look at the physical exhibition space at the KCCDC site. The opening of the event, which will run until July 9, also included remarks from the artists themselves - sharing insights on their work and the growth they have experienced over the previous year.

K-Recollection is an exhibit of about 30 artworks - paintings, sculptures, ceramics, and installations - offering unique takes on different experiences about what it means to be a Korean living in the United States, a cross-cultural identity of accepting the new and retaining connection with their Korean heritage. It also tackles fundamental questions on life and keeping social connections in the context of the global coronavirus pandemic, with some artworks offering a picture of what life was before the highly contagious disease changed the world.

(Photo : KCCDC)

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Three Themes Exploring the Korean-American Existence

KCCDC divides the K-Recollection exhibit into three parts, each corresponding to a theme that binds the artworks of similar stylistic approach and experience. "Assimilation: Cultural Identity" features works by Kyoung Eun Kang and TeaYoun Kim-Kassor. Kang visualizes her experience as a stranger in the middle of New York and forming new relationships in her video performances. Meanwhile, Kim-Kassor is a visual artist - using her drawings and fiber arts - to illustrate the distinct balance between her native Korean identity and the various social and cultural values she acquired living across three different countries.

The second theme, "Variation: Tradition and Modernity," features works from artists Stephanie S. Lee, Leeah Joo, Victoria Jang, and Julia Kwon. Lee is a contemporary painter taking inspiration from the symbolism of traditional Korean folk art, creating images that capture the human aspiration and desire that transcend time. Leeah Jang, a Korean-American painter whose works explore the cross-cultural experience, reinterprets elements of bojagi - the traditional Korean wrapping cloth - in her artworks. Jang is a ceramic artist who fuses abstract ideas of cultural hybridity, drawn from her own experiences with different racial groups and backgrounds as a Korean-American. Kwon, a specialist in textile art, also draws from the Korean bojagi to challenge what it means to be an Asian woman, particularly a Korean-American woman, living in the modern American society.

Lastly, "Infinity: Transcendence of Time and Space" contains the creations of Tai Hwa Goh, Sky Kim, Jisook Kim, Sui Park, Nara Park, and Nina Cho. Goh has earned her reputation for otherworldly 3D landscapes formed by her unique take on installation art. Jisook Kim, on the other hand, incorporates drawings and installations to bring the coexistence of different elements to life. Nara Park is a sculptor whose works inquire about the connection between an individual and her environment through the traces that both aspects leave behind. Sui Park creates uncannily biological forms in her installations, weaving industrial materials into structures that resemble living, organic tissues. Lastly, Nina Cho is known as a creator of functional art, whose works maintain substance while communicating moderation and balance.

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