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Annunciation1-Invitation

Nam, Kyung Min2010

Korean Art Museum Association

Korean Art Museum Association
Seoul, South Korea

In the mirror of Annunciation 2, the angel is eliminated from the reflection, and in Rest- Entering a Baroque Mirror, the mirror reflects objects from the same surface and the mirror, instead of objects in front of it. In Nam's paintings we can tell that the reflected images in the mirrors coincide with the objects, but strangely run against them. Perhaps it is because of such peculiar picture-plane structure, which shakes the center of stable perception, that her paintings are accompanied by unknown instability and strangeness.

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  • Title: Annunciation1-Invitation
  • Creator: Nam, Kyung Min
  • Creator Lifespan: 1968
  • Creator Nationality: Korean
  • Creator Birth Place: Seoul, Korea
  • Date Created: 2010
  • Physical Dimensions: w1167 x h910 cm
  • Type: Painting
  • Medium: Oil on linen
  • Critic's Note: Since her solo exhibition in 2005 until now, Nam Kyung-Min has continued to paint indoor landscapes; which include artists' studios, butterfly collections and study series. The most important fact in Nam's paintings is that it is not actual landscapes expressed on the picture-plane, but an invisible domain that was created by them. The unreal landscape that overlaps on top of the actual landscape is, to quote the artist, a "mindscape," and a world of "meta-reality," which transcends all ideas about the phenomenal world. Though indoor objects (such as, tables, chairs, beds, bookcases, windows and mirrors) are painted on a picture-plane of vivid colors, the reason the planes do not seem friendly and come to us with certain strangeness and with a nuance of alienation or solitude is because of the dual structure of the picture-plane. This consists of three components: layers of time and space, objects of symbolism and allegory, and the tensions created by absence and silence. Nam Kyung-Min’s representative series of paintings are based on the admiration toward classic and art historical texts, and homage to the masters who gave her inspiration. From the Renaissance to the 20th century, original texts of art history have been the archive for Nam's references and quotes. The butterfly represents the feeble, delicate artistic disposition and the flow of artists' self-consciousness. The candle travels between existence and non-existence through the state of burning and being blown out, while the wings reveal the two sides of desire for flight and endless fall as in those of Icarus. The hourglass symbolizes the flow and stop of time, and the limit of life. The lily symbolizes pureness and truthfulness. The transparent bottle is the essence of unchangeable truth, but also shares the duality called weakness due to its easily breakable nature. The Jesus statue, which appears from time to time is "God" as a seeker of truth, but also a "human" with internal sadness. The objects in Nam Kyung-Min's paintings carry codes of death and loss as represented in the skulls, candles and wings, but also evoke philosophical epistemology; such as, life and death, or existence and time. Perhaps, this is why her paintings are filled with "sensuous" colors and are open for space of "thought?" (2011)
  • Collection: Private collection
  • Artist's Education: Duksung Women's University. Seoul, Korea. M.F.A., Painting.
Korean Art Museum Association

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