Dreams mix with reality in artist’s Vienna debut

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Dreams mix with reality in artist’s Vienna debut

Dabal Kim will exhibit her work at the ArtP.Kunstverein Gallery in Vienna along with two other artists, Maria Bussmann and Rouven Durr. The exhibition, which opens today and runs through June 21, is sponsored by the Marktgemeinde Perchtoldsdorf Foundation and the Arts Council Korea.

Kim paints not only on traditional canvases, but also on leather. She has transformed old leather shoes, bags and small wallets into media for her work.

“Kim’s works are narrative and personal,” said Park Young-taik, a professor of art at Kyonggi University. “The tools she uses [like the shoes and the bags] tell the story of her daily life, while the illustrations therein depict her own thoughts.”

The artist is also inspired by dreams and memories. “My memories are like a mirror reflecting my spiritual world,” says Kim. “I love to work and paint based on my childhood memories or dreams from the night before.”

The works she will exhibit at the gallery in Vienna are based mostly on dreams. Her work, “The Dream of the Married Couple,” is an illustration of a man and a woman with their heads, hair and mouths filled with objects from each of their dreams.

“I believe that your dreams show animals, plants or anything that you desire or fear,” Kim remarks. “I try my best to write all of my dreams down the next morning and think about them when I paint.”

Kim, who studied and worked as a curator in New York, has held exhibits in both Korea and the United States. Last year, Kim’s exhibition, “The Drawing, which Swims Between Actuality and Unreality,” was presented at a gallery in Insa-dong, central Seoul. She also participated in the Pohang International Art Festival.

“Kim’s pieces capture scenes from both reality and a place outside of reality, and slide between the conscious and the unconscious,” Park said. “Her pieces are unique anytime, anywhere.”


By Lee Hae-joo Contributing writer [estyle@joongang.co.kr]


“The Dream of the Married Couple” by Dabal Kim. Provided by Dabal Kim
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