Entangled Harmony

108|Contemporary is proud to present an exhibition of work by Shin-hee Chin. 

"My body of work, Entangled Harmony, visualizes the symbiotic relationship between nature and humankind, symbolizing intimate dialogues and embracing the mysterious, restorative force of nature.

As a person who spent half her life in South Korea and the other half in the United States, cultural context has shaped almost all my work. People are typically the subject matter in my work, but settling in the Midwest changed my relationship to the subtle landscape of the Great Plains.

The intention of creating landscape is to suggest the essence, the eternal qualities of the landscape beyond reality, something sublime. It imparts the landscape with a spirit resonance or vitality. The process of making the work is a record of energy being transferred from the artist to the work. Entangled Harmony sets out to explore the cultural and artistic encounter through a new frame of reference and aesthetic investigation.

I seek to harmoniously blend music and spirituality, weaving diverse musical influences into my visual compositions with a rich color palette. My goal is to imbue both abstract and representational images and convey the interconnectedness of art, music, and the spiritual realm.

The primary medium and method for these works (fiber, thread and stitching) provide a unique agent of interpretation with their tactile richness, vibrant color, multilayered depth, as well as the complex cultural roles of this medium. By incorporating fiber, I convert the conventionally feminine activity of needlework into a medium for art making.

The slow, repetitive nature of stitching enables me to be more mindful of the present moment. I symbolically partake in creating a new synthesis of East and West, Craft and fine art, the artist and nature, my native Korea and the American Midwest.

Thus, this project sets out to explore the potential mixtures or cultural hybridization as a representative mechanism through which the media and techniques of traditional Korean and American cultures are incorporated in new ways of art making.

Reception: October 6, 2023 from 6 - 9pm

Shin-hee Chin - Emergence: The Pathos of Things

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