Claudia Koh

Claudia Koh’s compositions immerse viewers in the fragile tension between intimacy and isolation, showing how proximity can simultaneously draw us close and push us away. Through overlapping perspectives, fragmented spaces, and reflective surfaces, her work transforms everyday environments into shifting landscapes that shape movement, perception, and a sense of belonging, revealing the quiet dislocations and pressures of postmodern urban life. Recurring motifs in her work, such as the Arowana fish, highlight this dynamic. Representing prosperity and freedom in Asian culture yet confined within artificial enclosures, the fish becomes a metaphor for the constraints imposed by society, culture, and ritual. Through this symbolism, Koh reflects on the compromises between desire, comfort, and imposed structures, emphasizing the fragile balance between freedom and entrapment. Her practice integrates cultural symbols and references, particularly from Asian heritage, to investigate identity, memory, and social conventions. She transforms familiar imagery into reflective visual narratives that probe how cultural, spatial, and emotional conditions influence individual experience. Through her work, Koh captures the interplay between confinement and liberation, isolation and connection. Her paintings create contemplative spaces where viewers can consider the weight of contemporary life, the limits of physical and social environments, and the enduring human longing for connection, belonging, and freedom. ...