Join us Friday, October 11th for a Meet & Greet with the artists and Curator during the Late Shift: Memento Mori event
The Torpedo Factory Art Center presents the work of artists Jean Jinho Kim and Katelyn Wood for our 2019 Fall Art Installations. The Fall Art Installations exhibition was curated by Jenny Wu, a D.C. based artist and curator and former 2015 Torpedo Factory Art Center Post-Graduate Resident. The goal of the art installations is to activate public space for visitors with site-specific and immersive public art. We rotate exhibitions seasonally throughout the year to keep the artwork fresh and constantly evolving.
On view in the Grand Hall (Center):
Sum of Facets
By Katelyn Wood
2019
In Sum of Facets, Wood uses use decorative and architectural motifs to create a sense of four distinct groups, reflecting society’s nature to divide into factions based off similarities and the notion of “other”. Each design is unique in appearance but holds similarities to its neighbors through shape and line characteristic. Whilst the individual prints showcase each design’s merit and intricacy, the collective print illustrates the possibilities of the whole. Printing and overlapping the designs on a single format, the layering process reveals the distinct symbol of “Earth”, allowing each motif to take on new meaning and purpose in the collective. The “Earth” symbol only takes shape through the collaboration of the four motifs, symbolizing the importance of connectivity and group over the strengths of the individual. This work stands to challenge the divisive climate of contemporary society, highlighting the cooperation of four separate entities to create a meaningful whole; one of togetherness, strength, and resiliency.
About the Artist
Katelyn Wood was born in Beckley, West Virginia and moved to Harrisonburg, Virginia at a young age. She graduated from James Madison University in 2012 with a B.F.A in Studio Art and a minor in Art History. She received an M.F.A. in Studio Art from American University in 2016 and participated in the GlogauAIR Residency Program in Berlin, Germany. An interdisciplinary artist, she currently works as an adjunct professor at James Madison University and Marymount University.
On View on the 3rd Floor (North):
Serendipity
By Jean Jinho Kim
2019
Serendipity is an installation composed of re-purposed, yet carefully curated materials, to provide an artistic examination of our surrounding physical world. The installation invites the viewer to seek and explore new forms that exist in the seemingly mundane objects that people encounter every day.
Kim uses components that are re-purposed and remade into dynamic forms that extend the meaning of art and diminish predictable boundaries. She uses everyday objects, such as things from hardware store, auto parts, and LED lights – which are not traditionally associated with “art with a capital a” – to imagine their potential, to tell a story, or to create a scene that challenges the viewer to give equal importance to different types of materials. When all the parts come together in a seemingly effortless manner, the result is relatable, relevant, and surprising.
About the Artist
Jean Jinho Kim was born in Seoul, Korea and moved to the United States after graduating from high school. Currently, she works in Washington, D.C. Kim uses a wide range of materials, from acrylic paint to found objects, to create 2-dimensional paintings and 3-dimensional installations. She earned her BFA in painting from West Virginia University in Morgantown and her MFA in studio art at American University in Washington, D.C. She participated in residency programs in Berlin, Germany and Seravezza, Italy. Kim has exhibited her work in several solo and numerous group exhibitions in the U.S., Germany, Italy, Hong Kong and South Korea. Her work has been reviewed by The Washington Post, The Korean Times and Korea Daily.
About the Curator
Jenny Wu is the 2018 – 2020 Touchstone Foundation for the Arts Emerging Artist Fellow, and adjunct professor at American University and Marymount University. She was born in Nanjing, China. She holds a B.A. from William Smith College in Studio Art as well as in Architectural Studies, and an M.F.A. in Studio Art from American University.
Her work has been exhibited in galleries and museums including Denise Bibro Fine Art, Katzen Museum, and Huntington Museum of Art. Wu has participated in numerous Artist-In-Residence programs across the country, and has been awarded fellowships from Vermont Studio Center and the Pollock Krasner Foundation.
For future art opportunities, please visit torpedofactory.org/artopps or subscribe to our mailing list.
