Byron Kim: Drawn to Water

JAN 7- FEB 19, 2022

James Cohan GALLERY 

BYRON KIM, B.Q.O. 17 (Gliderport), 2021, Acrylic on canvas mounted on panel, 104 x 72 in

James Cohan is pleased to present Drawn to Water, an exhibition of new paintings by Byron Kim, on view from January 7 through February 19, 2022 at the gallery’s 48 Walker Street location. This is Kim’s fourth solo exhibition with James Cohan. The gallery will host an opening with the artist on Friday, January 7 from 10 AM to 6 PM. Masks and proof of vaccination are required for entry. 

The works in Drawn to Water belong to a new series titled B.Q.O., an abbreviation for Berton, Queequeg, and Odysseus, three key characters from famous oceanic tales: Stanisław Lem’s Solaris, Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, and Homer’s The Odyssey. Kim first began this new series of paintings during a Rauschenberg Residency on Captiva Island, Florida in January 2020, while rereading these classic stories to spur his imagination. 

These three literary references suggest the enduring lifespan of the planet’s oceans relative to the temporality and mentality of human existence, destructive as it may be. Representing various bodies of water—at times placid or treacherous—Kim’s newest paintings reveal an experience of the sublime, by way of observing and submerging oneself in a fluid environment that can feel liberatory or, suddenly, prove overpowering.

-바이런 김의 제유법(Synecdoche: The United Colors of Skin), 2021

http://www.nyculturebeat.com/?mid=Art2&document_srl=4037570

*바이런 김의 일요일 회화(The Sunday Paintings)@브루클린뮤지엄

*휘트니 특별전 'Human Interest: Portraits from the Whitney's Collection,',2017