69*54(inch)
Acrylic, pigment on muslin
Two figures, which are submerged in seemingly solid, pebble-like water, appear secretly under the light. The temperature of the water evokes a sensory experience of the outer boundaries of the body. The scene appears both vivid and ephemeral, not entirely anchored in a concrete world or a specific moment. Their bodies are partially obscured, mostly hidden by the opacity of the ground. The gaze of both figures seems almost blind, only their intertwined hands seem to express any nuance, but the ambiguous purpose of the gesture – whether it is the action of pulling towards, or action of pulling down– captures various layers of impulses occurring in the relationship.
By the way, 경숙 / 京淑 / Kyung-sook is the name of my mother, and it was one of the most common names in the mother’s generation.
Unlike these days, many people’s names were made roughly in the last generation.There were thousands of Kyung-sook, Kyung-hee, Kyung-mi… And now, numerous Kyung-sooks are called someone’s mother, rather than their names.
Born in Korea and raised in China, Reeha (b. 1994) explores the ambiguity and duality inherent in so-called absolute truth, faith, and boundaries. Through her ghost-like paintings – where fragmented figures are bathed in dramatic light and subtle shadows, she blurs the threshold between objects and human bodies, physicality and metaphysicality, and functionality and malfunctionality. Thin yet multi-layered paintings blend personal memories with dreamlike scenery, oscillating between reality and Atopia – a place that is moored in nowhere.
Reeha held a duo exhibition in Shenyang, China at the age of nine, and since then, her works have been consistently presented in numerous duo and group exhibitions, including Gallery 100_0, Gallery Euljiro OF, Haeng-hwa-tang Art Space, Gallery H in Seoul, Korea, Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris, France, and Xin Complex Cultural Space in Shenyang, China. She graduated in 2021 with a BFA in Painting from Hong-ik University in South Korea. That same year, she was awarded the Fulbright scholarship, and is currently pursuing her MFA in the Painting Department at Cranbrook Academy of Art, class of 2024.
