Esther Kim

Utopian Home

From my accidental approach of splashing and smeared paints on the canvas with abstract imagery and mark-making, I constructed my Utopian Home. On top of it, I created whimsical imagery by applying and squeezing a paste of paint and painting minimalistic graphic drawings. The primeval form painted with civilization's pigments depicts our identity as a primate living in an industrialized world. Our intrinsic appreciation for beauty and the collective beauty of civilization struggle, collide, mingle, and juxtapose to create art. In the territory between nature and the civilized world, there is my identity and there I explore art.Moving to Toronto from Vancouver was a big journey of the excitement of encountering a megacity from a small city that coexists with nature. The experience of urbanization left me with an experience of isolation. My desire to live away from urban life is reflected in contrast to my reality in my painting. My utopian home is silent, simple, and ordinary.