StandardVision Artist Showcase: Otherworldly Escapism with Photographer KangHee Kim

StandardVision continues its curated site-specific art program on the large-scale curved exterior display at 3rd Street Crossing with a month-long showcase of works by NYC-based photographer KangHee Kim on view August 1st - 31st.

A series of photographs that collage together mundane encounters from everyday life, Kim’s dreamlike and otherworldly imagery perfectly capture a sense of surrealist escapism. Her soft color palettes and minimalist compositions denote both a whimsy and an eeriness that grew out of Kim’s desire to create what she calls “magical moments” from the banality of day-to-day reality.

To create these images, KangHee Kim uses Photoshop to merge multiple images together into surreal collages. Rather than strategically construct the scenes in advance, Kim lets her intuition guide her to transport viewers to otherworldly environments with the recurring motifs of moons, clouds, oceans, and skyscrapers.

Born in Seoul, South Korea, KangHee Kim immigrated to the United States with her family at the age of fourteen. She works and lives in NYC and holds a B.F.A. from the Maryland Institute College of Art. her work has been shown extensively in group and solo exhibitions throughout the US, South Korea and Japan, and she has been commissioned by brands such as Adidas, American Express, Air France, and Nike, as well as featured in publications ranging from TIME and the New York Times, to Bloomberg Businessweek. Due to circumstances regarding her Visa status, Kim has been unable to leave the United States for over ten years. Instead, she constructs these dreamlike photographic collages to explore new spaces and fictional experiences that create for her a sense of liberation and infinite possibility.

Catch Kim’s work on view at 3rd Street Crossing through August 31st, and see more of her work by visiting her Instagram.