Ho Jae Kim

Ho Jae Kim drafts mixed media paintings which eerily explore understandings of purgatory. With an interest in digesting this liminal state in a secular setting, the artist frequently depicts mundane in between spaces, such as vacant dining tables or windswept balconies. Theatrical lights unnaturally illuminate these tableaux and are framed by velvet curtains, cultivating a surreal, theatrical quality. Classical art historical references are also troubled by Jae Kim, for example, Matisse’s 1911 La Danse is reimagined in rich orange hues, with each dancer beheaded. No recognisable motif or image remains untouched. Jae Kim’s unique process also affords each piece immense symmetry, giving each scene an all too perfect, uncanny tone. With homage to the precision of painters such as Piero della Francesca of the Early Italian Renaissance, all of his paintings are originally drafted on a 3D modelling and rendering program. Finalized models are then inkjet transferred onto canvas in multiple layers, serving as underpaintings for Jae Kim to delicately embody with oil paints. Enamel and paper are also embedded within the canvas to add a sense of textural weight and to further disrupt traditional material processes. This unconventional method has developed a distinct painterly style for Jae Kim, as he continues to produce haunting and bewitching paintings. ...

Founded in 1997, Harper’s is dedicated to exploring relationships between fine art and print media. Drawing on founder Harper Levine’s decades-long career as a rare book dealer, the original location at 87 Newtown Lane remains a cultural hub of the East End.